The Final Steps
by Kodachi Claws
Summary: Jonin. Team. Love. Family. Peace. Hokage. Everything that Naruto has hoped for will be tested, but will it be worth it? Will the village of Konoha still be his precious people? Or will he die at the hands of Akatsuki? NaruSaku.
1. Promoted, Exposed

Hey! Here's my Naruto fic! Don't know if I will ever complete it, but I'll sure as hell try! Also, this story will focus on everyone's most hated pairing of all: NaruSaku, which, at least up to 347(and nothing contradicting it up to 365) seems like the only one that will happen. In fact, in a LOT of fanfiction, I notice that the pairings that actually happen in the said story (or at least the most strongly implied) are written about the least.

Also, I haven't read Naruto past 365; I want to catch up on Bleach and InuYasha first. The only thing past the Kazuku arc that will be cannon in this fic is the incident with Sakura and Konohamuru in 347(and I don't really know if I will mention it). In this, Orochimaru is still alive, Kabuto is not a freak of nature (but he will become one), and while I'm aware that Tobi is Madara, I'm going to alter Madara for my fic. This may sound dumb, but think of it like this: In the FMA anime, the Fuhrer was Pride. In the manga, he's Wrath. That's just a slight name change, but that alone changes many of the other homunculus. This will take place 3 years after Naruto invents his Rasenshuriken, and I hope that even though everything I will write shall be proven impossible by the manga, you'll find it to your liking. Enjoy!

* * *

Naruto ran through the forest. Although there was much danger about, he still took the time to reflect on the past. Much as happened since he returned with Jiraya. So many new faces, new enemies and many more changes. That was almost three years ago. He was now eighteen, and much stronger. He was promoted to chunin (although, he had to admit, he still sucked horribly on the written exam), and right now, was in the middle of his jonin exam.

Speaking of which…CLANG! Naruto parried an incoming kunai, and ran up a rock. "Wait, shouldn't there be…" Just then, hundreds of kunai came hurling towards him. "Shit!" Naruto ran up the nearby cliff for dear life. As the cliff swerved to an arc, he jumped up, and threw a kunai in the direction of the others. The one he threw, however, had an explosive tag. Once it exploded, all of the remaining kunai shot straight up in the air.

Naruto chuckled to himself. "Title of Hokage, here I come!" Naruto ran off again and entered the building he was supposed to go to.

* * *

Naruto went inside, unsure of what to expect. Then again, that's how his life has always played out. Naruto was about to run, when something occurred to him.

"It must be booby-trapped."

Naruto picked up a pebble and threw it down the narrow corridor. Suddenly, arrows everywhere where flying.

"Kage no Bushin!"

4 clones surrounded Naruto as they continued to make their way into the next room. "Now forwhoaaa!!"

Naruto nearly fell down a spiked pit. It was too far to jump across the other side. "Maybe I should run across the walls." Naruto tried placing his feet on the wall, but immediately withdrew when he sensed a charka-draining seal. "Man, they thought of everything."

Naruto sat for a minute to think about the situation. How would he get over without falling…"Wait, that may be it." Naruto placed his feet over the ledge. When he sensed no charka-draining seals, he descended. He halted at ground level with the spikes. The space between each spike was narrow, but Naruto managed.

When he reached the other side, he climbed up. "Those challenges were bad enough on their own, what else does Ba-chan have planned for me?" As if something was answering his call, Naruto heard a churning sound. Molten metal was coming right for him. "I just had to ask, didn't I!!"

Naruto ran as fast as he could, but the metal was gaining on him, and fast. Suddenly, he saw a flat yet thick piece of rock. "It's a long shot but this will have to do."

Naruto picked up, ran, threw it in the air, and placed his body on top of it. He body boarded across the way, knowing that if he stood up, the metal would hit him and make him fall into the mold. Naruto looked up and saw a door. "That's it!" Naruto jumped off, and grabbed the ledge. Not a moment too soon, either, as there seemed to be a bottomless pit. "Whew". Naruto wiped his brow, climbed up, and moved on.

* * *

Naruto simply walked down the corridor, until at last, he came into a large circular room. Naruto grinned. He just knew what was coming next.

'Finally, the part was looking forward to."

Suddenly, ninjas with white masks surrounded him. Not all of them were ANBU ninjas, but Naruto could tell they were all Jonin.

"Granted, they may be my friends. But I'm not going to let them win!"

The ninjas surrounding him came at him. Naruto jumped out of the way and made more clones to stay on the defensive. "All right, I've got to figure out these guys special abilities."

One came running towards him. Naruto readied a kunai, but then he noticed that the attacker was coming towards him with an open hand.

"That's not!..."

It was almost too late, but Naruto managed to dodge. "Ba-chan just had to make me have a rematch with Neji of all people!"

Naruto was forced to the wall when a kick connected with him. It was powerful, but not enough to be deadly. "Et tu, eh, fuzzy brows?"

Naruto ran up the wall again as many weapons were hurled at him "Tenten."

Naruto jumped off and faced off with the tallest. He and Naruto exchanged blows, but this one seemed to be copying the other. "Damn you, Kakashi-sensei!!"

Naruto turned around to see the last ninja reading a final punch. Naruto rolled out of the way, and heard the wall behind him collapse. "Oh no…" Naruto knew who it was, and he wasn't sure if he had it in him to beat this person. Anyone else with the exact same abilities, no problem, but this person was special. "If I back down because of this, I can never become Hokage!"

Naruto managed to escape long enough to recollect his thoughts, and strengthen his resolve. "Okay everyone…here I come!"

Naruto made even more clones, and charged. They all attacked Neji, but they were all deflected by his rotation technique. However, all the deflected clones rammed right into the other ninjas, knocking them into the wall. Just as Neji noticed this, he realized he couldn't move. Neji's Byakkugan could see that his arm was wrapped around a nearly invisible wire.

"He really has improved. I thought he would only use his clones and the Rasengan. He really is serious about becoming Hokage."

Naruto summoned two katannas, and charged at Tenten. Tenten unsheathed two sais, and parried Naruto's blows. They exchanged weapons for some time, until out of nowhere Naruto disappeared. Tenten searched frantically for him, and then felt herself being pulled into the floor. "Groundhog decapitation. Courtesy of Kakashi-sensei"

Naruto gave his grin, and disappeared out of site. Next was Rock Lee. The two of them had spared together for awhile, with Lee exchanging a few moves with Naruto. Naruto would've shared some of his during their sessions, if it wasn't for the fact that Lee couldn't do anything besides Taijutsu. The two faced off, for the most part making it like a real fight. Lee still had a strength advantage over Naruto though, and caught him off guard with the Dancing Leaf Shadow. Naruto was hurled into the air, with Lee following him. Lee grabbed him, and was about to perform the Hidden Lotus, but Naruto caught him off guard and performed the lotus himself. Both spun, twice as fast as a normal lotus, and the ground below them shattered. When the dust cleared, it was revealed that Lee was the one who was unconscious.

"That was pure luck, I have to admit."

Naruto was caught in the temple by a kick from Kakashi. Naruto got back up, and furiously tried to defend himself from Kakashi's kunai. "I can't beat him as long as he can see me. I need to work a way around his sharingan." Naruto reached into his pocket, and threw a smoke bomb down. Kakashi didn't cough, but the gas made his eyes sting terribly, even with the mask(over the one he usually wears) on. "Payback, after six long years!" Naruto shouted. Kakashi would've become bug-eyed if it wasn't for the smoke bomb. "He's not going to do what I think he is!?" Of course every time someone says that, that's usually what happens. Naruto shouted "Pain of one thousand deaths!!" and plunged his kunai straight into Kakashi's rear orifice. Naruto was actually surprised when Kakashi screamed in pain and rolled around like crazy. Kakashi thought "So this is what it's like to be on the receiving end of this technique." Naruto chuckled for a bit, then turned his attention to the last remaining ninja. Naruto's normally happy face turned quite serious. Naruto got in a fighting stance, and signaled for his opponent to come.

The last ninja charged at Naruto with a flying kick, which Naruto simply ducked, and for good measure, flipped out of the way of another oncoming sweep. Naruto knew that he could not go toe-to-toe with this opponent. One hit and it would be the end of him.

"I'm sure you're getting sick and tired of this, but hey, it is my specialty after all." More clones were formed, and the charged simultaneously, and dog piled the ninja.

However, the ninja used it's super strength to fling them all off. It heard something in the air, and held it's hand in front of it's face to protect in from oncoming kunai…all with explosive tags. The ninja ripped off it's glove in the nick of time as it exploded. Though it's clothes were burned a bit, the last ninja escaped the other explosions unharmed. The ninja turned around and received a kick to the face. Naruto was disgusted at himself at the moment, but knew it had to be done. The ninja got up, and the two faced off again. Naruto was being sure to use soft-blocks to counter his opponent's blows, as he knew using a move like an inward block will break his arm in this scenario. He was being forced to double-back, and Naruto stumbled. His opponent caught him and lifted him like he was nothing. "I suppose I can't ask you to go easy on me?"

His opponent attempted to throw him, but Naruto held on to the Ninja's arms for dear life, and used the momentum to take the opponent down with him. Though the fall still hurt him pretty bad, Naruto managed to get away and put some distance between him and his opponent. The other ninja got up, and said in a feminine voice "You should have taken the opportunity to break my arm." Naruto would've done it with the others, but he couldn't do it to this one. The ninja charged towards Naruto, preparing to land a one-hit knockout. However, Naruto made a bunch of hand signs and shouted "Fuuton: Kei Uchiwa!"

The other ninja was suddenly blown clear off her feet. She hit the wall, but not hard enough to knock her out. She was about to leap off to counter attack, when suddenly many kunai struck her and embedded her black outfit into the wall. Naruto ran forward, and placed his last kunai right at her throat. "Yield." The ninja nodded slightly confirming her surrender. Naruto then pulled off her mask, revealing Sakura Haruno underneath. "Sorry Sakura-chan. But I just can't find it in myself to hurt you that badly." Sakura just looked annoyed. "I could have taken it, you know." Naruto chuckled. "I know." Sakura sighed. "It's so hard to believe he still takes it easy on everyone." She thought to herself. "Even after all he's been through…"

* * *

_Sakura thought back to the day when he first came back from killing someone. He was on a mission with Team 10 at the time. Sakura didn't know much, but from what she could tell, one ninja managed to evade Shikamaru's defenses, and Naruto had to step in with his sword and impale the enemy. _

_Shikamaru told her himself. "He looked pretty bummed out on the way back. I've tried cheering him up, but nothing doing. Maybe you should go talk to him, since me trying again is just so damn troublesome."_

* * *

_Sakura headed straight for Naruto's apartment. Once she got there, she knocked softly. She got no response, but she noticed the door was unlocked. She quietly let herself in, and found Naruto at his table, eating ramen. Naruto was shocked to see her at first, but then plastered his trademark grin. "Oh, hey Sakura-chan! What's up?" Sakura gave him a sad smile. _

"_Naruto, you don't have to pretend to be happy. Shikamaru told me how you felt…after killing that man." Naruto immediately frowned. _

"_Look, I certainly don't expect you to have become anything like Zabusa and enjoy killing…and believe me, you better not! But you shouldn't feel so sad either. He was going to kill one of your comrades, and you simply did what you had to." _

_Naruto looked up at her and said "I know! I believed I resolved to kill others in order to become a ninja. But after I actually took the life of someone…I sometimes wonder if there was another way, and if I didn't see it…" Sakura placed her hand on Naruto's. _

"_Naruto, you're a good person. Believe me, I want you to try to spare your enemies lives whenever possible. But please…if you don't have any other choice, don't beat yourself up about it." Naruto didn't stir. Sakura sighed "I've killed someone too." _

_Naruto looked up. "It wasn't pretty at all. In fact…I decapitated him. I was on a mission with Ino, and we were ambushed. We fought, and then it happened." Sakura paused for a minute. "I later found out that he had a wife, who was expecting a child that same week." Naruto stood up. "Sakura…" Sakura was now crying herself. "I really wish I could have taken that back. We were at war, and he was simply following orders. The man you killed was a missing nin from an allied village…" _

_Naruto suddenly embraced Sakura in a hug. "You should have told me before." He reminded himself how no matter how much he may have succeeded in protecting Sakura from any physical harm, he could never always be there to protect her from the more unexpected, psychological traumas. "Sakura-chan, please don't hold any of these things in. I'm here for you. I'm always here for you." Sakura hugged him back. "The same goes for me."_

* * *

"That was more than a year ago…" Sakura thought to herself. Naruto really had matured over the years, and yet his personality had not changed much from that of a child. Sakura didn't like to admit it, but Naruto was quite…cute. Now that she thought about it , he always had been, though not as much as Sasuke(at the time). "Argh, get these thoughts out of your head, Sakura!" she scolded herself.

As Naruto helped her down, they both heard a clapping noise. Tsunade came into view, and smiled. "Congratulations Naruto. You passed. If you didn't, I probably would've killed you right here."

Naruto just gawked "Why the hell would you do that!?" Tsunade just smirked. "Because, I bet my life-savings on you passing." Naruto just narrowed his eyes and said "Just how much was your life-savings!?" Tsunade instantly frowned. "About ten yen." Naruto and Sakura just face-faulted and fell over. "What were the odds!?" They both shouted. "2 to 1." Naruto shouted "I'm worth killing over that little money!? Ba-chan, if you would just stop gambling, you'd have plenty of money!" Tsunade just waved her hand "It doesn't matter. What does, is that you are officially a jonin of the leaf!" Naruto, of course, raised his hands and shouted "YESSSS!" Sakura rolled her eyes. "He's a man now, yet he still acts like a child…he's kind of cute when he does that though…" Sakura mentally slapped herself again. Kakashi finally got up, removing his face-plate mask, and of course keeping on his trademark one, and said "Well, since both of my students are officially jonin, perhaps we should head back to Konoha and celebrate."

* * *

It sure was a party! Naruto had only just turned 18, and had never been in a bar before! Needless to say, he never got drunk before either. Whether he just had a ridiculously high tolerance or the kyubii inside of him cleansed him, he couldn't tell, but Naruto felt nowhere near drunk. Kakashi seemed to be okay, but then again, he didn't even see him drink anything. Suddenly, Naruto was startled by none other than Gai Maito and Rock Lee. They were both still wearing the ridiculous green jumpsuits, but at least Lee had some spikes in his hair to help differentiate between the 2.

"Well done!" Gai shouted. "The fire of youth within you is now STRONGER THAN EVER!!" "That's…" Lee couldn't finish, obviously wasted, and fell over onto the table Naruto happened to be drinking on.

"Hehe…It's good to know most everything is the same…albeit a few changes." Lee used to go into his drunken fist every time he got drunk, but thankfully that only happens in the middle of an actual battle now.

"Kakashi-sensei, where's Sai?" Naruto asked. Kakashi looked up from his book and said "He's on a mission. I'm surprised you even want to be near him on this special occasion." Naruto chuckled "He's getting better. He acknowledges I actually have a…well…you know, and he's calling Sakura a mediocre weed as opposed to…"

Suddenly a hand slammed on the table, shattering it. Naruto turned around and saw a very pissed off Sakura. "What did you call me!!"

Naruto waved his hands frantically. "I was just talking about what Sai thinks of you, you know I don't share his opinion!" Sakura just huffed. "He has come a long way, but he's still not a very fun guy to talk to." Naruto frowned for a minute, but then smiled. "Well, now that I'm a jonin, I think the odds of us getting Sasuke back have skyrocketed!"

Naruto noticed that this seem to strike Sakura into stupor, but not the way he expected. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

Sakura looked at him and said "Naruto, I've been thinking about something for a while now. Something I've been meaning to tell you." Naruto looked dumb-founded. "What is it?" Sakura said "I don't want you to go after Sasuke anymore. It took me too long to accept, but the fact is he left of his own free will, and he really is a bad guy now. Not only will going after him do no good…" Sakura placed her hand on Naruto's, like they did so many times when they sought comfort in one another. "…I'm worried that I'll loose you too. Thank you so much for being this dedicated to that promise you made to me…" a single tear dropped as Sakura embraced Naruto. "But I should have never made you keep it. I was just a selfish girl back then who thought she knew what love was. When I saw you in the hospital, and learned how badly you were hurt, I realized two things…I never knew Sasuke at all. I never could have imagined he would nearly kill his own teammate for power. But he did. Also…" Sakura hiccupped for a minute. "It made me realize how important you are to me. Please, promise me instead that you won't do something foolish and get yourself killed. I don't want to loose another friend…"

Naruto hugged back, and said "I cared about him too, you know. I will still try. But I promise you, succeed or fail, I'll always come back." Sakura nodded, satisfied but still with much worry on her face. Suddenly, she looked startled. "Oh my gosh! I forgot to give you your present!"

Naruto blinked. "Present?"

"Yes, you idiot! To congratulate you for passing!"

Naruto chuckled "While I'm glad you thought of me, just how did you know I would pass?"

Sakura laughed as well. "You didn't think you would?"

"Well, there is no guarantee. Is it just me, or are you developing Ba-chan's gambling habits?"

Sakura smiled and stood. "I'll stop by your place and give it to you there, if I can. If not, tomorrow. I'll see you later." With that, she just left. Naruto frowned, wishing she would stay.

"You know, you could just tell her to wait." Kakashi said, briefly looking up from his book. Naruto rubbed his head. "Well, giving it to me means so much to her apparently." Naruto got up. "Where are you going?" Kakashi asked "I'm going home. It'll be better if Sakura gives me my present there."

Kakashi replied "She might not be able to make it tonight." Naruto simply said "Hey, better to be prepared. Besides, I need a shower." Naruto was about to walk away, but he turned and said "Oh, and Kakashi-sensei?" "Yeah?" "Thank you…for everything you've taught me."

* * *

Sakura was searching frantically through her room. "I can't believe myself! How could have I forgotten it!?" Sakura decided to calm down, and take a deep breath. "Okay, I picked it up, and then I went to bed, and to make sure no one would steal it…" Sakura then remembered! Under her bed! Quickly she looked, and there it was! She quickly scooped it up, and checked the time. "He's probably gone home right now! I have to get this to him, and fast!" Sakura sprinted out the door towards Naruto's apartment.

* * *

Naruto glanced at the photo of team 7 before entering his shower. He looked at Sakura in the middle, Sasuke to her right, and he to the left, scowling over Sakura's giddiness when she was with Sasuke. "Those were the days back then…" Naruto's thoughts lingered to Sakura once more. "Do you not love him anymore? Maybe…" Naruto cut himself off. "No, No! I would just be taking advantage of her! I vowed to let her love whoever she wished, no matter what…" Naruto sighed sadly. "Although I really wish she would have chose me." Naruto undressed and stepped in. The water felt good after all of that work. Just as he was finishing up, he heard a knock on the door.

"Naruto?" Naruto realized that was in fact Sakura's voice. "Sakura-chan?"

The knocking continued. "Come on Naruto! I know you're not in bed!"

Naruto hastily fastened on his robe.

"Coming! Coming!" He ran to the door, not realizing that his robe flew wide open! Naruto opened the door and smiled like normal.

"Hey Sakura-chan! What's…" Naruto then noticed that Sakura's eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

"Um, Sakura chan, what's wrong?"

That was then that Naruto noticed her eyes were staring down. He looked down to see what she was looking at. That was when they both freaked and screamed.

"Sakura-chan! So sorry about-"

Unfortunately, he never got a chance to finish, as Sakura's fist sent him clear to the other side of the apartment. Naruto got up, and saw Sakura was gone. "Fine way to start the evening."

However, there was a package for him right where she was. Naruto made sure his robe would stay on, and picked it up. He un-wrapped it, and was surprised at what he saw. They were pictures. One was of the two of them when they were 12. Sakura had her hair cut, leaning against a fence and looking bored. Naruto was across from her, seeming nervous. "That must have been when Ero-senin told me to hug Sakura. But he was the only one watching…" Naruto then noticed there was a note on the picture. "This was taken by Konohamaru. Turns out he was spying on us that day." Naruto chuckled. "You little devil."

Then he picked up the next photo. It was when he came back from training. It was much like the picture in his room, except instead of Sasuke, there was Sai. He and Sakura shared a one-armed hug, while Sai looked as emotionless as ever. Naruto remembered that Sai asked what the point of it all was, and how they desperately tried to explain the points to those points. "I never thought it would be possible to have someone more irritating than Sasuke. Though, if he had joined the team instead of Sasuke…actually, it probably wouldn't have made a difference."

Naruto picked up the next photo, the one where he became a chunin the year after. In this one, Sakura embraced him in a hug from behind. "She told me she was so proud of me that year…"

The next photo was taken when Sakura herself became a jonin for ANBU. That time Naruto returned the hug. She was apprehensive at first, but she relinquished. She also warned him not to move his hands up. Unlike most jonin, she was not assigned a genin team. Her duties at the hospital were too valuable, and her being the Hokage's apprentice factored in as well. Naruto had to admit, he was a bit jealous at the time, but he got over that quickly. He was still very proud of her, after all. So, what'd she think of him now? He wasn't ANBU, but he didn't expect to be, nor did he want to be immediately. Then he thought back to the incident a couple of minutes ago.

"Aw, crap. I don't think I'll even be able to get near her for a week. No, maybe not even a year. Now I can't thank her for this."

Naruto decided to head to bed, when a thought came to his mind.

"What if…she actually liked what she saw?" Naruto quickly disregarded it. "Impossible. You saw the way she reacted. But then again, she never seems to be sure about what she wants…also, she a medic-nin. She's probably seen thousands of those things, I bet by now it'll take a really…nice one, to pique her interest."

* * *

I didn't like it, I didn't like it, I didn't…" Sakura futily smacked her big forehead. "For the love of God, you've seen those plenty of times in the hospital…when they were covered in blood by a stomach wound… and from old men…and in text books."

Sakura headed to the bathroom sink to wash herself. "Okay, calm down. Besides, I'm sure there are other people who have one that's…" Sakura just slammed her fists on the sink. "Who am I kidding. I didn't think that size was even possible!"

Sakura covered her mouth, as she realized her parents were in bed. She learned only recently how much her parents hated Naruto. Both of their families were killed by Kyuubi. She learned just how much of a grudge they held one day when she mentioned she was going out to meet with Naruto. They were furious, pointing out that now that she was a jonin, she had no need to. When she still stated that he was still her friend, they vented their frustrations. She never told them again when she was seeing him, or ever for that matter. When she heard that Naruto had the Kyuubi inside of him, at first, she didn't know what to think. But when she remembered what he was like, she started to…admire him. And feel terrible for treating him like the others. She remembered that Garaa was a jinchikuri, and how he was. She was amazed that Naruto never let his own hardships get the better of him. He was always smiling, but it was his way of hiding his pain. With the Akatsuki around, she promised that she would protect him. He deserved so much more.

"I hope he doesn't feel too bad about what happened. He probably feels so embarrassed."

* * *

Not a whole lot here, just setting things up. As you can see, I rated this M for a reason. There will probably be more sex jokes sometime in the future, but no full-lemon. As for Naruto's….you know….I'm also not going into detail about how big it is. Think of it as big as you'd like (but it's really not that important to the story). Next chapter will be up, and while it won't decrease the rating, it will be tamer.

Kei Uchiwa: Strong Fan


	2. Being a Teacher

Naruto headed straight for the Hokage's office, hoping that there would be no gossip of the incident last night…especially if what Sakura saw did not meet her expectations. Naruto's outfit was similar to a couple of years back, but this time he wore all black. He also had his new jonin vest on. Finally, Naruto reached Tsunade's office, and of course, yelled "Ba-chan!" without knocking.

Tsunade proceeded to throw a chair Naruto's direction, who ducked in the nick of time.

"Come on, you are an old woman! Besides, you're like the grandmother I never had!" Naruto shouted. Next came the desk, and this Naruto couldn't avoid. Naruto pushed the desk off of him, and coughed up a bit of blood as he held his ribs. "Man, just because you're a healer, and because I heal fast, doesn't give you the right to hurt people like this."

Tsunade simply said "I promoted you, and you still haven't learned any manners. Great, now I owe Jiraya even more money."

Naruto had to stifle a laugh. "So, what is it you wanted to see me about?"

Tsunade organized her papers and said. "You're being assigned a genin team. I trust you'll go through the standard procedures."

Naruto smiled. "Yes, but they'll get the Uzumaki customization."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you're team will be comprised of genin who just barely passed their graduation examination. I thought you would be the perfect teacher for them, considering where you started."

Naruto nodded. "Understood. And you want me to be the one to instruct them so that they can be great ninja."

Tsunade didn't answer, but instead give him a piece of paper. "Don't be late like your sensei."

* * *

Naruto headed to the academy the next day. As Naruto looked for his door, he ran into Iruka on the way. "Naruto! Congratulations! I'm so proud of you!" Iruka embraced Naruto into a hug. "I can't believe you're a jonin now!"

Naurto scratched his head. "How come you haven't become a jonin, Iruka-sensei? You may not be the best, but if you work hard you can do it."

Iruka smiled "Thanks, Naruto, but I'm actually very happy where I am right now. When I was orphaned, I made up my mind a long time ago to help kids, whether they were orphans or not. I feel that my place is here."

Naruto understood. He wanted to become Hokage not only to prove everyone wrong about him, but also to make sure no one would have to grow up the same way he did. Iruka was doing something different with the same goal in mind. "I've got to go Iruka-sense! By the way, can you tell me about these three?"

Iruka put his hand on his forehead as he read the slip. "Oh, these three. Yeah, they're pretty difficult to work with. But believe me, they can get it right when they try."

Naruto nodded. "That's what I heard. Well, I'll whip them into shape!" Naruto waved goodbye, and headed off to his room.

Naruto walked in the door, imagining just seeing a bored team of genin. Naruto opened the door and said "Hel-"

Just then, a bucket of ice water fell down on his head. One of the three kids in the room laughed. "See, I told you he would fall for it!" he said. The girl and the other boy just stared.

"This is our instructor?" they both asked.

Naruto got over the shock of the cold water and said "Believe it or not, my instructor got nailed by an eraser I placed on the door, and he is one of the greatest ninjas to have ever lived."

The other boy said "Great, this whole village is screwed."

* * *

Naruto took them to the same place where his original team first met. "Okay, we'll just introduce ourselves and get to know each other." Naruto pointed to himself. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I enjoy training, ramen…and believe it or not, I'm quite a prankster myself. I'll get you back for that trick." Naruto pointed to the person who came up with the idea. "Things I don't like: People who are chronically late, and guys with a lot of talent but a bad personality. As for my dream, I'm hoping to be Hokage." The three kids just looked at their sensei incredulously. "I get that look all the time. But enough about me. You go next." He pointed at the other prankster.

His hair was brown, long, and a mess. It put Naruto's hair to shame during his younger years. He also wore thick glasses, a green shirt and blue jeans. "My name is Yuji Miyamoto. I like pulling pranks and sleeping. I wouldn't say hate her, but I dislike my mom; she always gets in the way of my goal, which is to become a great ninja like my dad."

Naruto thought "Well, I hope this'll patch things up between them."

Naruto nodded to the girl. She had blood red hair done in a ponytail, gold eyes, a pink tank top with a fishnet shirt underneath, and red sweats. "My name Iori Myojin. I like Takeda-kun and hope to be his wife" she said as she blushed. "She's a lot like Sakura when she was younger. I hope this isn't the same messy triangle I had when I was that age."

Naruto asked "Anything you dislike?"

Iori immediately scowled "Yuji."

Yuji just face faulted. "Why me?" he thought.

Naruto just had to sweat drop "Wow, I know where this is going." Naruto pointed to the other kid "And you?"

This kid had ridiculously spiky black hair, wore sunglasses, had a small black leather jacket that was opened up, showing a white T-shirt, and had light-brown khaki shorts. "I'm Shiguri Naka. Don't bother asking me all of these things, you're just wasting your time." Naruto noted that his attitude was like that of Sasuke, but at least this wasn't the boy Iori had a crush on.

"No, I can't interfere with matters like this. This is their life." Naruto got up. "Okay, that's all for today. Meet me here at this training ground at dawn. And don't eat breakfast."

The 3 genin complained, and Naruto just said "If you want, I can drop all 3 of you from the program." The 3 just hushed. "See you tomorrow." Naruto waved.

* * *

Naruto finished his ramen at Ichikuru, and headed to the hospital. "I can't let that incident keep me from seeing Sakura." Then, Naruto had another thought. "What if-" Naruto imagined Sakura giggling with her co-workers, making fun of his inadequacy, if that was what Sakura surely thought. Then, there was another situation: The one where she liked what she saw, shared the details with everyone, and have all the girls in the hospital swarm all over him. Quite frankly, both situations scared him. "Well, I'll find out soon enough."

Naruto walked in and headed straight for the secretary's desk.

"May I help you?" she asked.

Naruto just said "Um, yeah…is Sakura Haruno here?"

The secretary said "Yes, but she's not available right now. May I leave a message for her?"

"Just tell her Naruto stopped by to say thank you…and sorry."

Naruto then exited, a bit bummed and relived at the same time. Little did he know, Sakura was just down the corner, and heard the whole thing. Sakura was relieved that Naruto wasn't feeling any ill-will towards her. She ran towards him, screaming his name. Naruto turned around, surprised but happy as always

"Sakura-chan! They told me you were busy!"

Sakura shook her head "I just got off. Anyway, I'm glad you like the photos. And…I'm sorry…for hitting you."

Naruto simply patted her shoulder, like always. "Don't worry about it. Just stop putting so much weight on your shoulders, even if you are strong enough to carry such burdens."

Sakura, who was downcast, looked up to him "Thanks. Wanna get something to eat?"

Naruto simply scratched his head "Well, I already had ramen, but I'm willing to go anywhere."

Sakura had a vein in her head pop. "Damn, he wants ramen before he sees me?"

Naruto could tell Sakura was mad, and though he had to admit he had little tact when it came to girls, he figured out why Sakura was mad.

He waved his hands and said "I was so nervous about seeing you since that night, and I didn't think you'd want to go out with me tonight apology accepted or not."

Sakura calmed down, but only a little. "Still, what are we going to do? You've already eaten!"

Naruto said, "Well, I guess we could get a snack. My treat."

* * *

Naruto and Sakura walked from the ice cream parlor, Naruto having chocolate, and Sakura had strawberry.

"So, tell me Naruto, what's this new team of yours like?" Sakura asked.

Naruto replied "Well, there's Yuji. He' a bit of a nerdy kid. He likes pranks, as I learned the hard way."

Sakura smiled "Eraser on the door?"

"Ice water."

Sakura shuddered at the thought. "That must've sucked."

Naruto continued "He also doesn't seem to get along with his mom, but he says his Dad was a great ninja."

Sakura then spoke "You know, the name Yuji sounds familiar. I'll look into it later. Tell me about the rest."

Naruto continued. "The girl on my team is Iori. She's actually a lot like you when you were younger."

Sakura turned and asked "How so?" Naruto continued "She has a major crush on some boy. Yuji seems to like her, but she wants nothing to do with him."

"She's into the other boy?"

"No, she's interested in some other person. I don't know who though. Anyway, then there's Shiguri. All I can say is he's got an attitude."

Sakura grabbed Naruto's arm, which surprised him. "I'm sure you'll be a great teacher. Also, regarding the love life of the former 2: Let them decide for themselves. I understand you may sympathize with Yuji, but Iori will have to decide for herself in the end."

Naruto nodded "Of course. Even I know that!" Naruto thought to himself "How else did we end up this way?"

Sakura noticed Naruto's sad look. She tried to think of something to say, but she couldn't. She knew Naruto always had a crush on her when they were younger, but she broke his heart in the end. "Does he still like me? Is he still hurting?" Sakura gave up, figuring it was best to split up now. "Thanks for the ice cream, Naruto. I've got to get going. See you later." Naruto and Sakura waved their goodbyes each, and parted ways.

* * *

Naruto decided to report to Tsunade, when he heard someone screaming inside. Not one of those life or death screams, but angry ones. Naruto decided to at least eavesdrop to make sure everything was okay.

A voice that was not Tsunade's yelled "I will not allow my only child to be taken under the wing of the Kyuubi!"

An angry Tsunade replied "You will not refer to Naruto like that in my presence!"

"What kind of hokage would even allow someone like him to become a ninja?"

Naruto gave a pained sigh. Sure, he gained the respect of many people, but he still had a long way to go. Naruto knew that this would probably make the tension worse, but felt it was time he made some sort of stand. Naruto walked in, much quieter than usual. Tsunade and the unknown woman then shut up. Naruto looked at the guest. She had curly hair, classes, and was very petite. She also appeared middle-aged.

"I'm guessing you are Yuji's mother." The woman gave no reply, but Tsunade nodded, confirming his question. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, you're son's instructor. I understand you're nervous about my son being near me, but you must understand that I am not the Kyuubi itself. Only its container. I promise you I will protect your son with my life." The woman only stared back at him coldly, and left. Naruto gave his sad grin. "Sorry Ba-chan. But I felt I had to do that."

Tsunade ignored the Ba-chan and said "I understand. Don't worry, it's what you should be doing with everyone. Don't give up Naruto."

Naruto nodded. "Well, I'll be giving them the bell test tomorrow. I hope they're not as hopeless as I was back then. Can you tell me their skills?"

Tsunade looked at her folder. "Miyamoto has below average taijutsu, average genjutsu and ninjutsu, but he is supposedly skilled with wires. Myojin has excellent taijutsu, terrible genjutsu, average ninjutsu, and she has an enormous amount of charka on top of that. Naka is actually very good at everything, but he gets in fights with the teachers and won't do what he's told."

Naruto remembered something from a month ago. He remembered Iruka coming back home with a black eye. He asked what happened, but Iruka told him not to worry about it. "Thanks. I think I'll head home for now."

* * *

Naruto headed to his apartment, thinking he would just go to bed early. Then, something caught his eye. It was a young girl with red hair. "Wait, is that Iori?" Naruto thought to himself. "Iori!"

The girl turned around and gulped "N-Naruto-sensei! What are you doing here?"

Naruto replied "I was going to ask you the same. But to answer your question, I live here."

Iori was a bit shocked to say the least. She said "Um, I actually just moved in here."

Naruto blinked. "Why would your family move into a crummy complex like this?"

Iori said "Actually…I don't have a family. I'm an orphan."

Naruto frowned. "We're both orphans, and we both live here." Naruto asked "What happened to your family?" Iori looked away. "I never knew my mother, and my father was killed a couple of years back. I was in the orphanage since I came here, and it got overcrowded, so I've been forced to move here."

Naruto said "I never knew my parents. I lived here my whole life."

Iori asked "Why don't you move out? You're a ninja, you should be paid more than enough for a nicer place than this!"

Naruto didn't know what to say. Due to the Kyuubi inside of him, no other place would accept him. "It's complicated. Listen, it's late, so you better get some rest for tomorrow."

Iori nodded and headed to her room. As she went to bed, she thought to herself "He's just like me. Maybe being with this team won't be so bad after all."

* * *

The next day, Naruto headed to the training grounds where he and his friends took the bell test. In all honesty, Naruto was a bit nervous. He really did not want to fail them, like Kakashi nearly did him and Sakura, but at the same time, he knew just how crucial this would be. Naruto took a different route from before, making sure he would not run into Iori. It just seemed awkward after finding out that one of his students was living in his apartment complex. Finally, he found all 3 of them, terribly drowsy.

"Alright. Here's your real test. What we did in the academy was to determine if you had the potential to become shinobi. Now, I have to determine if you are ready." Naruto took out an alarm clock, boxed lunches, and 2 bells. "The objective here is for you to take these bells from me. If you fail, you will be tied to the stump and I'll eat your lunches in front of you. Not only that, but I will either send you back to the academy or drop you from the program entirely." The 3 looked absolutely horrified. "Also, your only chance of any of you succeeding is to attack with the intent to kill."

Yuji raised his hand. "Um, sensei, what happens if we will kill you?"

Naruto said "That won't happen. If it does, then it means I'm not fit to be a ninja." Naruto went to set the alarm clock. "All right, let's begin!" The three genin than vanished from view.

* * *

Naruto looked around. At first, nothing was making a sound. "So far, so good." He thought to himself. Just then a loud shriek came towards him. Iori charged with many kicks and a kunai in hand, none of which of course connected with Naruto.

"Not bad, but you should have known you have no hope to defeat me like that."

Iori ignored his comment, and charged again only to be restrained from behind. A shadow clone of her sensei had grabbed her from behind, and she had no way of escaping. Suddenly, more clones appeared.

"All right! Time for the Uzumaki Barrage!"

The other clones came from underneath and kicked her up into the air, where the real Naruto was ready for her, delivering an axe kick down on her head.

* * *

Up in the trees, Yuji and Shiguri watched the scene unfold. "Damn, he is good." Shiguri noted. Yuji said "If we're going to be ninja, we'll have to win. But we can't do it by conventional methods. We need a plan."

Shiguri said "I'm all ears, but we'll have to leave Iori out of this. She had no intention of cooperating with us in the first place."

Yuji said "She might reconsider…"

"She hates your guts Yuji. I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen. All you've got is me."

* * *

Naruto continued taunting Iori, eventually hanging her upside down on a tree with a trap.

"She's just like me and Sakura when were younger. Either the two of us are related, or I did something that I'm pretty sure was taboo with her the last time I checked."

Iori just continued to scream, when suddenly, a giant shuriken came right at her teacher. Naruto blocked the shuriken with a kunai, being careful not to deflect it towards Iori. Suddenly, two hands shot up from the earth, and grabbed him. Shiguri's head came straight through the ground, smirking

"Gottcha sensei!"

However, soon Shiguri's face became like a fish's, as his instructor poofed and revealed a log.

"Shit! Yuji! Go to plan B!" Shiguri disappeared back into the earth before a large toad landed right where he was.

Yuji nodded, and leapt from the trees, trying to find a new place to hide. Naruto, of course, could see everything.

"Not bad. They're actually getting the point of this exercise."

Naruto followed Yuji, intending to trick him into a confrontation. Yuji, however, noticed he was being followed. He threw a kunai behind him, which of course, Naruto dodged. Yuji threw more, only getting the same results. Yuji tried from different angles, but nothing he did mattered. Naruto decided it was time to stop toying around with him.

"Okay, this is getting boring. If I were serious, I'd have taken you out a long time ago." Naruto tried to point at Yuji, but his arm was bound. Naruto looked down and noticed two wires holding him down. Naruto, shocked, looked around some more, and realized wires were all around him. Naruto then remembered what Tsunade had told him. "I should have paid more attention to the trip wires thing."

Yuji ran to the other side and pulled a wire, hoisting Naruto up like a puppet. "Now Shiguri!"

Shiguri preformed a very mild fireball jutsu. Not nearly as strong as Sasuke's, but it didn't matter as Naruto found out, because it turned out the wires were flammable. Naruto quickly made hand seals, thankful that the wires weren't tight enough to prevent him from doing so. Before the flames reached him, a fleshy sack surrounded him. Shiguri and Yuji just stared wide-eyed. They knew their strategy was ruined.

Shiguri said "We've got to retreat and come up with a new plan. How much time do we have left?"

Yuji checked his watch. "Five minutes!"

Shiguri said "Alright, forget the new plan. Our only hope is to charge in like maniacs and break that thing wide open!" Just as Shiguri finished that sentence, both he and Yuji were pulled underground until only their heads remained. Naruto emerged with his goofy smile.

"Sorry, but we might as well just say that time is up."

* * *

Iori was tied to the stump, and her two teammates sat down, pretty bummed as well. Then, 2 bentos were handed out to Yuji and Shiguri.

"B-But we failed!" Yuji said.

Shiguri elbowed his friend and whispered "Shut up! I'm fucking hungry!" Shiguri ate his lunch like a pig, Yuji did the same initially, but hesitated when he saw Iori looking hungry.

"Have some." Yuji said as he handed his bento to Iori.

"No thanks. I don't need your pity."

Yuji scowled. "Fine then. Shiguri and I would've offered to help you, but you wanted nothing to do with us, so we left you to look like a fool. I would've gladly taken the opportunity to give up my lunch, since my mom cooked me breakfast regardless of what sensei ordered."

Naruto needed to remind himself to have a talk with Yuji's overprotective mother. Naruto coughed and said "Well, I must say that I have mixed reactions. Yuji and Shiguri, you understood the point of this exercise well. The two of you make a great team. However, this is a three man team, and you should have done everything in your power to convince Iori to join you."

He looked at Iori. "And you. You should be glad to have 2 people to help you. Just because you don't like one of them is no excuse for you to act out on your own, when you should've known you would never stand a chance against me. Teamwork is absolutely essential to being a ninja. This is no game. The best way to survive any type of battle is to rely on each other." The 3 genin looked at each other, both reluctant to work with the girl and vice versa. Naruto said "We're going to do this again, now that I feel you learned your lesson. This time I want all three of you to work together, or I'm sending you all back. Just take this one bell from me." As he walked away, he also said "Oh, and you have 15 minutes." Needless to say, Yuji and Shiguri untied their teammate in a hurry.

* * *

As Naruto ran, he was forced to dodge numerous shuriken coming straight at him. Nothing he couldn't handle. "Come on, where is that teamwork I'm talking about?" A kunai attached with a wire came straight at him, which he side-stepped of course. "I'm not falling for that again!" He hopped to a tree, which than seemed to fall. Naruto only caught a glimpse of what was happening, but he could clearly see the ground was crumbling beneath him. Quickly, he hopped to the other tree, only to meet with the same results. "Shiguri must specialize in earth jutsu." Naruto thought to himself. Just then, Iori appeared right in front of him, going for another kick. "Not again" Naruto inwardly groaned. He backed up, but at the last second, sensed Yuji charge from behind with a kunai in hand. Naruto flipped at the last second, getting a tear in his vest. As he landed, he inspected it quickly. "This is embarrassing." He thought. He retreated again, reflecting on his students' strategy. "Yuji was at an angle when he attacked, meaning he couldn't have come directly from behind me. That must've been Shiguri who threw that kunai, allowing me to think I was safe from Yuji. Not bad." Naruto came to a halt again, allowing the genin to catch up. All 3 jumped at him from angles. Naruto was disappointed by this tactic, but wouldn't go easy on them just because of that. He spun his arm around and hit them, but they all turned out to be bushin. Before Naruto could curse, a pair of hands grabbed him from underneath the branch, and brought him down. As he fell, Naruto could see Iori hanging upside down with her feet between the branches waving "bye-bye". He landed on a branch feet first, but a cord held by Yuji grabbed him behind his neck.

"Now, Shiguri!"

Shiguri came rushing forward, his hand reaching towards the bell. However, it didn't happen; Naruto pulled a substitution jutsu and Shiguri simply scratched a log.

"Shit!" Shiguri cursed, holding his bloody fingernails.

"You should worry more about the bell than your nails. I thought that was more of a girl's thing." Naruto taunted. The genin continued their assault. They tried many interesting combinations, all to no avail. Just was about to run out, Yuji threw a smoke bomb, blinding Naruto. Yuji made his way to Naruto, but he slipped on the branch, plummeting 30 feet.

"Yuji!" everyone shouted.

As Yuji fell, Iori made a dive for him. As she grabbed hold of him, she yelled "Hang on!" and drove her kunai into the bark. The landing was still rough, but it was better than a broken neck. Iori still wasn't happy nonetheless. Her arm was dislocated.

"You better be happy, because as soon as this is set into place, I'm going to kick your ass."

Yuji could only gulp, and mumble "Thanks".

Shiguri and Naruto came down to make sure everything was alright. Naruto, despite the situation, could only smile. "Congratulations! You all pass!"

All three looked at him stunned. Shiguri said "But we ran out of time."

Naruto chuckled "I thought I just told you, the purpose of this exercise was not getting the bell, but evaluating your teamwork. What's more important than getting the bell is that you function as a team, which means caring about one another." Iori was about to say something, but Naruto interrupted. "Those who break the rules and forget the objectives are trash. However, those who abandon their friends and comrades are even lower."

Iori screamed "Comrade? He's only been bringing me down!"

Naruto was a bit disappointed, but simply replied "Your actions prove otherwise. Now that I'm satisfied that everyone is up to par, let's get you some help."

* * *

Naruto managed to set the bone, but just to be safe, he took Iori and the team to the hospital. And no other than a pink-haired medic-nin was the one checking up on her.

"Most everything seems to be okay. I'd recommend giving her arm a rest for a little bit though." Sakura stated as she finished her examination.

"If it wasn't for that idiot over there, we wouldn't even have to be here!" Iori pointed angrily at Yuji.

Sakura looked a little bit irritated. "Well, you could always simply train with him and help him improve." She said.

Iori huffed "Why would I want to waste time with a looser like him!"

Sakura had to twitch "My god, was I like this when I was younger? I really deserved a spanking back then."

Naruto did not want to interfere with how his students interacted, but decided that this would be for the best. "Keep in mind Iori, Yuji formed a strong team with Shiguri, and it was you who got tied to the stump."

Iori blushed a bit. Sakura, on the other hand, was struggling to keep herself from laughing. "What's so funny?" Iori demanded.

Sakura stopped laughing. "I-I'm sorry, I guess there's a first for everything."

Iori just went "Huh?"

Sakura said "You're the first kunoichi to be tied to the stump after the bell test." Iori face faulted.

Naruto didn't want to embarrass her further, but felt this was the only way to get it through her head. "You wouldn't have that label placed on you if you simply worked with your teammates in the first place. By the way, Sakura-chan, how'd you figure this out?"

Sakura said "Back when Tsunade-shisho was training me, I found some records about various teams taking the bell tests. I read them and out of all the failures, not one of them was a girl."

Naruto said "That must've been a lot of reading."

Sakura smirked "What can I say? I'm a fast reader." Iori looked sad. Sakura decided the teasing should stop.

"Hey, don't worry. Naruto got tied to the stump during his bell test too. And look at him now. Besides, since you passed, I'm sure your parents will still be proud of you."

Iori had it. She pushed Sakura out of the way and ran. Normally, Sakura would have been furious, but she seemed to have hurt Iori somehow.

"Naruto, what did I say?"

Naruto gave her a downcast look and said "She's an orphan, Sakura-chan."

Sakura covered her mouth. Sakura had become really sensitive about orphans ever since she learned about Naruto. She remembered how callously she treated him back then, and how she realized now just how much pain the absence of parents could cause.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know…" Sakura's eyes began to water. Naruto tenderly cupped her cheek. "Please don't cry, Sakura-chan. You did nothing wrong."

* * *

Again, pretty slow, but you got to meet my OC's. There have been a few fics with Naruto having a genin team with various degrees of success. But it irritates me when he gets a team that are freakn' geniuses! I felt a trio of misfits would be much more interesting! For Yuji's and Shiguri's names, I stole them from the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario Brothers, and switched their surnames. Design wise, Yuji is somewhat a resemblance of me. Kind of embarrassing to make a character based on yourself, I know, but I would be a much more hopeless ninja than Naruto started out, so I thought it would be fitting. His mom also fits the description of my mom too. Needless to say, we really don't get along all that well. Iori is based on no one, character or design, in particular. Same goes for Shiguri. However, he is to some extent based on my friends. If you saw me with my 2 best friends, you would not believe what you're looking at; one of them is black, the other is Hispanic, and they fit the definition of 'cool' very well. Me, I'm a nerdy white boy. Strange, isn't it? Now we'll start to get rolling with the first official arc!


	3. The First C Ranked Mission

Hey! I normally don't update so soon, regardless of how much progress I make, but I got so many reviews in a single day, so I decided to update. Don't expect such sudden updates regularly though; I'm very busy with school, I'll be in areas that don't have internet, and then there's the time it takes to edit this to story format, spell-check (the one on the computer isn't good enough), and try to make everything consistent with previous chapters. That and I'm also trying to finish my InuYasha fic; not the best piece of work around, but I think it's a fun read. I have much the same problems with that one as I do with this. Anyway, things are really going to get rolling now!

Maxslayer10: Sakura and Iori won't have much interaction (at least, I'm not planning on any yet) but Iori will become nicer as time goes on.

Draag: Could you be a bit more specific? In my mind, I'm trying to build up everything as much as possible, but at the same time, I want to get right to the point. Let me know about a specific scene, it will give me a better idea of how to improve my writing.

ANDREA1114: Yeah, thought I'd make things a bit different with this team.

Krymsom: You have no idea what I have in store for them. But don't worry, it will work out in the end.

Shintenshin no Jutsu: Glad you think so. Giving Naruto a team that already has talent just seems out of character for me, and I thought it be best to have one former misfit improve three others.

Dbzgtfan2004: I made that comment in sarcasm; I'd never make a story about a pairing I didn't like or did not appear to be cannon if you paid me. I'm just saying that so many fans seem to hate NaruSaku for the oddest reasons, and just twist their character development. That, and so many people seem unhappy with cannon pairings. I'll have a rant about it at the end of one of my later chapters.

* * *

Naruto ate his ramen patiently, waiting for his team to arrive. Finally, a very scratched up Iori, Yuji and Shiguri, who looked okay, came into view. Naruto said "Hehe. I didn't like pet retrieval missions myself very much." Just then Iori dropped the cat, which ran off again. Naruto looked pissed "I can't believe this!!" he said as he ran after the cat. This wasn't the first time he had to pick up after his team.

* * *

Naruto and the team showed up an hour late to the Hokage's office, much to Tsunade's disapproval. "Sorry, ba-chan. They still need to work on a few things." The next thing they knew, Tsunade's tea cup was broken. No surprise, really, since it was thrown at Naruto's head.

"If your students call me that…"

That was the farthest thing from the team's minds. They were scared shitless when Naruto called her that.

"Anyway, I think you found a C-ranked mission for my team?"

Tsunade replied "Yes, but it won't be for another few days. Since this is a C ranked mission, I want you to in the meantime, prepare your team."

Naruto replied "Of course."

* * *

Naruto took them to the training grounds later that day. "Okay, we're going to learn how to climb trees."

Shiguri said "Um, I think we fought you in the treetops, if I recall correctly."

Naruto said "Yes, but you need to climb them without using your hands." The team looked confused. "Watch me." Naruto walked straight up a tree, just like he said, without using his hands. Everyone except Yuji was amazed.

"H-How!?" Iori exclaimed.

Naruto said "You need to channel charka through your feet. This technique is handy for espionage missions, and because it is especially difficult to harness charka through your feet, this should allow you to perform all other jutsus no problem. The amount of chakra you need is small, but it has to be exact." Just then Naruto heard something. He looked to his side and looked shocked: Yuji was doing exactly what he told him to do, without any trouble whatsoever. Naruto gave his typical shocked face. "You already know this!?" he yelled.

Yuji said "My dad taught me these things before I was even enrolled in the academy". Yuji grinned mischievously as he jumped back down. Shiguri wasn't surprised, but Iori was fuming with jealousy.

Naruto said "Did you do the walk on water exercise?"

Yuji nodded. Man, he was feeling good about himself.

Naruto sighed "Well, I guess it's just Shiguri and Iori who'll be practicing the tree climbing exercise."

Iori ran up to him nearly screaming "Screw the tree climbing!! Teach me the walking on water you just mentioned!!"

Naruto had to hold is head. "She really is a scary combo of me and Sakura." He thought. Naruto said "You can't do that until you do this." He handed the two kunai. "Use these to mark your progress. I'll be back to check up on you two soon."

* * *

Naruto led Yuji into the woods. "Okay, since you have skill in charka manipulation and control, I'm going to work on your taijutsu." Yuji gulped. "I was told your taijutsu was below average, I just don't know by how much. So, attack me!"

Yuji got into his stance and Naruto could tell right away he needed quite a bit of work. Yuji could not keep his guard up, his moves were ridiculously predictable, and Yuji lacked a lot of stamina. As Naruto roundhouse kicked him to the side, he sighed. "That's enough. Sparring alone isn't going to help you. Your form is terrible, you lack confidence and you don't have much endurance. I don't like saying these things, but it is true." Yuji looked down on the ground. "So, we're going to have to go back to the basics."

Yuji put up his fighting stance again and said "No. I can't afford to be held back."

Naruto initially thought that he would just have to slam Yuji to the ground again, but then an idea popped into his head. He smiled and thought "Perfect time for payback." As Yuji charged, Naruto transformed into his female alter ego. "Ninja centerfold!" The blood rushed straight out of Yuji's nose. "I told you I'd get you back!" Naruto laughed.

* * *

Later, Naruto and a very bruised Yuji came back to check on the others progress. Shiguri seemed to be making decent progress. Iori wasn't doing so well, though. Naruto walked over and helped her up. "Focus your charka onto a certain point in your feet. Then, maintain it." Iori gave him a mean look, but complied. She did as she was told, and she managed to go a little bit higher. Naruto nodded 'Good. Now, don't overdo yourselves, as I expect you all to be refreshed by tomorrow. Yuji, after we're done with our taijutsu lessons, I expect you to help your teammates with this. See you all tomorrow."

* * *

Naruto just finished up eating at his usual place, deciding it was time to head home. As he turned the corner, he noticed two girls, one with blond hair, and another with pink. He didn't need to be told who the latter was. He thought he'd walk over and say hello, but stopped when Ino spoke.

"So, you are starting to get fond of Naruto, aren't you?" This made Naruto stop in his tracks and turn around the corner. His mind told him to leave and let the two be, but he couldn't help but listen around the corner.

Sakura said "Well, I have to admit…he has grown on me." Naruto was hoping for 'I love him', but even he knew that was expecting a lot.

"Well, why don't you ask him out? I'm sure you can get him to take a date seriously so long as you tell him HOW before hand." Ino said.

Sakura replied "It's not so much that. It's just…I don't know if he even likes me that way anymore."

Ino asked "What do you mean?"

Sakura sighed "I was so mean to him back when we were kids. I had almost no friends, I wasn't the prettiest girl…to be honest, I'm still not. Yet he still liked me. But I was so warped up with Sasuke I didn't even let him be my friend. After he came back from training, whenever he saw me cry, he thought I was crying over something else when it was really him I was concerned about. It's like he didn't notice how I felt. And…well, he's not as bad as Jiraya or Kakashi-sensei…but he has become a bit of a perv."

Naruto had to scowl at that. "Look who's talking." he thought. He still remembered when Sakura fell for Konohamaru's Oiroke Otoko No Ko Doushi No Jutsu. He also remembered when he came over to her house, when her parents were out on a mission. They went to her room just to chat, and Naruto accidentally stumbled upon a collection of yaoi comics. And in his opinion, pretty hard core. He got thrown out the window for that. "I've really got no problem with girls who are perverts. It's just annoying when they deny it." He thought. He failed to listen to the rest of the conversation between the two kunoichi. But what grabbed him next caught his attention.

"Just ask him out." Ino said. "Even if he is a pervert like you say, I can tell he enjoys spending time with you whenever he can."

Sakura asked "How would you know he would rather not be with other girls?"

Ino fidgeted a bit. "Well…I didn't really want to tell you this because I knew you would get mad and at this point irrelevant…but I actually did try to seduce him once."

Sakura put on her typical mean face and screamed "EXCUSE ME!?"

Naruto remembered that incident from a few months back. He ran into Ino while he was grocery shopping, and out of nowhere she just started flirting with him. She put him into the most compromising positions, and did a sexy jutsu with herself. For what it was worth, Ino was hot, but she did not hold the same place in his heart as Sakura. The incident freaked him out. "At least she had the decency to put the clouds in the right places."

Ino waved her hands to calm her down. "Well, he has gotten quite handsome, and when he was just by himself, I did every flirtatious thing I could think of. But the harder I tried, the more uncomfortable he got. I don't think it was because of fear of you beating the crap out of him. If it was, I'm sure he would've told me out loud. I'm pretty sure he just didn't want to hurt your feelings. Also, stop telling yourself you're not pretty. Sure, some like me are downright hot, but you've got your own attributes as well. I can see why Naruto likes you."

"Well, it kind of was a bit of both." The spoken nin thought. Naruto did notice other girls, but he thought Sakura was downright beautiful. He loved her pink hair, her green eyes…he'd never tell her out loud (as himself), but he thought her forehead was quite cute too. He also noticed, probably due to her training, she had a really nice… "Well, THAT I wouldn't tell her out loud either." Naruto thought. Finally, the two girls said their goodbyes, and parted ways. Naruto felt bad about spying on Sakura like this, but once he was there, he just had to know. Naruto was actually feeling overjoyed that he did. "She really does like me. After the mission, I'll definitely ask her out. This time, we'll go to a really nice restaurant. So long as it still serves ramen." He thought to himself, smiling on his way back home.

* * *

Iori and Shiguri kept stumbling falling off the trees, but Shiguri was making twice the progress Iori was. Iori slammed her fist at the ground in frustration. "Damn, damn damn…"

Shiguri said "You know, that's really freakin' annoying."

Iori screamed "Shut up and let me concentrate!"

Shiguri replied "Then stop concentrating on me. You're not doing well because you think about nothing except how Yuji and I are doing. In fact, since Yuji is already a master at this, you should probably ask him."

Iori got back up and simply shouted "No thanks!"

Shiguri shrugged "Fine. Suit yourself. But if you think you'll get better because of this, you're wrong."

Iori looked back "And how do you know?"

Shiguri said "I used to be a loner like you. Thinking all I needed was myself. Until I met Yuji. He's weak, but he's smart, and he's got a big heart to go along with it."

* * *

The days passed, and today the trio's first C ranked would begin. Yuji was starting to show improvement in his taijutsu. It still needed a lot of work, but it was still quite a bit better than before. After throwing Yuji to the ground, Naruto signaled for them to stop. "That's enough. Let's see how your teammates are doing."

As they came into the training spot, they saw Shiguri lying on the floor, taking a nap. Naruto was about to walk over to scold him, but Yuji tugged at his shirt.

"Don't worry, Sensei. Shiguri never naps in the midst of training. This is how he rewards himself every time he finishes." Yuji pointed to Shiguri's tree, and the marks indicated he did in fact reach the top.

Naruto nodded, and looked to the sky "What about Iori?"

"Up here, Sensei!!"

Naruto looked up to see Iori hanging upside down from a branch.

Naruto said "Be careful there. I did that when I learned the exercise, and I fell off."

True to his word, Iori lost her grip, and fell. Iori closed her eyes expecting to hit the ground below. When she landed, she hit something uncomfortable, but much softer than the land. She opened her eyes, on saw she was sitting on top of Yuji's back, who had his hands outstretched like he was trying to catch something. Iori realized it was her he was trying to catch. "It seems he overshot the mark…"

Yuji got up holding on to his back. "My back…my back…"

Iori was about to walk away, when Naruto firmly grabbed her shoulder.

"Thank him. Even if you did have the situation under control, your teammate still went out of his way to help you."

Iori snarled at him, but gave in. She turned around to Yuji and said "Thanks."

Naruto knew that she was starting to slowly accept everyone, but it was too slow for his liking. He decided to ease the tension by coughing and announcing "Our mission begins tonight. Let's get going."

* * *

Naruto's team walked to the Hokage's office at approximantley 5 p.m.. Once they were let inside, Tsunade made eye contact and motioned for the client to come forward. It was a girl, probably in her mid- twenties. She had tan skin and brown hair, and had a very pretty purple kimono on. She also had startling turquoise eyes.

She said "My name is Kono Mana. You all will be escorting me to Monsoon country."

Naruto smiled and bowed. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. This is Miyamoto Yuji, Myojin Iori, and Naka Shiguri." His genin team bowed, and Mana spoke up.

"A pleasure to meet you all. In fact, Uzumaki-san, I recall seeing you at the Chunin exams. That was an impressive fight; no one ever imagined a common ninja like you could ever defeat a Hyuuga. That's the reason I requested you to be one of my escorts."

Naruto blushed at the comment. "Heh, happy to help Miss Kono."

Yuji and Shiguri were amazed that their sensei beat a Hyugga. Yuji whispered "He may be better than us, but a Hyuuga!? No way!!"

Shiguri said "Well, apparently he has a witness…"

Iori butted in. "Hey, what's a Hyuuga?"

Yuji and Shiguri just stared at her. "You honestly don't know?" Shiguri asked.

Iori shook her head. Naruto interrupted by saying "I'm sure we'll have time to tell you as we go along."

* * *

Just as Naruto's team headed off, Tsunade continued stamping her papers. Sure, they needed to get done, but she was really using it as a way to pass time. She was waiting for someone. And that someone just teleported in her office. It was Sakura, dressed in all black, and had an ANBU mask to the side of her face.

She bowed on one knee and said "You wanted to see me, Tsunade-shishou?"

Tsunade turned around in her chair and said "Yes, Sakura. I'm sending you to lead a mission into lightning country. You know what happened with the Raikage a few years ago, didn't you?"

Sakura answered "You and he were discussing a new peace treaty. Things were going well, but we never heard from him or the lightning country again."

Tsunade continued "A cloud ninja recently came to us. He looked exhausted, and he was begging us for help. We had other matters to worry about at the time, so we threw him in a cell until the next day. He begged us to let him out, claiming the jutsu he used to protect himself against some sort of 'seal' was wearing off. We chose to follow protocol. The day he was supposed to be interrogated, he was dead."

Sakura said "That's terrible! But why would this concern us? Our relations have always been on rocky grounds."

Tsunade at first didn't answer, but then turned her chair opposite of Sakura. "That Raikage wasn't exactly a saint, but he would never drive his village into a totalitarian state. We have reason to believe someone has overthrown him, and is ruling the Kumogakure. We need to look into this. Whoever this new guy is could be a threat to all. Much like the Akatsuki."

Sakura understood and asked "What is the mission?"

"You are to infiltrate the Kumogakure, and find out about the new leader, if not Raikage. You must obtain a name. If at all possible, his abilities and his history as well. Also, we need to know where his motives lie. You will bring with you Kakashi, Neji, and Ino with you."

Sakura nodded her head to confirm she understood. Then she said "I bet Naruto will be pretty upset that you didn't let him come along. Kages in particular always concern him." She disappeared to gather her teammates.

* * *

The days had passed since Naruto and his team had started their mission to escort Mana. There was one day when they were attacked by bandits. They had no ninja techniques, so Naruto, Iori, and Shiguri dealt with them easily.

Yuji cowered, however. Though he was hurt by Iori's berating, it didn't surprise him. What really got to him was Shiguri giving him the cold shoulder. At night he trained himself to the bone, collapsing after what seemed to be his 50th push-up. Then, Naruto came up to him. Yuji looked at him, looked like he was about to cry, and turned around. "I'm sorry."

Naruto didn't pat his shoulder, instead he looked to the stars. "You know, on my first mission as a genin, two mist nin attacked us. My teammates managed to fight them off, but all I could do was cower."

Yuji turned around and looked at him.

"I know what it feels like the first time you go into battle. You never give a thought about death until it is right in your face." Naruto turned to face Yuji with a smile. "But now you know. You will always be scared no matter what. However, your desire to protect your client and your friends will be stronger than your fear."

* * *

The journey passed without incident from that point on. In fact, it got pretty boring for the kids, and needed to do something. So, Shiguri walked up to Naruto, who was having a conversation with Mana. "Sensei, something just occurred to me: Doesn't this Monsoon country have ninjas of their own?"

Naruto looked back at him quizzically, then remembered when Sakura asked Kakashi a similar question. "I hadn't thought about that. We had a client from the Land of Waves, which didn't have Ninja due to it being an island. However, I'm not an expert in these sorts of things." He turned to Mana and smiled. "Would you be so kind as to tell us, Miss Kono? Not that I mind you hiring us over them, IF you do happen to have ninjas in your country."

Mana smiled back and replied "Gladly. The Monsoon country is an island that was discovered only a few years ago. Our government is young, and we have just been starting trade relations. That is why someone like me is all the way down here. Also, because of how young it is, we haven't had a chance to establish a hidden village. It's a small island, out in the middle of nowhere, so I don't think we have to either."

Naruto nodded in understanding. He never heard of the place before, but knew Tsunade would never send ninja to a country that wasn't verified. He didn't look surprised only because he didn't want to make himself look bad.

* * *

Later, when they lit their fire, Naruto looked up to the stars. He was thinking of Sakura. He was thinking on what to do when he would ask her on what would be their first real date. Though they had been on "dates" before, they were always at the Ichikuru, and they always dressed casually.

Suddenly, someone asked "Something on your mind?" Naruto turned, and saw Mana next to him.

He calmed down and answered "Yeah. Don't worry, I'm still aware of the surrounding area. I'll take care of anyone who wishes us ill will."

Mana then smirked. "Thinking of a girl?"

Naruto went fished-faced and gulped. "H-How did you know?"

Mana chuckled. "It's the only things guys think about when they look at the stars. Tell me, what is your relation with this special person of yours?"

Naruto was still nervous about answering, but figured that by telling her everything, Sakura would never find out. "Well, we were on the same genin team. I had a crush on her back at the academy, but she was in love with my other teammate. We all grew closer as time went on though." Mana continued to listen. "Then, he betrayed the village to become the apprentice of a missing nin. I promised her that I would bring him back no matter what…but I failed. Yet she didn't hate me. Since then, our relationship has been a little unclear. We were more than friends, but we weren't exactly lovers either."

Mana asked "Any reason why you're thinking of her now?"

Naruto answered "I kinda got conformation that she really does like me. I want to take her out on a real date, but I'm not sure what to do, or even how to ask"

Mana seemed to have spaced out for a minute, but then snapped back to reality. "I'm sure it will work out for you." After that, she walked off. "Kenji, why couldn't this have happened to us instead?" she thought to herself.

* * *

Somewhere in Kumogakure, a shadowy figure sat at his desk. He was looking over a piece of paper, and tossed it aside. "Why should we bother?" he thought.

Just then, a cloud ninja ran up to him and bowed. "Raikage-samma! We have finally found Kono! It seems her base of operations was in the new Monsoon country!"

The new Reikage at first said nothing. "Raikage-samma?"

The kage replied "Prepare the troops immediately. We will be heading to Monsoon country, and I will be accompanying you. Get my carriage ready."

The ninja replied "Yes, Raikage-samma." Before disappearing.

The Reikage looked at a photo on his desk. In the center was a grown man with silver hair and a gote, wearing a standard ninja uniform. Though he was not smiling, you could tell by the look in his eyes that he was happy. Below him was a genin team. To the left side was a girl who looked much like a younger Mana. In the center was a boy with yellow eyes, and spiky red hair with a touch of green in the front. He was wearing an open red trench coat with a fish net shirt on. There was nothing on the right, as that portion was torn up.

A voice suddenly said "I thought you wanted nothing more than to forget about them."

The Reikage spun around. "I've forgotten the good times. But I will never forget what they did to me, especially HER."

The voice chuckled sinisterly. "Taking over an entire country just for revenge. What happens when you finally attain it?"

The Reikage got up and looked out the window. "Nothing much. These people will simply become my slaves. They deserve it for the way they have treated me. When I die, I have plans to completely destroy this country's economy. Not just a depression. This country will be completely bankrupt and have no credibility whatsoever, and whatever coins and paper money the citizens have will be worthless. They will be forced to move to other shinobi nations, and this country will be no more."

The figure chuckled. "You surprise me. You are indeed a clever fellow."

The Raikage looked him in the eyes. "I have to give you credit for its downfall as well…Orochimaru."

* * *

Naruto's team finally reaches the piers, and stood waiting on the docks.

Iori screamed "I'm so frikin' bored! What is that girl doing!?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't know. But she is the client, and we're supposed to do whatever she says." Naruto remembered how he used to get fed up with the clients they took on when he was a genin. "Well, at least this shouldn't turn out to be like the Zabuza incident…"

* * *

"Give me five of those ponchos, please." Mana asked the store keeper. Then she very slightly leaned in and whispered so low that one would have to read her lips to understand what she was saying. "Do you have the weapons I requested?" The store keeper handed her a bag inside the poncho meant for her, not saying a word. Mana simply walked away. "I never wanted to do this, Kenji….but the Kenji I loved is dead. I will be the one to set you free." Finally, she reached Naruto and his team.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! I had to get a few things before we head out!"

Naruto asked "What things?"

Mana said "Well, some ponchos for one. Normal cloaks won't do. Why else do you think it's called Monsoon country?"

Naruto didn't say anything. He remembered on his training journey with Jiraya when they went to a small set of tropical islands. They went during the rainy season, and they were unprepared for it. Jiraya came down with a bad case of pneumonia, despite the hot temperatures, and Naruto was forced to take care of him. Naruto went through blood, sweat and tears to get enough food, and he had to take a crash course on medicine. Jiraya would always demand he go find some porn at a bookstore in one of the few villages, but they were all self-sustaining communities. "I had a nightmare of a time dealing with monsoons. Thanks for bringing the ponchos. That was thoughtful of you." The team put them on, and headed towards the boat.

* * *

Yup, this was pretty straight forward and predictable. What else can I say? Well, one thing: Though I'm using Japanese suffixes, I will not use any actual words, like Arigatarou( sorry if that's misspelled, but I honestly don't particularly care right now.) I get annoyed when authors put full Japanese words in their stories, when it's supposed to be in English. I'm using the suffixes only because there's no literal translation for them in English, and they seem to be important in the way Naruto addresses people. I will also be using the Japanese names of known techniques and locations…unfortunately, I can't say the same for those I make up. However, if you know of an English to Japanese site (and by that I mean Japanese in ENGLISH syllables), or if you can simply translate the name of whatever location or technique I make up, please let me know and it will be changed. Next chapter, the new Raikage's identity and Mana's intentions are revealed.


	4. The False Raikage

Never thought I'd manage to get chapter 4 up this quick. Don't expect any more updates until Thursday at least.

IronicEnding: Yeah, humor is good. This fic will get darker, but it will have its moments. I'm glad you don't think my OCs are overused as well. It's pretty tricky; when you make up a character in an already established fictional story, you don't want the character to wind up stealing the show from the main characters. At the same time, you can't have them appear so flat and appear as nothing more than a waste of space. I'll have many more OCs in store. Naruto's team will play a key role in some chapters, but the story will still be his. A lot of more OCs will just be for either battle or they will be killed after an arc (or something like that). It's a balance I hope to maintain.

* * *

The boat finally reached the island, and not a moment too soon. Another tropical storm had started up, and no one was too happy about it. The boat was not designed to protect them against the rain, and everyone was forced to stay on the deck. Yuji got the worst of it as evidenced by his cold, but it didn't seem to affect his ninjutsu. Still, he was the kind of person you didn't want to be around for health related reasons.

Mana stepped forward. "Come with me. There's an inn a mile from here. We'll be able to dry off there and spend the night."

Naruto led his team toward the direction Mana had indicated, walking through rushing water that went up to their necks. It didn't help that Naruto had to go rescue Yuji several times from being drowned, thus delaying them from their final destination. The rain was so bad that despite wearing their ponchos and straw hats, they were all soaking wet. Finally, they reached the hotel.

Mana smiled and said "I can't believe we're finally here! No matter how long I live here, I can never get used to this rain…"

Suddenly, Naruto picked her up bridal style and shouted "Everyone! Inside!" Naruto and his team sprinted the best they could in the muddy terrain, and reached inside.

* * *

On the border of Lighting country, a group of ANBU ninjas made their way through the forests. Each carried a unique face mask, but one of the most notable feature of one was her pink hair. Most would ignore Sakura's rabbit mask. Kakashi never bothered with the face masks, since he wore one all the time already. Despite having far more experience with this job, Sakura was chosen to lead. She was a perfect combination of brains and strength, and both Kakashi and Tsunade had agreed she needed the experience.

Sakura was glad for the face mask, because in her mind, she was freaking out, and wasn't sure she could hide it very well. She was the one responsible for her teammates' lives. It didn't help that Kakashi was with her, as it put both the pressure to please her former sensei and to protect someone she considered family. Eventually, Sakura stopped on a branch, and signaled for the others to halt. Kakashi came in close and took out his Sharingan eye to get a better look. There were two cloud ninjas below them.

Sakura looked back at Neji. "Attack them, but don't kill them. We need to interrogate them."

Neji nodded, and jumped in between the two cloud nins.

"Hey, who are you!?" They both drew shuriken, but they did not have a chance to retaliate.

Neji shouted "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!" and attacked. The 2 cloud nins fell back, conscious but unable to fight. Then Sakura and Ino came up from behind and knocked them both out with chops to the back of the head.

Kakashi came down and said "Sakura, we need to get them to a more secluded spot before we interrogate them."

Sakura nodded as she carried one of them. "Right! All right, we'll head 20 kilometers southeast of here!" The leaf nins and their captors disappeared into the night.

* * *

Another ship was making its way through a stormy sea. Orochimaru was at the front, looking quite bored. "Well, I might as well come along. After all, he provided me with such great specimens for my experiments." Kabuto came up to Orochimaru, who was well aware of his presence.

"Lord Orochimaru, he plans to have us attack the rebels with him. All he requested was that we leave the one named Mana Kono to him."

Orochimaru sighed. "Very well. Is there anything else?"

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and said "Nothing really. However, I think it's wise that Sasuke keeps his distance from him."

Orochimaru raised his eyebrow and said "Oh?"

"He said that Sasuke reminds him of someone he hates to this very day."

Orochimaru looked back and said "Interesting."

* * *

Back at the border of Lightning country, the two cloud nins came to. They were at first startled that they were bound, but eventually gave up. They noticed the 4 ANBU ninjas in front of them.

"Who are you!?" they both asked.

The one with pink hair said "If we could tell you that, we wouldn't bother wearing these masks."

One of the captors asked "What do you want?"

"The current Raikage, IF you can call him that. We want to know about him."

The 2 ninjas looked at her with fright. "You-you want to kill him!?"

"Depends. We know your previous Raikage has disappeared. Who is the new leader?"

The ninja complied and answered "His son."

This sent a chill down the spines the ANBU squad. What kind of son would do such a thing to his own father?

"We know what you're thinking. You're wondering how a son could take overthrow his own father. Let us tell you: He was a monster since the day he was born!!"

It sounded all too familiar to Sakura. "What do you mean a monster?" she said as she tried to keep the alarm in her voice hidden.

"Our Raikage, Kenji Strife, is really the five-tailed dog, Houkou!!"

* * *

Kenji sat in his private room, staring straight out the window. Just then, his hand glowed. He looked at it, his face showing no emotion. "Pity. I was starting to like those two. Oh well." His hand clasped.

* * *

"Please, free our country! We'll give you anything you want!" one of the cloud nins screamed. Sakura said nothing. Kakashi hoped what he thought would happen wouldn't. "Please!"

Sakura stood up. She said with a voice full of malice and said "Why should we? Why should I even consider making a deal with scum like you!?" The cloud ninja looked at each other in shock.

One said "B-But, if he is allowed to live, he'll become a threat to all shinobi nations, including yours…"

"It's your fault that threat exists in the first place!" Sakura screamed. "I bet you shunned him, beat him, and kept your children from playing with him. It's no wonder he came back for revenge!"

One of the ninja shouted back "Don't talk like you know a jinchuriki! That monster killed my daughter right in front of me! She was only 3 years old!"

Sakura could not comment. That one revelation left her too confused to continue the interrogation.

Kakashi stood in front of her and took over. "Just tell us about him as much as you can."

One of ninja sadly smiled and said "There's no point. By this time, Kenji will have realized we betrayed him, and will have us killed."

"There's still time. We can protect you-"

Just then the 2 ninja screamed in pain. Kakashi removed one of the headbands and saw a mark on one of the ninja. It was green and blue, and was shaped like a yin and yang symbol.

"He…He's heading for Monsoon country. Please…free us…." After that, both ninja coughed up blood and died.

* * *

The ANBU grouped camped out later that night, reflecting over the incident. Neji in particular was sympathetic to the cloud nin because of the seals that were placed on them.

Sakura at the moment was very confused. She wanted to sympathize with this new jinchikuri, but with what the ninja told her, she wasn't so sure she should.

Kakashi came up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Sakura."

Sakura looked behind her, widened her eyes for a moment, and turned back. "I'm sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I really screwed up. I let my emotions get in the way."

Kakashi said "I felt the same way. But you have to understand that regardless of how anyone became evil, you have to defeat them for the greater good. Remember Garaa?" Sakura nodded. "It was his village's fault that he became a psychotic killer. He didn't deserve any of that, but when he ultimately became what the Sand Village feared, that didn't matter in the end. I'm sure Naruto felt sympathetic towards him, but he was ready to kill him if it meant saving you."

Sakura didn't say anything, but she understood. Then, a thought just occurred to her. "Wait a minute, sensei, how did you know about that?" she asked. "Only Naruto, Sasuke, and I knew about it after Sasuke told me."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Gaara told me. He said it was that battle that made him a better person."

Sakura smiled and thought to herself. "Naruto…Your greatest power isn't your clones, your rasengan, your wind jutsus or the demon inside of you…it's your ability to change people for the better…I should've known in the land of waves that is more incredible than any jutsu…" Suddenly, she became alarmed. "Kakashi-sensei, where is Naruto!?"

Kakashi at first looked puzzled, then alarmed. "Monsoon country..." Normally, he would have advised for them to head immediately back to Konoha for reinforcements, but Monsoon country at this point was much closer.

Sakura said "Ino, I need you to head back to Konoha immediately and tell Tsunade-shishou that we need reinforcements to help Naruto! Get Sai and Yamato-sensei if you can, but anyone will do!" Ino immediately took to the tree tops and left. "Neji, you're with us." Sakura stated as she and Kakashi took off in another direction.

Neji immediately followed them. "Whoever this Kenji Strife is, he shall fall for what he has done to his people!" he thought to himself.

* * *

_It was a night like any other. A seven year old Iori was in bed. Like any child, she had trouble sleeping. Then, her father, a kind and gentle man with red hair but great strength, came rushing in her room, looking scared "Iori! Hide, under the bed!" he whispered harshly. _

"_Father, what's-" _

"_SHHHH! Do as I say, quickly!" _

_Iori got under the bed, frightened. "Why is he so scared?" she thought. "Daddy is the strongest person I know. Who could scare him like this!?" _

_Suddenly, the door came down, and two people walked in. Though Iori couldn't see their faces, she could see the outline of their coats: Black, with red clouds. _

"_Myojin-kun, it is time for you to die." One of them said, in a voice that shook her to the core. _

"_It is you who will die, Akatsuki scum!" her father yelled. Silver charka surrounded him, and he ran towards the intruders. The battle went outside, and she knew it was epic, but was too scared to watch. Suddenly, it was too quiet. _

_Iori hurried outside, hoping her father had won but was too exhausted to come back in. She looked around the corner of a branch, and clasped her mouth to keep herself from screaming. Her father lay there, bloodied and battered. _

"_He was a tough one, Itachi-san. He managed to break my arm." One of the two said as he carried a monstrous sword with his good arm. _

"_Of the Jinchuriki, he's one of the stronger ones." that same cold voice said. "After all, he did posses the seven-tails." It was too dark for Iori to make out any features on him, but there was one thing she would never forget: Those eyes. Those red, cold eyes. They stared right at her…_

* * *

"AHHHHHH!" Iori woke up in her futon, cold with sweat. She looked around, noticing that her teammates and sensei were still there.

Naruto woke up from Iori's scream. "Bad dream?" he asked his voice barely above a whisper.

"A memory." She replied back.

Naruto got up and walked over to her, concerned. "Must have been really bad to take the place of a silly nightmare." He said.

"It was about my father. I was originally from the Village Hidden in the Vines in Beach country. He was a great ninja. He never lost a battle once. Until that night. They came, and killed him."

Naruto became concerned. "Who?" he asked.

"I don't know. But they both wore black cloaks with red clouds. One of them had a giant sword. The other was so cold, and had eyes unlike anything I have ever seen."

Naruto's fox charka flickered for a second. "Excuse me." He said, walking outside. Though he calmed himself enough to keep the Kyuubi from escaping, he was still full of rage. "She was the child of a jinchuriki like me. Those bastards. They don't even care about what happens to their friends and family. It's because of Itachi that Sasuke left. I'll make them pay for everything they've done." He walked back inside, planning to tell Tsunade about what he found out about Iori as soon as they got home…

* * *

The next morning, Naruto's team woke up. It was still raining, although not as heavily as before. Needless to say, no one was too eager to go outside. Finally Mana came in the room as everyone finished getting ready.

"Thank you all very much for your help. My journey home was a lot safer because of you all. To repay the favor, I've arranged for you four to be taken to a different port to sail home. The journey there will be much easier then if you came back the way we came here."

Naruto smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Miss Kono."

As the team traveled under the tunnel, Naruto felt something wasn't right. Mana hadn't said a word to them, and her normally cheery personality disappeared. Instead, she had a serious look on her face. Right when they were leaving, no less. When they finally reached the port, there was no ship to be found.

"Are we early?" Naruto asked.

Mana turned around and pointed a kunai at Naruto's throat. "Actually, we're right on time." she said. Three other ninjas came out, and knocked out the genins with chops to the head.

Naruto yelled "What's going on!?"

Mana said "I really wish we didn't have to resort to this. I really wish that we could properly pay for an A-rank assignment. Obviously, we wouldn't be doing any of this if that was the case."

Naruto asked "What do you want?"

Mana said "This isn't really a new country. More like a refuge. We're really cloud ninjas. We had to forge a lot of documents and start many small businesses to make it seem like a legitimate country. My objective was to get you, Uzumaki Naruto, to fight for us."

Naruto replied "Why should I, other than the fact that you've just taken my genins hostage?"

"Because, if you don't, you will leave a whole country of people to be destined for slavery and death. We want you to assassinate our current Raikage."

Naruto said "There are always some nay-sayers. How will I know I'm on the right side?"

Mana paused, and then said "Do you know the real reason I requested you specifically?" Naruto nodded no. "Because I know you're a jinchuriki. I knew that when I watched your fight with the Hyuuga. The Raikage is one too. We-"

"A jinchuriki!? Like me!? Why should I!? I bet he got the position fair and square, and you're just a bunch of people who can't understand that he is a human being like you!!" Naruto shouted back.

Mana at first looked too stunned for words, and then she pressed her kunai harder against Naruto's throat. "If you truly knew me, you would realize I was one of the few who recognized Kenji to be just that." She seethed.

Naruto sighed and said "Sorry. But I can't believe you. Not yet, at least." Naruto snapped his fingers and the other three hostages turned into logs.

One of the cloud ninja screamed "Substitution!? For that long without us noticing!?" Just as he was about to go running for them, his legs were suddenly bound together, causing him to fall over. Another ninja reached for shuriken, only to have a box made of stone surround him. It was too high to jump over, and too slippery to climb, even when using charka. The last ninja put his kunai in a guard position, ready for anything. That was what he thought until Iori came right in his line of sight with a jump kick to the face, knocking him out cold.

Obviously surprised, Mana stuttered "B-But how!?"

Naruto said "I noticed back on the mainland that you bought not only ponchos, but kunai. That alone let me know that you yourself were a ninja. Also, I noticed back at the hotel, you spoke with the manager. The two of you seemed to be discussing something serious, so I had a little friend sneak over and let me in on what you were talking about."

Mana blinked and asked "Friend?"

Naruto bit his thumb and preformed a summoning jutsu. There appeared a tiny toad. "Mana, meet Gamimachi. Gamimachi, meet Mana."

The toad spoke "Yeah, I was the one who told the boss that you were planning to force him into this."

Naruto then said "However, I wanted to know exactly why you planned such a thing. So I alerted my team to your intentions. I signaled them to use the substitution right before you revealed your betrayal."

Mana tensed, and this time pressed her kunai against his throat strongly enough to draw blood. However, her enraged look softened and she dropped the kunai. Then, tears flowed down her eyes. "You're just like him." She sobbed. "At least, the one I knew."

Naruto was starting to feel bad, but he didn't let his guard down. He knew from personal experience that other shinobi would try to take advantage of their adversary's mercy. Still, that didn't stop him from showing his genuine concern. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Mana choked out "Kenji used to be just like you. But the village never understood who he really was. He couldn't take it anymore, and he changed."

Naruto was about to ask more, until a rumbling sound came from beneath the port. Something burst through, and Naruto grabbed Mana and got to safety. Yuji threw two wires onto two rock outcroppings, which his teammates grabbed onto.

"What the hell was that!?" Iori screamed.

As Naruto found his footing, a gigantic crocodile emerged from the water. Naruto looked up to see a person in Kage robes and a hat.

"It's been a while Mana." The man said. Mana's eyes grew wide with fear. "Normally I would say it's so good to see you again…but not in a friend sort of way. More like I'm finally glad I'll be able to end your life."

Naruto didn't like the sound of this. The man removed his hat and revealed himself. He had short red hair, with a tuft of green that stood out like a fern. He looked the same age as Mana. He also had intense yellow eyes. And a smile, but not like Naruto's. It was tainted with malice.

"Kenji." Mana whispered.

Naruto then knew what was going on. This man was the one she wanted to overthrow. The other jinchuriki. And judging by the look of him, he just may have to do what Mana told him to…

* * *

Here's my villain! I know at first he seems like a rip-off of Garaa. But remember, Garaa was simply psychotic, and followed his village's orders; this guy is full of hate (the reasons of this will be explored later) and on top of it all, is the leader of his people. In other words, he is what Naruto COULD become. There will be a massive battle next chapter!


	5. True Monster

I know I said I wouldn't have this chapter up for until the end of the week, but some things have come up recently I wasn't doing so hot in embryology, and fearing for her equipment's safety, my teacher "kicked me out". I've had to repeat a couple of courses, and I dropped one, but NEVER has something like this happened to me where the teacher wanted me out. So, I've been pretty upset about it lately, since the odds of me graduating on time have just on down. It looks like I may have to take even MORE units next quarter. I'm even considering signing up for it again if it's offered, if nothing else just to see her pull her out. Since Muay Thai is not until tomorrow, and I've got nothing better to do, proof-reading and editing this chapter has been my best outlet for now. Be warned, if I do go over 17 units next quarter, you probably won't get any chapters until the end of March. The reason you've seen such fast updates now is because most of these I had most of these chapters written since summer, and this is the last of those that are already done. But I'll continue working on this, even if progress slows considerably.

Full-metal-sousuke: Sorry about that. I couldn't find anything on the Biju, minus those shown in the manga. I've replaced it with the dog, just to make it a little more true to the anime. If you know what animal the seven-tails is, please let me know. Also, I just remembered that the two-tail jinchuriki is from Kumogakure. I'll come up with an explanation for that later.

* * *

Naruto stared at the man before him. He had to get to the bottom of this. "Who are you?" he screamed.

The Rikage turned his head around annoyed. He squinted at Naruto, then smiled. "Why, you must be Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto gave a look of surprise, and screamed "How do you know my name?"

The Raikage laughed menacingly. "I traveled to that Chunin exam in Konoha back in the day. I was older than you, and I was already a Chunin, but my team and I came to learn about any upcoming ninjas. I'll never forget you. I used to think I was the only one of my kind. Then I saw you. Only a jinchuriki could've called upon a second chakra source." Naruto could only stare nervously. The Raikage continued, holding his hand out. "You see, I contain the Houkou within me. It's a lonely existence isn't it? No one takes care of you. No one helps you in the ninja academy. No one even hopes that you achieve your dream one day."

Naruto stuttered "D-Dream?"

The Raikage said "The position I'm in now was my dream. To be Raikage. I hoped that I could win the respect of all my people and show them the person I really was." Then, the young man's face hardened, his placid look replaced by a frown and hateful eyes. "But then I realized that they would never respect me. No matter how many times I went on a successful mission, no matter how many people I helped, no matter how many enemies I killed in superb fashion, they would always despise me. They were only using me. So to teach them a lesson, I overthrew my predecessor and took over." The Raikage walked across the back of his summoned animal.."Sure, I had to deal with assassinations. And rebellions, much like I am at this second. Even attempts to defect from Lightning country." He turned around and opened his arms as if he was about to greet and important person and said in a happy tone "But hey, I'm okay! So long as I rule, they will regret the day they neglected and tormented me! That, my friend, is justice!"

Naruto gritted his teeth and screamed "You bastard! All you did was prove them right!"

The Raikage sneered "What else do you think was going to happen? Everyone has a breaking point. It's not like I was born a monster. If they didn't want a monster, they should have treated as a person. The logic is quite simple." The Raikage then pointed his finger at Naruto and asked "Did your people treat you any differently?"

Naruto tried to search for the right words. Yes, he once hated everyone who ever looked down upon him. When he found out about the demon inside of him though, he began to sympathize with everyone. "My dream is to be Hokage." Naruto said, looking down at his hands. Then he stared at Kenji and held up his fist. "But not like you! I will win their respect. And I will not use such an honorable position for simple revenge! I want to protect them!"

The Raikage stopped his pacing and looked at Naruto with rage. "PROTECT? THEY DON'T DESERVE YOUR PROTECTION, ONLY THE SAME SUFFERING YOU HAVE ENDURED!" he screamed.

Naruto furrowed his brow and said "That's coming from someone I don't even know."

The Raikage calmed down immediately and laughed. "Of course! How rude of me!" He walked down the tail of his beast towards Naruto, bowed in a European manner, with his right arm across and his left behind his back. "I am Kenji Strife, the Seventh Raikage. It is a pleasure to meet with you face to face, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened a second later and he grabbed Mana. Naruto jumped out of the way to avoid a fatal blow by a shuriken, only to have it graze his eye. He fell to the floor and flipped away. The blonde reached into his pouch and tossed some of his own shuriken. Kenji preformed hand signs and a wall of water surrounded him, blocking the shuriken. Then three Kenji's came out.

"Damn! He knows the Kage no Bushin too!" Naruto screamed. He formed his own clones and charged head on. The different clones collided and a confusing battle ensued. Each involved a Naruto vs. Kenji scenario. One of the Kenji clones got his opponent in a jujitsu move and stabbed him in the heart with a keris (an Indonesian dagger made in a "wave" pattern). At another area, a Naruto clone flipped up in the air and threw a kunai. The Kenji clone caught it, but failed to notice the explosive tag in time and was destroyed. Meanwhile, the real Naruto and Kenji were caught in strength vs. strength struggle.

"Impressive." Kenji said, as the final clones killed each other. The red-haired jinchuriki gave an evil smile. "You are quite good. You should just stab that bitch who's Hokage in the back and take over."

Naruto growled. "Tsunade is one of my important people, you monster! I will never become like you!"

Kenji asked sarcastically "Are you so sure? I was similar enough to you before I became what I am today." The two broke off and charged again.

"I'll hit him with this!" Naruto thought as he charged up his Rasengan. Before he could get close, however, something came from Kenji straight towards Naruto. Naruto side stepped, but he was still cut badly. As the Kyuubi container, held his side in pain, the mysterious object returned to Kenji. It looked like a buzz saw, and it seemed to be attached to a chain around Kenji's wrist.

"That was an interesting move there." Kenji commented. "But mine is more efficient. I call it the Rasenzan!"

Naruto pounded his fists on the floor. "His moves are similar to mine! Let's see how he likes this!" Naruto bit his thumb and made the signs necessary for a summoning jutsu. After completing it, a huge toad appeared, bigger than the crocodile that Kenji had. By then, the docks were completely demolished.

Kenji whistled and said "Wow! Now that's impressive!" He pointed his thumb towards his crocodile and said "However, did you honestly think this one here was my strongest summon? You insult me!" Kenji bit his thumb and made the exact same signs to summon an even bigger crocodile, which was also jet black in color.

The giant toad and croc collided, and the toad pushed the croc underwater. Naruto smiled at first, but it faltered when Kenji laughed. "Fool! Don't you know that a crocodile's strength is best used underwater?" He yelled.

Just then the water seemed to have exploded out of the ocean. It revealed the croc with his jaws locked on the toad and spun it around. Naruto jumped off cancelled the jutsu to save its life.

"A smart move on your part." Kenji said. He then pointed his finger at the Hokage-hopeful. "But pointless. For you see, you are going to die here anyway."

* * *

In a farthest corner of the sea, a giant sea slug slithered across the ocean floor. While it was arguably slow, it was in fact a bit faster than most ships, especially on stormy days. The slug carried a giant bubble on its back, and if one were to look closely, they would see Neji, Kakashi and Sakura. All three were in their meditative sitting positions, at first not saying a word.

Finally, Sakura broke the ice. "What do you think Naruto would be like as Hokage?" she asked.

Kakashi's eye widened at first, than closed to show he was smiling. "Well, that's tough to say. I'd imagine, for one, he wouldn't allow any child to grow up like he has. He always seemed fond of little kids, especially when they feel quite lonely." Sakura signaled for him to go on. "I'm also quite sure he wouldn't follow tradition." Kakashi said.

"Tradition?" Sakura asked.

"Well, for one, most of the hokages have tried to avoid war by making peace with the other nations. This may sound logical, but the fact is many of these countries have broken peace treaties with us time and time again, and they are quite cruel to their people, unlike us. Take the Mist Village for example. While they have reformed since Zabuza killed his classmates, they still live up to the name 'Bloody Mist' very well. They torture their prisoners before they interrogate them, their children are taken away from their parents at the age of 3 for training, and Kunoichi are generally looked down upon. When they are used, they're usually scouts in brothels, which requires them to perform the job of a whore daily."

Sakura looked like she was about to shout, but caught herself in time. Kakashi sighed and said "Believe me, I'd rather not make any peace with scum like that either. But the fact is their forces closely match ours. Even if we won a war with them, we would find ourselves in a position similar to the Sand-Sound war. We would be totally vulnerable to other countries, even those outside the Five Shinobi Nations." Kakashi opened his eye. "I doubt Naruto would want to do that. Granted, none of us can completely change any country to our liking. But he would find existence with such a place inexcusable, I'd imagine."

Sakura looked outside the bubble, even though their was really nothing to see. "Naruto would never blindly lead troops into battle as Hokage, at least not just to prove a point."

"Which brings me to the other reason why he wouldn't follow tradition." Kakashi replied. "Naruto is not the type of person to send people off and potentially get killed. It's very likely that he would be at the front lines of battle. This is discouraged among all Kages; after all, if the Kage dies, the village itself is doomed, especially in wartime."

Sakura laughed lightly and said "Yeah, I guess Naruto wouldn't be the type to stay put at a desk. He would think that we see him as unreliable again." Sakura sighed. "That worries me."

Kakashi leaned back against the bubble and continued. "Those are the only major two flaws I see in him being Hokage, though I have no doubt he can actually make those work in his favor. He has a knack for that. I'd also imagine he'd be great with finances, and I could easily see no one in the academy failing their graduation exam OR their bell test."

Sakura blinked for a minute. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Kakashi said "Believe it or not, Naruto is great at managing a budget. He lived by himself his whole life, so he had to learn everything about money. He has much more than he lets on. He just doesn't like to spend it." Kakashi stood up to walk and continued. "As for school, I'm not saying he'd make it easier. He would just make sure that everyone learned. Naruto told me himself that he hated his days at the academy, not because they were too hard for him, but that none of the teachers would help him, and the kids themselves would get help from their parents. He won't just let anyone pass; I'm just saying that he would make sure everyone has an equal opportunity."

Sakura gave a small smile "Yep, that sure sounds like him." she said.

* * *

Kenji and Naruto continued their battle. Though the destruction was great in the first part, by now they were using mostly taijutsu, and there was not much left to destroy. They walked on the water and battled kunai vs. keris. Naruto's team looked on horror. But, Iori offered hope.

"Sensei said he wanted to be Hokage, right? He's basically fighting evenly with another Kage! I'm sure he can win!"

Yuji then shook his head no.

"Yuji!" Shiguri screamed. "I was feeling a lot better after that little pep talk Iori gave, and you had to go and ruin it!"

Yuji said "Sorry, but it's not an even battle. Naruto-sensei is struggling to keep up, and the Raikage's techniques seem to be similar but better moves than those of our sensei." He stood up and helped his teammates up onto the support wire. "We're going to have to get him out of there. Follow me." Yuji landed on the water without sinking, but remembered his teammates couldn't do the same. Yuji scratched his head dumbfoundly and said "Oh, um…I forgot you two couldn't do this." Iori just gave him a nasty look saying 'Don't rub it in'. Yuji then tossed a wire to them. "When I tug, you two pull." He then ran towards the battle.

* * *

Naruto stepped away from Kenji panting. He had scratches everywhere, whereas Kenji for the most part looked fine and still had plenty of energy.

"Why aren't you using your inner demon?" Kenji asked with a smile.

Naruto growled "I will never rely on that fowl being ever again!"

Kenji sneered and said "But it's a part of you." He twirled his keris, as if he wasn't warmed up. "Its charka slowly becomes yours, it heals your wounds, and because of its violent nature, it will gladly give you power if only to taste a little freedom." Kenji continued. "When I left with my plans of conquest, I didn't just go off and learn new techniques. I 'bonded' with my inner demon you might say. He and I both have an understanding. Right now, the way we are fighting, he has never felt more alive than the time I conquered Kumogakure. And it is also the reason why despite the fact I'm using as much of my normal chakra as you, I'm not tired."

Naruto noted how this guy was like Garaa in many ways. However, Garaa was psychotic at the time of their fight; this guy knew exactly what he was doing and held a position over his people. "Would I become like him, if I became Hokage?" Naruto wondered. The blonde tightened his grip on his kunai."No."

Naruto made more clones, and Kenji did the same. However, both sets of clones stayed in place, and did not attack. Finally, all of the clones dispersed. Naruto held in his right hand the Futon Rasengan, and the Hahonryuu in his left. Kenji, on the other hand, had his Rasenzan surrounded by water, and seemed to be gathering up earth in his left. Both finally charged, and clasped their hands together.

"Guffu Sika No Jutsu!"

"Doro me no Jutsu!"

A whirlpool and a mud sprout collided, and just as quickly vanished. Mana managed to save her men in the chaos, as Yuji hid behind a thin stump.

"Did he beat him?" Mana wondered.

The mist cleared, and it was Naruto who was left standing. However, he did not escape unscathed. The cuts and bruises he had doubled. Normally, the Kyuubi would be healing him, but Naruto tried his best for the past few years to stop relying on its strength. Though to this day he could not recall what he did in his four tailed form, he remembered when Sakura got hurt. Granted, it wasn't too bad, but she still needed some rest during the mission, and she became sick after it was over. She was fully recovered now, but if it were more than a scratch…Naruto would have never forgiven himself.

Back to the matter at hand, though…Kenji was unconscious, floating in the water. Naruto grabbed his arm as he felt a sudden pain shoot through it. He walked over to where Kenji floated, and picked him up with his good arm. "It's time to end this! I'm going to let the people of the Lightning Country know that you have been defeated, and you will be tried!"

Kenji suddenly opened his eyes, but instead of bright yellow, they were jet black with no pupils. "It's not over yet!" Suddenly, his body crackled with electricity and Naruto was forced to let go. Green Chakra surrounded Kenji, his mouth grew fangs and his nails became claws, and 2 tails emerged. "This is the true power of a Biju! Keep in mind I'm only using forty percent."

Kenji charged, and Naruto pulled a kunai ready to defend. However, Kenji vanished right in front of him. Before Naruto could even register it, a voice said "Behind you."

Naruto turned in a panic only to be met with a fist. As he flew back, Kenji sent out a chakra hand to grab Naruto. Once that happened, Naruto began twitching uncontrollably. "Every time my chakra touches something, it sends an electric current through it! I bet you can't move right now. In fact I don't think you can even hear me. Why am I even talking to you?" Kenji laughed manically and flung Naruto behind him. Not surprisingly, Naruto was flung back far. When the water settled, it became clear that Naruto was loosing consciousness. Kenji, still in his partially transformed state, walked over. The water around him was crackling with electricity, causing Naruto to wake up and scream in pain. It wasn't as bad as being in contact with the source itself, though.

"Tsk tsk, Naruto. Tsk tsk. I was hoping you would show me a good fight. Without my powers, I'd say it was decent. With them, you were horrible. I don't know why Orochimaru sees you as a threat."

Naruto blinked and asked "O-Orochimaru?"

Kenji calmly replied "Yeah. When I left Kumogakure, I went right to him. I trained under the absolute worst of conditions, and used the drugs he had to enhance my powers. He also offered me an army…not that I really needed it, but I didn't want to kill everyone. Not just then, at least. He also used his influence to put a lock on the country's economy and in my hands. In exchange, I gave him Kumogakure's soldiers as experiments."

Naruto's eyes started to turn red after hearing Kenji, barely suppressing the demon within. "You-"

"That's it!" Kenji yelled jabbing his finger enthusiastically. "Use the demon within! It will make this a fight to remember!" Just when Kenji pulled out two keris to provoke Naruto further, a smoke bomb hit him square in the face as soon as he sensed it coming. Kenji hacked like mad and struggled to keep himself above the water's surface, running away.

Naruto finally lost consciousness, but before he could drown, Yuji swam over to him and tied one of his wires around his sensei's waste. He pulled on his life-line, and the two were pulled away.

* * *

Naruto began to regain consciousness. It was night, and he could see a camp fire with Mana and his team gathered around, as well as several other ninja. When Mana looked right at him, he said "You're about to say I shouldn't get up, huh?" Naruto began to sit up, and when he felt the sharp pain his back, he could see she would say that with good reason.

Yuji than ran up and rested his hands on his sensei's shoulders. "Sensei, I'm sorry we pulled you out, but we couldn't let you-"

Naruto smiled at him and said "Don't worry, you did a great job. There's more to ninjutsu than simply winning battles." Naruto's smile turned into a death glare, but it was pointed at Mana, who was looking quite ashamed. "You have a lot of explaining to do. Particularly about Kenji."

Mana looked at him sadly. "He already told you everything." She replied.

Naruto, looking unconvinced, said "Not everything. The person in the photo looks completely different from the one now." He pulled out a photo from his shuriken pocket that was identical to the one Kenji had in his palace. Only in this one, a boy in a standard ninja outfit with a mask like Kakashi, and facial features almost identical to the younger Kenji's was in the corner. "I pulled this out of your pocket right before we were attacked."

"It's just a photo of when he was younger." Mana shot back. "When WE were younger."

Naruto looked at it, his face becoming more solemn. "I used to put on a face like this all the time. A lot of people just thought I was being a goof who was happy. But the truth is, I was doing it to mask my pain. And in this photo, he's doing the exact same thing." Naruto used a stick to pull himself up, walk over, and handed it back to Mana. "That's not the kind of look someone like us would give. Something specific must've happened." Naruto sat down right in front of Mana. "I need to know what finally made him snap."

Mana tried to remain emotionless, but tears were sliding down her checks. "It was Kyo's doing." She said. "And I had a hand in it too."

* * *

_Two young boys and a girl in between them sat in the Seiza position. One was Kenji, to his left was Mana, and the boy on her left was Kenji's twin brother, Kyo. Their Jonin leader, Moto Seto, addressed them. "Now that you have been accepted as Shinobi, you will have to perform shinobi duties. Espionage, guardsmen ship, rescue….assassination. Failure is not an option. And I will see to it that none of you do. That is all." The Jonin dismissed them, and the trio made their way to their respective homes. _

"_Man, this is so boring!" Kenji shouted. "None of this is going to help me become Raikage!" _

_Kyo just closed his eyes emotionlessly and said "Like father would ever allow you to hold his position." _

_Kenji's face immediately scowled and he screamed "What did you say?" _

_Kyo just rolled his eyes. "You know what I said." With that he walked away. _

_Mana was looking at Kyo dreamily. After all, he was one of the Raikage's sons. He was handsome, talented, and just plain cool. "I've got to go on a date with him!" Mana thought to herself. _

"_Um…Mana." Kenji said from behind her. He had a slight tint of red on his cheeks. "I…I was wondering…" He twitched his fingers in much the same fashion as Hinata. "Would you like to go out on a date? With me?" _

_There was an uncomfortable silence between the two as they stared at one another. Then Mana turned her head and said "Hpmh!" _

_Kenji simply looked at the ground and headed home. Which right now was a little Shanty on the outskirts of town._

* * *

_The team was ambushed by mist ninjas. Seto dealt with most of them in superb fashion, but there were a few that were giving him trouble. Kyo and Mana held their own. Kenji, still not well-versed the basics of training, was pinned to the ground by a couple of other nins. Mana spared a look at Kenji, and then she was knocked to the ground, her weapon flying out of her hands. As she was pinned to the ground, Kyo ran towards her. Suddenly he spun around to block another kunai. The owner of the blocked weapon was young boy with glasses and silver hair, who simply smirked at him. _

"_My, you are quite good." The teen commented. "Just what we would expect from the son of a Raikage. However, with us, you can become even stronger. Kumogakure will hold back your superb talent."_

_Mana knew that Kyo would never take his offer. Or that's what she thought she knew. _

_Kyo suddenly relaxed, though still on guard. "Even stronger than a Kage?" Kyo asked. _

"_He's actually considering it?" Mana thought in horror. _

_The stranger replied "Oh yes. You could possibly even become greater than the sanin." _

_Kyo smiled wickedly underneath his mask. "Why not? The village doesn't mean much to me anyway. Besides, these annoying fan girls are getting to me." He looked at Mana, with a cruel smile. Mana, in turn, looked on in absolute horror and despair. Kyo turned and walked with his new ally. "What's your name again?" he asked. _

"_Kabuto. Yakushi Kabuto. What would you like my men to do with your team?" _

_Kyo just waved his hand and said "Whatever you want. I don't care." Kabuto turned around and give them the thumbs down. _

_Mana closed her eyes, her world spinning and her mind in confusion. Just as she was expecting death, she felt the incoming kunai stop. When she opened, she saw Kenji had grabbed her opponent at the wrist. But Kenji was also changed. He was surrounded by green chakra, his hands and mouth developed fangs and claws, and his eyes became jet-black. _

"_You will not lay even a hundredth of your filthy hands on her!" he screamed. Kenji punched ninja right in the face, sending him a good thirty meters. Kenji went right after him, and jumped up and down on his opponent's torso as he slid on the ground, breaking all of his ribs. The mist nin coughed up blood, and due to his mask, was forced to swallow most of it back in. Kenji grabbed his enemy by the throat in a choke-hold, shocking him with electricity as well as cutting off his air. _

_Mana looked on in a different kind of horror; This time, it looked like one of her commrades would be lost to madness. "No! I can't loose him too!" Mana realized at that moment just how much she cared about him. She may not have been in love with him, but he always supported her, tried cheering her up, and brought humor to their all too serious group. Finally she reached him and embraced him from behind. "No!" she screamed. "Please, don't do this! I don't like seeing you like this!" The electricity burned her skin caused her pain no training could prepare her for, but that did not matter to her. Finally, Kenji's eye color returned to normal, and the green chakra disappeared. _

_He looked in horror at what he had done to his opponent. Then, he turned around and saw Mana with burns all over her body. "Did…Did I do this?" he asked. _

_Mana didn't know what to do at first, but nodded, telling him the truth. _

_Kenji's eyes began to well up. He turned around to run, but Mana grabbed his wrist. _

"_It's not your fault!" Mana cried. "If it had not been for you, we would have all been dead!" _

_Kenji finally stopped squirming. "Kyo…Why did he?..." Mana simply caught him in an embrace, and the team walked away in silence._

* * *

"_What are you thinking, Raikage-sama?" Seto yelled. _

"_You expect me to list my own son as a traitor?" The Reikage replied. _

_Seto stated, with malice in his voice "He openly betrayed us when he was offered power. He didn't even think about the consequences." _

"_He was my only son." _

"_You have another son, far more worthy as a cloud ninja, you bas-" Before he could finish, one of the guards punched Seto in the gut and he kneeled to the floor. _

"_That's enough." The Reikage said. "Just be glad that I won't have you up for execution." _

_A month had passed since then, and Mana could not believe what was happening. The Raikage refused to list Kyo as a missing nin. Mana was boiling inside. If she had the power, she would've killed the Raikage right there and then. "How could such a man be chosen to lead our village?" She ran, but at first she didn't know where. The Raikage kept Seto in solitary confinement for a month, Kyo was gone, and if she told her parents everything, they would all be put to death. That left…Kenji. When she tried to look for his hut, she couldn't find it. "I know it was here…where?..." _

_Suddenly, Kenji came into view, carrying some wooden supplies. Needless to say he didn't look too happy. Not at her, just in general. _

"_This has been a crappy month, hasn't it?" Kenji asked. "I fail the Chunin exams, my brother becomes a missing nin…and on top of that all, the villagers burned down my shack again." _

_This wasn't the first time it happened. Mana was curious as to why the villagers hated him so, but she was so wrapped up with Kyo she never thought about asking him…or even help him. "I should start now. He's been nothing but a good friend to me…and I've been so blind." she thought. That was easier said than done. "K...Kenji…can I…help…you?" _

_Kenji turned around, stunned. Mana had never offered any help to him before. But he wouldn't let that turn her offer down. He smiled his goofy smile, scratched the back of his head and laughed."Sure! I'd like that!" The two of them got the work done much faster than Kenji could have alone._

* * *

_Things have been going great for Kenji the past five years. At least when compared to his childhood. He became a jonin, Seto was training him, and he and Mana were sharing a close friendship. Perhaps more. Things could be better though. He recently found out why the villagers hated him: He contained a demon within. His own father put it into him, and his mother was sacrificed. He lost all respect for his father that day. He wanted to become Raikage more than ever; he wanted to redeem his family's name and prove himself a worthy cloud ninja. "And I will make sure no child like me will suffer ever again." When he opened the door to his stone hut, he was greeted with a surprise. _

"_Happy Birthday!" Mana screamed as she hugged him. Inside was a cake with candles. _

_Kenji was speechless, and just stared blankly at the display that was so simple and yet had so much meaning to him. _

_Mana noticed his stupor. Inside she panicked. "Oh no! I knew I should have taken more time! I should have at least got more gifts than just a couple of books!" Mana let go and looked away."I'm sorry. I didn't have much time, but even then, I should put more effort into it. If you're disappointed…"_

_Kenji got out of his stupor and corrected his mistake. The jinchuriki hugged the girl from behind and nearly shouted "No! It's perfect!" They sat down, had the cake and just chatted. Despite the simplicity and familiarity of it all, Kenji was having the time of his life with the girl he loved. Then, tears came down his face. _

_Mana became concerned, and asked "What's wrong?" _

_Kenji sniffled "This is the best birthday I ever had." _

_Mana leaned into his shoulder. "I think I can make it a bit better." She whispered in his ear. She looked him in the eyes, and kissed him passionately. Kenji was shocked at first, but soon he kissed back. It didn't stop there, however; they took it all the way. Kenji collapsed on Mana, exhausted. They lay there in silence, and then Kenji happily drifted off into sleep. _

_Mana couldn't believe what happened, but it didn't upset her…she was quite glad. She found everything she ever wanted in Kenji, when she thought it would be in Kyo. "I love you." She whispered into his ear before she drifted off into sleep._

* * *

_Months passed, and Mana learned something: She was pregnant. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this, but she had to tell Kenji. Suddenly, someone knocked on her door. A friend of hers was at the door, looking excited. _

"_Mana! It's Kyo! He's finally come back!" Mana didn't know what to say, but before she could do anything, her friend dragged her out. Soon, they reached the street where a group, mostly girls from her class, were surrounding a ninja in tattered clothes: Kyo. He still looked nearly identical to Kenji, but his hair was much longer, he no longer wore his mask, and had a few scars. Everyone was glad that their hero had returned. Mana, however, could only look in disgust. _

"_If it wasn't for those bullshit orders, he wouldn't be welcomed back like the hero he is not." She thought. _

_Suddenly, Kyo turned towards her. He smiled, but Mana could tell it wasn't genuine. "Mana! I've missed you so much!" As he walked towards her, Mana tried to say "Kyo, wha-" She never finished, as Kyo cut her off with a kiss to the mouth._

* * *

_Kenji ran through the streets afraid. Not of an attack, or another angry villager. No. In his hand was a wedding ring. The legal age to marry in cloud country was eighteen, and his birthday was coming up soon. The ring wasn't as flashy as civilians usually had, but it was still a beautiful silver color. He was going to ask none other than Mana to marry him. There was no one else he wanted to spend his life with. "We've been through so much…I've come this far…she has to accept me…she just HAS to…" _

_But when he noticed the crowd, he stopped. He saw Kyo in the center, smiling and shaking everyone's hands. "How? How could they just welcome him back? He abandoned a village that loved him! I stayed here and protected it, regardless of how everyone treated me!" What really got to him, though, was Kyo kissing Mana. His Mana. _

_Mana moved her eyes and screamed "Kenji! It's not what it looks like!" _

_Too late. Kenji with tears in his eyes, slammed a small box onto the ground and fled. Mana ran towards the box and found the ring inside. Just then, she began to cry. "He was going to ask me to marry him. Oh no!" _

_Just as she was about to chase him, Kyo grabbed her shoulder. "Leave him. It was my mistake to leave you in the care of a monster like him. Now, we will be together forever, just like you wanted all those years ago." Instead of a romantic kiss, he was punched in the face and sent flying. The crowd gasped in shock. The penalty for attacking someone favored by the Raikage was severe. _

_Mana didn't care about that. "You are the worst piece of trash I have ever known! You gave up your loyalty to Kumogakure all for power! You left us to die! You betrayed me! But not him! In spite of everything we have done to him, he stood by us! By me! He is more human than you or your joke of a father ever will be!" Just than, two other cloud ninja knocked her out. Kyo sneered "Throw the bitch in prison!"_

* * *

_Kenji stood atop a hill at the outskirts of the village. His normally happy smile was replaced by a look of pure rage. He clenched his fist and screamed "I gave you everything I had! I made myself stronger everyday for you! I nearly got myself killed so many times for you! But what do I get! You flock to my brother like he never did anything wrong! You never acknowledged me as a person! For that, I will make you pay! You hear me? No Raikage will protect you from me!" Kenji sprinted in the opposite direction immediately afterwards._

* * *

_Two years had passed. The lightning country was going about business as usual. Kyo was part of Kumogakure's ANBU squad, and was supposed to succeed his father. However, the two only saw or spoke to one another during diplomatic situations. Anyone who really knew them knew that they hated each other. The only reason the Raikage even said Kyo would take over was because he feared the allies Kyo might have. _

_Mana spent those last two years in prison. Her baby, by Kyo's orders, was aborted in the cruelest way imaginable; her stomach was stabbed over and over until the doctors confirmed the fetus was destroyed. Though the physical pain during the ordeal was terrible, the pain of loosing her child was beyond unbearable. She knew it was done not to justify putting her in prison, but to make sure that she would give up all hope, which she nearly did. Mana kept track of the days, and once a month, said a prayer for him. "Please come back Kenji. I want us to start over. Back to how it was supposed to be…"_

* * *

_A lone figure stood outside the cloud village, covered in a cloak with lightning decorations. A young man with glasses, Kabuto, stood behind him. _

"_Any second thoughts?" he asked. _

"_None." the mystery man replied. _

"_Shall I send in the troops Lord Orochimaru has prepared?" _

_The figure said "Only to secure the area. The lives of these people, however, are mine." _

_Kabuto adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Very well. Your brother didn't turn out to be very useful in the end. He was nothing but a spoiled brat, believing even under our apprenticeship the world revolved around him. He refused much of the training, and getting him to do missions for us was even harder. You were different, though. You very rarely asked for anything, and when you did, you made sure you earned it. We have never seen anyone minus Sasuke with as much potential as you. I just need to be sure that our deal is still valid." _

_The person turned around and said "Oh, it will be upheld. You'll see."_

* * *

_Kyo patrolled with some ANBU guards, bored out of his mind. "This sucks. I guess I should go and make use of Mana again. She could've been my wife, but no, she had to spit in my face. Now she's nothing but a cheap-" _

_His thoughts were cut off when he heard a grunt. Kyo's eyes widened as he saw one of his comrades fall dead from a kunai in the back of the neck. Everyone tensed up. One by one, the ANBU guards were pulled under by something. There was no struggle, and Kyo knew they were all dead. He started trembling. _

_Then laughter came. "I must be dreaming! The great Kyo Strife, son of the Raikage, trembling with fear!" _

_Kyo turned around to see a mysteriously cloaked figure. The figure lifted his hood and revealed his identity: Kenji! _

_Kyo stuttered "B-Brother!" Then, he removed his mask, opened up his arms as if to hug him and said " I've been so worried about you!"How have you-" Kyo was immediately backhanded to the ground. _

"_Brother?" Kenji screamed. "Brothers are supposed to look out for one another, protect one another, and love each othe!." Kenji walked menacingly towards Kyo, who had a kunai behind his back. Kyo tried a slash, but Kenji caught his wrist. Then, electricity started pouring through his body, torturing Kyo. It wasn't enough to make him unaware of everything else, but it did keep him paralyzed. "I did all of those things for you once." Kenji hissed. "Tell me, did you?" _

_Kenji threw his brother against the metal rail that stood at the edge of the city. The two brothers battled, but it was not one of those epic battles between two brothers in myth. No, Kenji beat his brother to the floor. It lasted no more than fifteen seconds, and it was completely one-sided. A couple of ninjas came behind Kenji, but not to attack. "Take him." Kenji said as he was pointing at his brother. "I want him alive. For now." _

_The ninjas took him and disappeared. Kenji put his hands against the railing and leaned forward. "Now, for the rest of you…"_

* * *

"_Raikage-sama! We're under attack!" a cloud nin screamed. _

_The Raikage stood and ran towards the window. "How many?" he yelled. _

"_Only one hundred men! And one of them has been taking out our best ninja!" _

_The Raikage turned around. "That's impossible!" _

"_It's true, sir! He's created so many doppelgangers, and our troops are falling one by one! We can't stop him!" _

_Suddenly, a crash was heard in the room, knocking the jonin guard unconscious. There stood Kenji, his feet firmly placed in the ground. He stood up, with a look of pure rage in his eyes. "It's been a long time…Raikage Strife." _

_The Raikage opened his arms and put on the best fake smile that he could. "Kenji, my boy! I've missed you so…" _

_Kenji threw a kunai at hi recovering bodyguard, then rushed up to his father at an incredible speed, so the two were face to face. "I leave for a couple of years, and NOW you decide to treat me as family. But for your information, we never were one. I know you sacrificed my own mother to put a monster inside me! To make me a weapon that you soon wanted discarded! I stayed in the village when I shouldn't have after Kyo defected!" The Reikage tried to appear unaffected. "Besides, if you really are welcoming me with open arms, why do you tremble with fear? I should also add Kyo tried that trick as well." _

_The Raikage clenched his teeth. "I must kill him now!" He tried making some hand signs, but Kenji took two keris and pinned his hands to the floor. Then, Kenji sent electricity from his hands to his father's. The Raikage screamed in pain. Kenji just smiled. "You were once considered the greatest of cloud ninja. Let's see how great you are when your hands will need to be amputated." _

_Suddenly, two sound ninja burst through the door. "Everyone has been secured. Lord Orochimaru-" _

_Kenji smiled and held his hand up. "Oh yes, I forgot." He leaned towards his father and smiled sinisterly. "It looks like you lucked out old man. I'm not going to kill you after all." The Raikage could only look at his son in fear; he knew it was a fate worse than death. "You'll become a guinea pig for one of the legendary sanin. You should be honored." _

_Kenji pulled his daggers out of his sire's hands, as the two ninja carried him off. "Nooo! Nooo!" he screamed._

"_Hold it!" Kenji yelled at the two ninja. He walked over to his father, and took his hat off. "Now you may take him." _

_As the two carried his father away, he looked out the window with his new hat. "It looks like I achieved my dream after all. If my scumbag of a father can do it, no reason why I can't."_

* * *

_Mana heard the commotion at the top. She didn't know what was happening. Could it be good or bad? Suddenly, she heard some keys cling. A figure came to the cage door, but not a guard; it was Chizuru, a friend of hers. "Chizuru! What's-" _

"_Shh! Kenji came back! He-" _

_Just when the door open, Mana caught her friend in a hug. She cried out of joy. "Please! You have to take me to him!" Chizuru looked at her friend with a face of fear. Mana saw it, and asked "What's wrong?" _

"_Mana…Kenji took over Kumogakure. He killed so many shinobi. He overthrew his father." _

_Mana gave a look in horror. "It can't-" _

_Chizuru only nodded yes slightly. _

"_The Raikage deserved it! Kenji's only trying to protect us!" _

_Chizuru screamed "I heard him declaring to someone that he would take his personal revenge on Kumogakure!" _

_Mana's eyes widened, and she fell to the floor, grabbing her head. "No…" _

_Just then, Chizuru heard someone coming in the dungeon. _

"_What should we do with the prisoners?" _

"_The boss said he doesn't particularly care. I say we just kill them! It'll be fun!" _

_Chizuru scooped her friend up, and fled. After they escaped a good ways away from their home, Mana whispered something inchoherent._

"_Get Seto-sensei. He didn't sugarcoat anything that happened back then. He can reason with Kenji. He-"_

"_I'm sorry Mana." Chizuru replied. "There was no way I could tell you before, but Seto-sensei is dead. He tried to kill Kyo, and he was beheaded."_

_Mana broke down completely and wailed on her friend's chest._

* * *

_A couple of days later, cloud village was occupied by several sound ninja. They had no headbands to indicate where they came from, but they proved to easily match every cloud ninja. Kenji declared himself as the Seventh Raikage. Since then, things were never the same. The monument with the previous raikages was destroyed. A curfew was installed. Much of the actual village was deserted. Most of nins were transported to barracks with their families, to be kept an eye on. One day, all the citizens were called towards the palace. _

_Mana stealthily leapt between roofs to get to the bottom of everything. Though she had been out of practice, she was still good at being at stealth. Finally, she found a place at the top to hide herself and get a better view. There she saw Kenji in the Raikage robes and hat. Mana noted he looked quite handsome too. But when he lifted his face slightly, Mana couldn't believe what she saw. Kenji was no longer the happy-no-lucky child she knew and loved. His face was cold, hardened. "He has changed…" Mana thought. Then she looked at his side. There was Kyo, his face battered and bruised. He was tied in chains, and had a look of utter fear on his face. _

_Kenji raised his voice and hands, yelling "Citizens! Today you will witness the execution of the greatest scum of the Kumogakure, and of all time; Kyo Strife!" Some heads turned, wondering how this monster could possibly justify the killing of their greatest hero. None dared speak, however. _

"_The last Raikage was so protective of his own child…" Kenji said "…that he hid the truth from you." Kenji roughly grabbed Kyo at the back, forcing him to grunt. "He told you that rouge ninja abducted him and that he was never seen from again. But that is the furthest thing from the truth. The truth is that he abandoned you. For power. Power he did not need. Power he could have obtained through more honorable means." Kenji then slammed his brother to the floor. "Power he always had!" There were collective gasps from the crowd. _

"_He secretly has been giving information to enemies, taking this village's money. Even if he was appointed to Raikage, he probably would simply sell you all as slaves!" Kenji drew his brother close. "Is the story of your defection true?" _

_Kyo said without hesitation and with much fear, "Yes." The crowd gasped. _

"_And your continuing activities?" Kyo began to cry. "Well?" _

_Kyo screamed "Please! I don't want to die!" _

_The story that Kenji told the crowd began to sink in. Kenji, on one knee, simply smirked. "Mercy, please!" Kenji just laughed at him. "If there is one nice thing I will ever be forced to say about you, it's that you crack me up! HAHAHAHA…." _

_Kyo pleaded between sobs. "I'll leave. I'll never come back. You can even take an arm from me. Just let me live."_

_Kenji picked up his brother, with an evil smile on his face. "Tell me…" he asked. "If our positions were changed, would you do the same for me?" Kenji then drew a keris at lightning speed, and his brother's head rolled off. _

_Mana looked on in horror. She suffered at the hands of Kyo more than anyone, she knew no words could describe how loathsome he was…but she could never bring herself to kill a man in chains, pleading for his life, no matter how deplorable his past was. What's more, the Kenji she knew would have never done something like that either. Kenji then turned to the crowd, seemingly satisfied with his kill._

"_We ninja of the Kumogakure are like brothers. And a brother betraying another is unforgivable. Which is why everyone who betrays Kumogakure will be executed from here on in! But not like this! No…Every traitor brought to me alive will face their death, prolonged by one minute depending on the ones who came before. For example, the next traitor will suffer a painful death for one minute. The next, two minutes. The next, three minutes. I think you get the idea." _

_Mana did everything she could to stop herself from crying. "That's not Kenji! That's a monster!" she said in her mind over and over again. Soon, she snuck out of the village, never to return again._

* * *

"Too many betrayed, leaving a chance for prisoners to escape. So instead, all of the citizens had seals placed on them, to prevent any betrayal." Mana finished. "I managed to save a few. The seals are easy for another to remove, once you understand them, but security is so tight and almost everyone is too afraid to disobey. I did bring you with the hope of defeating him." Mana's tear-stained face stared at the fire, now nothing bu a bunch of embers. "But I was hoping you could reason with him as well, show him what he forgot. But now I know that's impossible…"

Naruto felt a pit in his stomach. He realized…he could have become this man. He still could. What was to prevent him from becoming Kenji? Naruto, for the first time, was not scared of the beast within him, but he was truly scared of himself.

Naruto's genin team was horrified that someone who was an ordinary person like them could do such things. But at the same time, they were disgusted that someone would seal a demon inside a child and treat him like a monster. "I can't blame him. Not for turning out this way." Yuji commented. Shiguri just stared passively.

Iori asked "Sensei, what will we do?"

Naruto stood up and said "You will go back to Konoha and consider the mission a success. We got Mana-dono here safe and sound. Although the way things are right now, it seems more like we're feeding them to sharks."

Mana was hoping he would stay and fight, but wasn't surprised by his statement. After all, she did trick them. "Miss Kono, do you have a ninja that could escort them?"

Mana looked up, shocked. "B-but I got you and your team involved in a battle that was not yours!"

Naruto gave a determined look when he said "It's not their fight… but it is mine."

Yuji yelled "Sensei! We can help you!" Naruto had his back to them, as he put on his clothes.

Shiguri yelled "What is it? You don't believe in us?"

Naruto turned around, his eyes red for just a split-second. "Yes! I don't believe in you!" he yelled. The team stared at him silently. Naruto calmed down, and put his hands over the heads of the two boys "My first C-ranked mission was really an A-rank. While our client did deceive us, he was only trying to help his country. But we encountered two S-class criminals. One of us nearly got killed." Naruto finally finished dressing. "I don't want to take that chance with you guys."

One of Mana's men appeared, whom she nodded to. He walked over to the kids, and patted the two boys on the back. "Come on. Let's go." He said.

As they left, Mana turned to Naruto. "Why do you stay and fight?" she asked.

Naruto said "You know I'm a jinchuriki too, right?"Mana nodded affirmitively.

Naruto said "He's exactly what people thought I would be. I don't know how many jinchurikis there are, but I'd imagine they all went through the same things as we did growing up. If I don't stop him now, people will only continue to think of us as weapons and monsters." Naruto put out the embers, and as the smoke cleared, he said "Not only that, but he has a link with one of Konoha's most dangerous enemies. An enemy who has my best friend imprisoned." Naruto turned to face Mana. For some reason, he smiled. "Don't worry, I'll help you out! I promise! I wish I could say the same about returning Kenji to you, but…"

The jinchuriki was caught off guard when Mana placed a quick kiss on the cheek. It was simply to express gratitude, but Naruto was still a bit embarrassed. "I have to accept that the man I loved died a long time ago." Mana replied. "Though I want him back more than anything, I know it's impossible. Don't try, please. You'll only get killed. But I thank you for considering it."

Naruto sighed sadly. "I will try. I feel most everyone deserves a second chance…"

* * *

Kenji paced back and forth in his tent. He couldn't believe he let someone like Naruto get away. Worse, it was a genin that came to his aid. Suddenly, a presence entered his tent and broke him out of his thoughts. Normally, anyone doing so without permission would be killed. But this was not one of his subordinates.

"It's hard to believe that someone who claims to be a kage could fall for a genin's tricks like that." Orochimaru said. Kenji rushed up to him and drew his kriss. Orochimaru parried with his kusunagi, but he could barely stop Kenji's attack. He was still physically stronger than the sanin.

"It's only natural for an individual like him to have such gifted students." Kenji hissed. He withdrew and turned around. "What is it about him that gets you?" Kenji asked.

Orochimaru's face turned into a cold example of rage. "He has been nothing but a thorn in my side! Worse, he's been trying to steal Sasuke-kun from me!"

Kenji asked "Kill him?"

Orochimaru spat "No, bring him back to Konoha. What a fool! Sasuke-kun is like me! He will do anything for power, and cares about nothing else."

Kenji hid his face from the snake, clearly boiling with rage. Uchiha reminded him of his brother: Having all the talent, the admiration, and tossing it aside. "Still, I need this snake. When I'm through with him, I'll kill him!" Kenji calmed himself and said to Orochimaru "I will be the one to handle Uzumaki. However, he could have gone for help. I would like to request some assistance to deal with his team and the rebels."

Orochimaru replied with a sinister smile "Sasuke-kun?"

Kenji could tell Orochimaru was testing him. He frowned in annoyance and replied"No, someone who I will not kill on sight. At least, not immediately."

Orochimaru grinned. "How about your father? I have done some lovely experiments on him, and I think he is ready for battle. I am very eager to test him."

Kenji gave a quizzical look. "May I see him?"

Orochimaru led him through a corridor of mazes, until finally, they came to a rattling cage. A huge roar came forth, blowing Kenji's hat off. Orochimaru leaned near Kenji and whispered into his ear "What do you think?"

Kenji just smiled "He's perfect."

* * *

Hopefully, this shows you Kenji is only 50 percent Gaara rip-off!

On an unrelated note, can people tell me what so many fans have against NaruSaku? I've gotten several reasons for liking SasuSaku and NaruHina, but never for disliking NaruSaku. I also have to say, when fans of the other two pairings describe "romantic" moments in the manga and anime, if I were staring them in the face, I'd be like "What the hell are you smoking?" I generally try to be open-minded about alternative pairings. In fact, quite a few of them can be quite fun. However, when the fans think such pairings are dead certain, especially when the two people have hardly any interaction, it just annoys the hell out of me. I also heard from other NaruSaku fans that when they put forth an argument on some Naruto fan sites, they get flamed by the other fans.

To the SasuSaku and NaruHina fans: I understand there is nothing I can do to make you switch over. Just understand this: I like NaruSaku simply because it's practically the only pairing hinted at in the manga. If there was more evidence for SasuSaku and NaruHina, I'd go with those. But there isn't. I respect your right to enjoy your favored pairings, so long as you respect my right to enjoy mine. But, if we do happen to have a conversation about this, I want to get a couple of points across:

1) Kishimoto, or any mangaka for that matter, would NEVER say what pairing will occur in a series they're in the middle of writing. Stop saying that Kishimoto said it will be SasuSaku. Telling the public what's going to happen in your series pretty much ruins it.

2) Kishimoto said he MIGHT settle on A pairing. It could be anyone. We may get no pairing at all (although I think leaving the pairings neutral would be a waste). And in that statement, when the interviewer said "We hope Hinata gets her chance.", and Kishimoto replies "I hope so too.", that DOES NOT mean that NaruHina will happen. Personally, it seemed more like a joke to me, and in fact I view it as Kishimoto saying he doubts he will go that way.

3) Do not compare the romance in Naruto to DBZ. A lot of SasuSaku and NaruHina fans use DBZ, specifically VegetaXBulma, as evidence that Kishimoto will go with a pairing that's not main guyXmain girl. True, Kishimoto is a DragonBall fan. However, he said he loved the stories up until the Frieza saga. So, he probably did not like the idea of Vegeta knocking up Bulma either. Also, Akira Toryiama never gave a damn about romance in DragonBall. He just hooked up people randomly. As for the twist with Vegeta and Bulma, he did that to anger his readers, because he wanted to end DragonBall at the Frieza saga. The readers demanded more, and it was a move intended to disappoint the fans.

4) Stop saying Kishimoto will make your pairing happen based on fan demand. To that, I say "FROM WHERE?" If you are one of those fans who watches Naruto for free on youtube, or uses other sites to look at free manga scans( I've done this to, but I plan on buying a few volumes), chances are Kishimoto won't listen to you, because you're practically robbing him. This occurs mostly outside of Japan. Naruto is an ANIME made for a JAPANESE audience. If Kishimoto makes his decisions based on fan demand, it will be based on the fans in JAPAN. For what it's worth, I don't know what pairings, if any, the Japanese fans are rooting for. But I bet neither do any of you. There's also a possibility that fan demand on certain things may compel him to do the opposite. I remember reading in Rurouni Kenshin that Watsuki got a letter from a fan saying "I bet Aoshi will become the kind of person who helps Kenshin in the end." And Watsuki thought "Hm, I think I will make him a bad guy…" Besides, it's his story. He may take some fan demand into his consideration, but unless someone writes a compelling argument against what he was originally planning, he's not going to deviate from it.

5) Stop saying NaruSaku will be abusive to Naruto. It's not cool for anyone to beat their significant other in real life. However, this is a shonen manga; the idea of girls kicking the crap out of boys is meant to be comical, showing they may wind up running things, and is often a sign of true love. If you are one of the fans who makes the abuse claim, and love InuYasha, Ranma ½, Rurouni Kenshin, Love Hina and Yuyu Hakusho, you need to either take back that statement or boycott the pairings in those other series….4/5 of which would be too late though. If you mean emotional abuse, not even at her worse did Sakura ever do anything to put down Naruto, and the one time she did, she thought she was talking to Sasuke. It just annoys me when you take some of the interactions a bit too seriously.

Rasenzan-Swirling Disc

Doro Me-Mud Sprout


	6. Senior Mutant Ninja Monster

Hey. I'm glad you all enjoyed my latest chapter and my rant. Some of you seemed to have misunderstood the point for the latter though. It wasn't really a defense of NaruSaku; I was just trying to shoot down the most ridiculous arguments the other Naruto fans make. Granted, we all share different opinions, which is fine, but it really annoys me when someone uses an argument to support his opinion that is just ridiculous. It's not WHAT you argue, it's HOW you argue it.

Also, I looked back at my AN at the beginning of the last chapter, and all I can say to myself is WTF? I knew I wasn't in a particularly good mood, and it was 3 in the morning when I posted it, but DEAR GOD DID MY GRAMMAR SUCK! At least the story (mostly) was spared. It's been fixed now, but I'm sure I scared a few readers away with that, cause if I was one of the readers of just an authors note like that, I'd be hesitant to continue reading at least. From now on, I'll post when I'm in a more proper mindset.

On another note, I forgot to give credit to AzureBalmonk for giving me the idea of Kenji's back-story. His fic, "Where Do I Belong?" , had Naruto deal with a similar incident like Kenji's back-story (don't worry, he did not become as fucked up as my character), and I did take 2 minor lines from it because I couldn't think of anything better. I meant to do it last time, but now will have to do: Thank you for the inspiration, AzureBalmonk . I apologize for not giving credit to you sooner.

Recently, I was reading the American release of Volumes 19-21, and I'm starting to think that there is a good possibility that Kishimoto will end the story with a pairing. There were several illustrations by Kishimoto's assistants congratulating him for keeping Naruto going for four years and for his marriage (I assumed he was already married when he started the series). It doesn't PROVE he will, but if he was single when he started, he probably will approach whatever little bits of romance we get with a different mindset now that he's married (assuming it's happy). Time will tell.

For those of you demanding NaruSaku interaction….wait. When I get back to it, there will be lots, but for now, it will have to be on hold. Are you expecting Sakura to confess her love to a wounded Naruto in the jungle and suddenly ride him like a pony despite the fact the bad guy could come any minute (aaaakward)? Sorry, some writers may want to go that way, but I want to build everything up.

Rickp2006: Sorry about that, I hope you're feeling better. I must warn you, if you want to continue, I suggest bringing some pepto for future chapters (you're not going to need them for a while, but be ready). As for the fourth point, I was just expressing how fans outside of Japan believe that Kishimoto listens to them when it's his native fan-base that he would be concerned about. How much they influence him in terms of pairings remains to be seen.

Leneypoo: My apologies about the spelling (more proof that MW's spell check sucks!). I was upset over school, and didn't take the time to proof-read. I'll be sure to post when I'm in a better mood. Also, I won't change the way I spelled "Raikage" in the past chapters, but I will use the correct spelling from now on. Let me know if I write anything else incorrectly.

Spurious-verisimilitude: Could you post that again, please? It didn't show up. If it won't work on reviews, just PM me. Thanks for the help anyway.

IronicEnding: Well, I don't think he's original, but I felt it would be interesting to make a "Dark Naruto" different from Garaa. Garaa was what Naruto may have become, Kenji is what Naruto COULD become. Don't forget how his team parallels Team 7 in many ways. As for the rant, I just wanted to get my opinion in. That's all.

Full-metal sousuke: Thanks, that's going to come into play this chapter. I don't think I'll really need to know the other Biju from this point on, but thank you for the link.

One more thing:

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. If I did, the poor guy would loose 90 percent of his fanbase (it does seem NaruSaku is both the best and worst thing for the series).

* * *

Sakura's slug finally made it to shore. She, Neji, and Kakashi jumped off, touching down on the beach.

"Well, that was relaxing." Kakashi said.

"Shut up." Sakura muttered. She didn't sleep during their journey, so it was only natural that she was a bit cranky. She dispelled her summon, and collected herself. "Let's find the locals of this place. We'll look for either Naruto or this Raikage those ninja were talking about. We'll split up."

Kakashi felt it a bit odd to be taking orders from one of his students, but it did give him a sense of pride how far one made it. "She's become quite the ninja…I feel terrible for neglecting her." Back then, Kakashi really did think that while loyal and brave, she was a waste of time. Her crush on Sasuke always kept her from training, and though Kakashi made note of her smarts and her superb chakra control, he honestly did not think she would amount to much. However, after Naruto's battle with Sasuke, Kakashi realized just how much he truly neglected the two of them. He knew Naruto had all the potential in the world, but after Jiraya arrived, he felt he was better off. It actually made him feel surprisingly happy that there were still things he could teach Naruto after he returned. As for Sakura, he initially thought she was upset over Sasuke leaving. But it was much deeper than that; she simply did not have the power to stop her comrade from making a terrible choice, and she could not help her peers when they set out to get him. After the battle, it tore her apart that so many genin nearly died because of her helplessness…

* * *

_Sakura sat on a bench crying. She saw medics carry in Chouji, Neji, Kiba and Akamaru towards the ER. "They…they were nearly killed…all because of me!" If she had stopped Sasuke in the first place, none of this would have happened. Her admiration of him, in fact, was suddenly becoming something else…something that made her want to throw up, to scream, to….beat Sasuke senseless. _

_She struggled with her emotions until she finally accepted the fact that she no longer loved Sasuke the way she did before. She also had to accept that she may have contributed towards his fall. She thought Sasuke was so cool, wanting to live his life to kill someone. But she slowly saw his anger exposed, how he was willing to throw away everything. If she only took time to understand the situation and snapped out of her fairy tale dream, things would have turned out differently. For some reason, she also could not stop thinking about Naruto…_

"_Hey." Sakura looked up and noticed Kakashi. She didn't say anything at first. _

"_You don't have to say anything. I just wanted to apologize to you." Sakura didn't say anything, but looked at him curiously. "I'm sorry I never gave you the teaching you deserved. I had a lot of reasons for focusing on Sasuke. The fact he was like me. To prevent him from giving into the curse mark. To make up for my failure to my best friend…" Silence followed for a minute. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that I paid no attention to you and Naruto. Neither one of you may have had as much natural talent as Sasuke. But you have both demonstrated a drive that is not seen in most ninja today. That is all you need in order to become a great shinobi." Then Kakashi got up. "Naruto has found a great teacher. Better than me. And I know of someone who is perfect for you." _

_Sakura jumped off the bench "Who, sensei?" _

"_Tsunade, the last of the three sanin." _

_Sakrua was shocked "But, there's no way the hokage will take someone like me! I'm weak! Training me would be a waste of time for someone like her!" _

_Kakashi then grabbed Sakura's chin and brought her face to his, his eye giving an angry look. "Unless you are willing to do whatever it takes to change that, you will always be weak! Crying for nearly getting your friends killed will only insure their deaths. Lacking the courage to try is worse than failure. Never believing in yourself…will kill you." Kakashi let her go, and his look softened. "Tsunade needs a medical nin on par with her. One with exceptional chakra control. Someone like you." _

_Sakura didn't know what to say. Sure, the speech had an impact on her. But his mention of the hokage needing someone with great chakra control got to her. Maybe…just maybe… _

"_After the others are out of danger, pay her a visit. I already recommended you as an apprentice."_

* * *

_Six months before Naruto had returned, Kakashi was on a trip to the bookstore. He hoped Jiraya had finally gotten around to making the new Icha Icha novel. "It's been so long, it's eventual release is driving me CRAZY!" Suddenly, he heard crying. Very familiar crying. He turned around to see Sakura crying on that same bench again. This really concerned Kakashi. He hadn't seen her cry since that incident. And things have been going so well for her, minus that one incident that scared her for life. However, she still managed to move on with her life . Tsunade told him herself that Sakura was becoming a great ninja and had the potential to surpass her, and she had been a Chunin for over a year now. Kakashi ran up to her. "Sakura, what's wrong?" _

_Sakura looked up, her nose runny and her face puffy. She hiccupped for what seemed like an eternity before she was finally able to speak. "K-Kakashi sensei, I found out something really terrible." _

_Kakashi said nothing, but nodded for her to go on. However, he had a feeling that he knew what it was Sakura was crying over. "You know how Naruto has been alone all his life? Why all the adults never helped him?" _

_Silence. "I've been wondering that for some time now, ever since he left. None of the theories that I came up with on my own made any sense. So I snooped around the office…" Sakura hyperventilated once, then yelled "Naruto is not a monster! He was just a normal kid, like me! He was one of the kindest people I have ever met, he inspired me, he saved my life….He was even willing to sacrifice his heart just so I could be happy!" _

_Kakashi could only hang his head down. He agreed with everything Sakura had said, but hearing it verbally made the atmosphere more than uncomfortable. "And I looked down on him, like everyone else! All because of Sasuke! He may have lost his family, but he had everything! Praise, you as a teacher, and a bunch of girls that would have been happy to be with him! And yet HE was the one to give up on us and betray us in the end! Not only that…" _

_Kakashi's eye widened. "It seems the Kyuubi isn't the only secret she found out about…" _

_Sakura shouted "How can they treat the fourth's only child like that? If Naruto still had a father, he would have been worshipped…he wouldn't have to go through so much…" _

_Kakashi pulled Sakura in a reassuring hug. "Sakura…I know just how bad things have been for Naruto. I was part of the problem too. The fourth was my sensei. I should have adopted Naruto as my own back then, but I was so caught up with my own issues…" Kakashi partially let go in order to look Sakura in the face. "We are ALL to blame. But Naruto has not sought retribution even ONCE. He is the type of person we all want to be." Kakashi turned his eyebrow up, showing that he was smiling " At least, in terms of how we treat others." Sakura giggled slightly. At least Kakashi could insert some humor when it was appropriate. Sakura then nodded for him to continue. "Naruto loves us, all in his own way. Believe it or not, he considers you one of his best friends, and his desire to save Sasuke is genuine. His promise to you is only part of it."_

_Sakura got up, giving him a genuine smile. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. I needed to get that out of my system." _

_Before she could leave, Kakashi said "Sakura, remember this: we've all done terrible things. But what matters is that we accept our mistakes, do everything we can to make up for them, and move on with our lives. Dwindling on the past, a past that I'm sure Naruto has learned to deal with, will do no good."_

* * *

Kakashi snapped back to the present. He was proud of Sakura now. He wished he spent more time taking her seriously as a ninja, but that was in the past. Now, he had to do his best to help both her and Naruto as their comrade.

"We'll split up!" Sakura shouted. "We'll meet back here in six hours! Go!" The two ANBU and ANBU retiree went off in separate directions.

* * *

Kenji and Orochimaru stood atop a cliff, looking for any signs of rebels. "Any luck?" the Raikage asked.

Orochimaru replied "No…wait…"

Kenji turned his eyes towards the sanin, whose eyes seemed to be wide with alarm. "What?" Kenji asked.

"It's a slug." Orochimaru replied. "A very big one."

"One of the other Sanin?" Kenji asked.

"No, Tsunade is the Hokage now. She would never abandon her post unless it was total war. She must have an apprentice…but who?"

Kenji just cracked his knuckles. "It doesn't matter. The power of a wanna-be sanin does not compare to that of a jinchuriki." Soon, a cloud ninja appeared before them, but not as a rebel.

"Raikage-sama, we have found the remnants of a rebel camp. It's faint, but our ninja hounds have picked up their scents."

Kenji turned around. "Were there…any unusual ones?"

The cloud ninja said "N-not that we know of. The dogs claimed they picked up a fox, but I told them to forget about it…"

Kenji's face suddenly changed from impassive to enraged. "You fool! That was the nine-tails! He could be anywhere now!"

The cloud ninja panicked "I-I'm so sorry Raikage-sama! I'll send some more troops to…"

Kenji didn't listen. He formed a green orb and squeezed it. The poor cloud ninja screamed in pain, tearing at his forehead before finally collapsing. "I don't know why I even bother with these fools." He turned to face Orochimaru. "Go get Kabuto. We will probably need to split up."

Orochimaru then said "Your father alone is sufficient back up for you. I want Kabuto to check out the beach. Up until now, only Tsunade was known to have a contract with the slugs. I must find out who this new summoner is."

Kenji just shrugged his shoulder, saying "As you wish."

* * *

Naruto looked at the forces that Mana was gathering. Naruto knew he would need help, but he only planned on having them fight any other ninja that may pop out and make his fight several on one. Even so, he needed exceptional ninja for this. Most of them were average fighters. When Mana came to his side, he said "They're not good enough. We'll never defeat him with ninja like these."

Mana's face scowled and she retorted "These are the only cloud ninjas I have managed to free. Do you have any better suggestions?"

"Yes." Naruto replied curtly. "Let me do all the work."

Mana grabbed his collar and nearly shouted "I cannot allow that! Strong as you may be, you will not defeat Kenji by yourself!"

Naruto's eyes flickered red for a moment, than returned to normal. "If you try to help me, all of your comrades will be killed. I will not allow the Kumogakure's last hope to go up in smoke. Even if I die, Kenji will be gravely weakened. That will be your chance." Naruto reached into his pocket and threw a smoke bomb to the ground.

Mana hacked and coughed, cursing herself for being so stupid.

* * *

Yuji, Shiguri, and Iori walked through the forest with their escort. They were reluctant to go the entire trip, and their guardian foiled their first few attempts at escaping. They tried to whisper to each other for better plans, but he immediately reprimanded them whether it was idle chit-chat or another plan to escape.

Just when they had given up hope, Iori grabbed her crotch and hobbled towards the adult.

"Mister, I have to pee."

The guard got annoyed and said "We're almost at the shore. Hold it."

"But I can't!" Iori screamed.

"Too bad!"

Iori turned to her teammates for any suggestions. Then, Shiguri just motioned his hands as if telling her to go on. At first, she had no idea what he was trying to say. But once she did, she looked at him in anger and horror. She mouthed, without saying a sound "No!"

Shiguri just mouthed back "Do it!"

Just as the guard was convinced there would be no more escape attempts, he suddenly heard the girl crying. He turned around, and his eyes bulged. Iori was rubbing her eyes and crying hard, but what got his attention was the wet spot around her shorts.

"BWAAAHHHH! I told you I couldn't hold it, mister! BWAAAHHHH! I think I got diarrhea from drinking the water here too!"

* * *

"Okay!" The guard yelled, holding a rope that was tied around Iori's waste. "You've got five minutes to relieve yourself in the bushes there! You better make use of it!"

Iori ran into the brush, holding her butt cheeks together. As she disappeared, Shiguri nodded at Yuji. Shiguri, looking like he was holding his hands behind his back bored, was in fact doing hand signals from behind.

"Doton! Quicksand no Meiun!"

The ground gave way beneath the guard, and he was waist deep in quicksand. However, before his arms could be submerged, he made hand signs of his own.

"Reiton! Heki no Jutsu!"

The soft ground exploded around him, sending the two genin flying. However, before he could touch down on the crater he had created, something wrapped around his leg, and suddenly, he was hoisted up a tree.

Yuji smiled, gave the victory sign and said "Wires! The most underrated weapons in shinobi history! I never leave home without them."

The escort fumed, and made one hand signal. "Fools! You think that this can hold me?"

Just as he was about to call out an attack, Iori came back, jumped and kicked him in the head several times until he was black, blue all over and unconscious. Yuji than lowered him down, and the three proceeded to break his fingers before hoisting him back up again. That's when Iori turned around, her eyes glowing white, and staring at Shiguri.

Shiguri knew what she was mad about, as he started sweating profusely. "Um…sorry, that was kind of a last minute thinking sort of thing. This will just be a secret between the three of us, all right?"

Shiguri tried to smile as innocently as possible. No good. Iori only seemed to get angrier, then her fist connected with his face.

* * *

Tsunade, meanwhile, was going through her paperwork as fast as possible. She wanted to go out and have a drink before it got too late. However, this thought only distracted her instead of motivating her. Yamato and Sai just returned from a mission, and she was about to hear their report, when suddenly Ino burst through the door, with her mask on.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama!" Ino said. "But Naruto may be in danger!"

Tsunade, who at first looked annoyed, widened her eyes and stood up. "Akatsuki?"

Ino said "No, someone else. You know that Naruto and his team had a mission to Monsoon Country, right? During our mission, we interrogated some cloud ninja to find out about their new Raikage. It seems that the previous Raikage's own son overthrew him and took over! He has seals placed on his own soldiers, which allow him to kill them even hundreds of kilometers away! Before they died, they told us that he was heading to Monsoon Country to deal with rebels. I think the client you took was a part of this rebellion!"

Tsunade knew what this meant. But still, she didn't feel any need for this to be an alarm. "I'm sure he's strong, but Naruto can surely hold his own against him."

Ino nodded no. "There's a problem! The new Raikage is a jinchuriki! He has the five-tails inside of him!"

Now this spiked an alarm in Tsunade's mind. "Where is the rest of your team?"

Ino replied "They went off on their own to help Naruto. I was ordered to come back here and request aid!"

Tsunade nodded towards Yamato and Sai. "Your report will have to wait. Since the two of you seem to be in fair condition, you shall accompany her. I'll gather as much forces as I can. Until then, you three will head to Monsoon country."

Sai, showing no visible shock, said "I can use my artistic skills to make a bird big enough to carry the three of us. That way we can all rest and be ready for our enemy when we get there."

Yamato then pulled out a seed and handed out to Ino. "Swallow this. I'll be able to know where you are in case we get separated." After all the preparations were made, they headed out.

* * *

Itachi sat in his chambers meditating. It was all he ever did back at the base, besides eating and light sleeping. Then he sensed a presence behind him. He made no emotion as he turned to face his master. He bowed humbly; after all, if Itachi had a superior, you knew he commanded respect.

"The five-tails has been located. You and Kisame shall head to Monsoon country and capture him."

Itachi said nothing but nodded affirmatively. As he walked past the Akatsuki leader, the man said "One more thing. You know of the shichibi, correct?"

Itachi didn't turn, but replied "Yes. Kisame and I ourselves captured him. He shouldn't be of any concern."

The leader replied "That would be true. But it seems that he had a child. The child of a jinchuriki just might be useful. As soon as you are done you shall capture her as well. Also, I think I may have found a much more efficient way of capturing a jinchuriki." The leader leaned into Itachi's ear and explained. Though he gave no reaction, Itachi nodded, and went out to find Kisame.

* * *

Sasuke left the temporary compound that Orochimaru had set up on the island, deciding to take a walk. He had not changed much since he saw his old team again. "Funny I should be thinking of them when my goal is Itachi." Perhaps he missed them? "No, impossible. I've broken my bonds with them a long time ago." More likely, it was because if he got near them, he would loose any hope of killing Itachi. Either he would be brought back to Konoha and never be allowed to leave, they would kill him…or his brother first. "I mustn't allow that to happen." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the sky, and turned, walking into the dark jungle.

* * *

As Sakura hopped through the branches, she noticed someone struggling. When she finally touched down, they saw a man trying to cut through a wire wrapped around his legs.

He noticed the two, and asked "You're a leaf ninja, right?"

Sakura nodded and said "I'll get you down from there."

The man thought that she was simply going to untie him from there, but Sakura simply turned around to leave. The man panicked and yelled "Hey! How is this helping me?" His question was answered when Sakura kicked down the tree that supported the wire. He fell, but not too hard or far down, as he wasn't very high to begin with.

"Untying it up there would have been too much work." Sakura answered. As the ninja got his bearings straight, and had his fingers popped back into place, he began to explain everything. "We already know about the Raikage." Sakura stated. " Just tell me, have you been contact with anyone named Naruto? He's got blond hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks on his cheeks."

The ninja said "Yes! He promised to help us, on the condition one of us would escort his team back! But those little monsters gave me the slip!"

Sakura just stood up, and muttered "No wonder Tsunade-shishou picked that team for Naruto. The three of them are as bad as he was." Sakura then asked "Which way did they go?"

* * *

Yuji, Iori, and Shiguri, who now had a black eye in place of his sun glasses, tree-hopped like mad through the forest. They weren't sure the wire would hold him for very long.

"Yuji!" Iori yelled. "What are we going to do once we get there? We're still just genin!"

Yuji looked back and said "We'll just lie in wait! We'll let sensei do most of the work. If it goes bad, we'll pull him out again!"

Shiguri then added "We could also stab the other guy in the back. After all, we are ninja. No code of honor, just get the job done the best way possible."

Though Yuji did agree, his friend had always been…dark.

"Hold it right there!" The team looked behind them to see a blur of black and white, along with a hint of pink, catching up to them quickly.

"Hey, isn't that the medic-nin who healed me?" Iori asked.

Shiguri looked behind him and said "I-I think you're right! C'mon, we've got to double-" Just then, Sakura jumped in front of them all. "-our speed."

Sakura moved her mask to the side, stared down at them, and then yelled "Bakas! What do you think you're doing?"

Both Shiguri and Iori backed down terrified, but surprisingly, Yuji remained calm. He took a step forward, holding his fist as he said "We're going to help our sensei. Got a problem with that?"

Sakura just replied "This is way out of your league for the three of you. This person your sensei is fighting is nothing the likes of which you have never seen."

"No kidding." Yuji replied. "We had to pull our sensei away from the fight last time. I don't think he's strong enough to stop this guy. We have to help him."

Sakura placed her hands on her hips and calmly replied "You three are returning."

"No."

Sakura punched a nearby boulder, shattering it. "Oh yes you are." she hissed.

Shiguri and Iori had looks that screamed 'Panic!' Surprisingly, Yuji remained as calm as before. "You'll have to do better than that to scare me."

His inner self was acting differently. _"We're going to die, we're going to die, we're going to die…" _

Yuji jumped back towards his teammates and yelled "Grab on!" The two genin did what he said, and Yuji threw a wire upwards. "Going up!" he said as he and his team were pulled upwards.

Sakura did not react in time, and was forced to follow them through the trees. She touched down on one branch, certain that she caught up with them. But they were nowhere insight. She looked all over, making sure that not one direction was overlooked. She still couldn't find them. Little did she know, Yuji stealthily moved apart the bushes a few branches above her, and climbed the branches quickly but without making a sound. His teammates followed suit, but Iori showed she needed more work on her chakra-climbing. A piece of bark fell through the little gaps below, and on to Sakura's head. Sakura immediately charged up.

"Okay, Plan B!" Yuji screamed. He threw another wire to the side, and got on. Just when Sakura caught up to them, all three of them began to grind on the wire.

Sakura followed suit, but she was way behind. She could have done more tree hopping to get ahead, but she would've lost sight of them.

The three finally reached the end, but Sakura would be on them within only a few seconds. Yuji cut the wire, and yelled "Run!"

Sakura jumped off and swung from branch to branch until she was at ground level with the kids. She ran forward. It would only be a matter of time now…

* * *

Yuji and his friends ran for a while. They did not know how long. But Sakura wasn't in their eyesight the whole time.

"Could we have outrun her?" Shiguri thought. "No, not that easily. Perhaps she's trying to ambush us? Maybe, but why the wait? Did something stop her?" He checked his surroundings to make sure the other two assumptions were not correct. "Option 3 right now seems the most likely. But what in the world could delay a he-woman like her?"

"Shiguri." Yuji said. "Did we loose her?"

Shiguri replied "I don't know how we lost her so easily, but we did."

Iori finally stepped in and said "Let's go get sensei." The team continued their sprint through the jungle.

* * *

What stopped Sakura was a kunai. It didn't hit her. In fact, it's target was the ground right in front of her. Under normal circumstances, she would have continued with a bit of caution. But not this time. She saw the owner of the kunai, and knew she could not be careful enough: Yakushi Kabuto.

Kabuto hadn't changed at all. He smirked as he touched down. "Haruno, it's been a long time."

Sakura narrowed her eyes dangerously, and circled Kabuto with a kunai in hand. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you." Kabuto replied as he pushed up his glasses. "But I'm a polite guy, so I'll answer your questions first. You do know about the situation here between Lightning and Monsoon, right?"

Sakura's eyes widened, as she said "You and Orochimaru are allies with the Raikage."

"Precisely. We have been for quite a while really. The poor guy was rejected from his village as a monster, so he came to us. He promised us right off the bat before terms could be reached that he would use his country's economy to fund us and provide the villagers as both soldiers and experiments."

Sakura now felt more torn than ever between what she got from the cloud ninja and from her experiences with Naruto

"Besides," Kabuto continued "it will be handy for us to have a jinchuriki on our side. The both of us will have to face the Akatsuki in the end."

"This is bad." Sakura thought. "Orochimaru is in allegiance with someone who could become even more dangerous than him."

"However, this is not the reason I'm in here really." Kabuto said. "Tell me, Haruno; can you summon slugs?"

Sakura at first did not know what to say. She could summon slugs, but if she said yes, he would kill her. "He'll try, anyway…" she thought.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses and smirked. "That's a yes if I ever saw one, which means your master must be Tsunade. She was quite formidable, but if it wasn't for Naruto, she'd have been dead. Nonetheless, she is still a great threat to Orochimaru's plans. Two Tsunades cannot be tolerated."

Sakura immediately knew what was coming next, and she held her kunai in the guard position.

"Which means I must kill the weaker one while I still can!" Kabuto popped in a food pill and charged.

* * *

Kenji finally reached a clearing. He wasn't really looking for anything; he just got away to have time to think. He then heard a rustle in the bushes. He knew it wasn't Naruto. His inner demon would have been setting off alarms if it was. He wasn't worried at all but nonetheless, he dove into the bushes with a keris in hand. He pinned the intruder down, intending to kill. But when he saw her face, his mind froze.

"Mana?" It was his former lover, pinned beneath him. She only looked back at him, the same emotions going through her. Kenji silently got up, and simply sheathed his weapon. He stared at her wide-eyed in disbelief, his breathing heavy. Just the other day, he was ready to kill her. Why was he so uncertain?

Finally, he turned away.

Just when he was about to leave, Mana shouted "Wait!"

Kenji came to a halt, but when he turned to face her his face was much more hostile. "What more do you want from me?"

Mana stayed silent, more out of uncertainty than fear. However, she managed to say "Of all the people you promised revenge on, you never hunted me down once. Why?"

Kenji didn't turn to face her, but said "Does it matter?"

Mana cautiously took a step forward. "I know there is still some good in you. You've done terrible things, but only because terrible things have been done to you."

"And you were part of them."

"Kenji! I was so young, I didn't know what I really wanted! And not even my younger self would've swooned over Kyo when he revealed his true colors!" Kenji took a step away, but Mana grabbed his shoulder. "Kyo forced himself on ME! I was sent to prison for punching him, he killed our child! I got out only because you came back!"

"Then I suppose you should thank me."

"Not under the condition you kill our families and enslave our home!"

Kenji screamed "Just what do you want, huh? Every time as far back as I can remember, I tried to give you everything! Praise! Help! Love…and you spat at all of them!"

Mana then embraced Kenji. "Kenji, let's run! We'll leave this all behind! Start over, just the two of us!"

Kenji felt all of his love and rage colliding. Then, he descended into darkness...

* * *

Kenji woke up in jagged tunnel with rotting vegetation. He stared straight ahead, looking his biju right in the eye. It was held down by vines, with a seal placed on its back.

"**Just when things were going so well, you back down again!" **

Kenji retorted "I..I can't."

"**Do you believe what she told you?" **

Kenji hesitated "Partially."

"**She used you as a replacement, and she'll use you now! Have you forgotten how your own people denied you your birthright? How they tortured you before you even knew I was inside of you? Dare I say, that you've forgotten what your father did to your mother?" **

Kenji yelled "I never even knew my mother!"

The beast then displayed an image right in front of him.

_Two people, a man and a woman where walking down the hallway. They were both carrying two babies, twins it seemed. The man was tall, and had green hair shaped like a palm tree. The woman had stunning red hair_.

"Is that…" Kenji thought. "…my mom and dad?"

_The woman said "Kintaro, whatever do you intend to show me, my love?" "Something special, my dear. You'll see." Soon, the Raikage opened the doors to reveal a caged beast: The Gobi! The cage was surrounded by seals, draining its chakra. _

"You mean…you were already imprisoned when dad put you inside me?"

"_Here it is dear, the Gobi!" The Raikage announced. The woman was clearly frightened. "It's…it's amazing you were able to imprison a powerful beast. What are you going to do with it?" _

_The Raikage looked at his wife solemnly. "We need a weapon for lighting country. His chakra is perfect, but he cannot be controlled. We need something that will help give us the element of surprise." The Raikage set the child he was carrying down, and took the other from his wife. He set the latter down right in front of the beast. _

"_Kinataro!" the woman screamed. "What do you think you're doing?" _

_The Raikage said nothing. He simply made several hand-signs, and yelled "Nibai Gisei Fuu no Jutsu!" A transparent oni came out, and grabbed the beast. However, it wasn't done yet. It's other hand grabbed the woman. _

"_Kintaro! Pleas don't-" She never finished. Instead, both she and the beast were pulled into the belly of the infant. "I'm sorry, my dear." The Raikage said. "But it was a necessary sacrifice to make Kumogakure's ultimate weapon."_

_The Raikage stamped papers in his office, thinking it would be a day like any other. Suddenly, a cloud ninja burst through the door. _

"_Raikage-samma! There's trouble at the nursery!" _

_The Raikage ran towards the said location, and gave a look of horror. Kenji, the one with the demon, was crying. He had a bruise on his knee, evidently the cause. The two year old, at the same time was sprouting electricity all over his body, frying everything it touched. Later, the Raikage came to an agreement with the runner of the nursery: By five, the child would be tossed out, and he would not raise it._

"Father…you bastard!" Kenji screamed.

"**Now do you see?"** the dog sneered. **"Your mother was betrayed by the village and the man she loved. You shall become her revenge! Take my power, and use it! Make all the humans who try to use Biju as weapons pay!"**

Kenji didn't respond the beast wanted to though. "I still love her." He said.

"**LOVE HER!"** The demon screamed. **"She always looked down on you! She merely thought of you as a replacement. Do you think that if your wretched sibling had not left, that she would fall for you?" **

Kenji said nothing. Then the demon played more images in front of him, this time involving Mana; every scene involved an insult, looking down, even being struck. But one scene got to him the most; one day after getting turned down for a date again he said to Mana that he was the son of the Raikage as well, so why did Mana have to go for just Kyo?

"_Why do you live in a shanty?" Mana shot back. "If the Raikage makes his own offspring live like a bum, there's obviously a reason for it. And I think I know why: You're weak, untalented, dimwitted, and you're a coward. If I were in his position, I wouldn't take you in as my son either!" _

Kenji remembered that day well; he didn't speak to Mana after that until Kyo defected. It was that statement that even when they finally became lovers, it tore him to his core.

"**Now you see! Let's take their hope away!"** the demon screamed.

Green chakra began to surround Kenji. "Power…Give me more power!" Kenji screamed.

* * *

Kenji snapped back to reality, and the deadly chakra surrounded him once more. Mana fell back in pain.

"I made a promise to myself to take revenge upon you. I wanted it to be a bit more savory, but I'm afraid we're out of time." Kenji was about to bring his clawed hand down, but a kunai hit it before it touched Mana. The young man winced in pain, but did not cry out.

"Let her go." A voice said.

Kenji smirked "Impressive, Uzumaki. You learned to conceal yourself rather well I must say."

Naruto emerged from the bushes, discarding a cloak. "A trick I picked up from Kiba. The cloak has the scents of many different animals, in order to make other ninjas who have sensitive noses think nothing of it." Naruto and Kenji stood facing parallel to one another. "Everything she has told you is the truth, Kenji. It's time to let go of your hate. If you don't…I'll have no choice." Naruto said with a hint of malice on the last part, as he readied his kunai.

"Oh no. If I let go of it now, they'll never learn. The will know nothing of my pain, my anger. And what do you think will happen when another jinchuriki comes along? They'll repeat the same cycle. You should be thankful. I will teach everyone everywhere to make sure they will respect people like us."

Naruto then started to grunt uncontrollably. His eyes flickered red and back to blue again and again. "No…' Finally, he calmed down. "Don't you see? You'll only make it worse. I won't lie, Konoha wasn't exactly very nice to me. But the village was nearly destroyed by the Kyuubi. Can you really blame them that they have to put up with the fact that a monster who killed so many was still living among them, even if he was safely imprisoned?"

Kenji replied "But don't you think it would be odd to see the so-called murderer of their families smile innocently, to want to play, to even love? Apparently, neither of our people quite caught on."

Both were about to charge, when suddenly, the two heard a scream. It didn't sound human. "Ah, father must have found something." Kenji said.

Naruto could only stare at him in horror. "Y-your father?"

"Yeah. I originally wanted to kill the old man. However, since he treated me as an experiment, I thought giving him to Orochimaru as one would be a much more fitting fate for him."

Naruto wasn't sure if he could take anymore stories of cruelty that this guy made. Then three other screams caught his attention. "That's not…"

"Shiguri!"

It was his team! "Sorry, Kenji. I'm afraid I don't have anymore time to play with you!" The two combatants charged, when some whirlwind came between them.

"Who the hell are you?" Kenji yelled.

"I am Hyuuga Neji."

Kenji squinted, and then smiled. "Oh, NOW I remember. You were the one who fought Naruto back in the Chunin exams."

Neji at first looked shocked, then Naruto explained.

"He was one of the spectators during our battle. I'd be careful if I were you." More screams, from both the monster and his team.

"Neji." Naruto said. "I need to ask you a favor. My team is in danger. I need you to-"

"I will be the one to deal with this 'so-called' Raikage." Neji answered as he prepared to face off against Kenji. "You go and help your team."

"But-"

"Yuji!" Iori screamed.

Naruto growled. "Okay. But if you die, I'll never forgive you!" The unpredictable ninja leapt away into the bushes.

Kenji changed back to his natural state and confronted his new nemesis. "I suppose a warm-up would be good. But may I ask why you wish to fight me?"

Neji simply replied "I know about the seals you put on your people."

"So?"

Neji removed his headband, revealing his mark. "The Hyuuga clan has two branches: the main branch and the cadet branch. The cadet branch serves the main branch, and to make sure we do, this seal is placed on our foreheads."

Kenji circled. "So, you feel sympathy towards the cloud people, despite the fact we at one time tried to abduct one of your own?"

"No one deserves to be controlled like this. Not like me. Also, since I know of your inner demon, surely you must know of Yugato." Kenji did not respond. "She was the jinchuriki of the two-tailed cat. She was also from Kumogakure, and did not experience the hate you probably did. If she could find happiness with your people, couldn't you have done the same?"

Kenji just replied "Oh, her. That actually got to me too; you see, she was a jinchuriki, but Kumogakure believed her to be a savior. You see, we used to worship cats; therefore, in Yugato's case, she was treated not as a demon, but as a gift from the gods. It sickens me how Kumogakure would mourn her loss, but never mine."

Neji started to pity this man, he truly was not treated as an equal. "Regardless, I shall defeat you."

Neji activated his Byakugan and charged. Neji thrust his palm forward, but Kenji dodged it. Neji caught him off guard with a foot sweep, and tried to stab him on the ground. Kenji rolled to the side and tried to side kick his opponent. However, Neji used his rotation technique and blew Kenji away.

"You will never land a hit on me as long as I have this technique!"

Kenji then made bushins and charged. Unlike his fight with Naruto, Neji didn't beat them away as easily as last time. This opponent employed various forms of strategic thinking. One clone charged at him, and as he got ready, another appeared underground, aiming for his chin.

"He's using the same strategy as Naruto!"

Neji was forced to draw two kunai to defend himself from the various blades that the clones tried to land on him. He managed to dispel some, but one managed to make a slash across his left eye.

"AAARRRGHH!" yelled Neji as he grabbed his eye.

"Hmm, I suppose it was a waste of time for us to go after your Byakugan." Kenji commented, using footwork similar to a boxer.

Neji wrapped his headband in a manner similar to Kakashi's and turned around to face the Raikage. "As long as I have one eye, you will never beat me!"

Kenji then snickered. "Then how about this: I'll beat you while you still have that one eye?"

Neji just said "Do as you wish. But you will not achieve it. It will only make defeating you easier!" Neji charged, planning to use his 128 palms. "One pal-" As he made contact, a sudden pain raced through him. The next thing he knew, Kenji was on top of him, and his Byakugan was loosing focus.

"You managed to seal a fraction of my chakra. But be warned, every time you use the gentle fist against me, you will pay a price. My body has been designed so that every time you damage my tenkatsu, my body releases an electric current. "

Neji struggled up. "Pain will be a small price for stopping you."

"I'd reconsider that if I were you." Kenji said, waving his finger as if to say no no. "That jolt you felt was the same amount you'd get from touching fifty thousand volts. It doesn't just cause unimaginable pain; it will destroy your nervous system."

Neji grunted. "Okay. Then I'll show you a variation of my rotation that I have been working on!" He fell to his side and began his rotation. A sideways whirlwind started. But instead of standing in place, it moved towards Kenji. Before he could dodge, Kenji was thrown forward. He landed right onto the trunk of a tree, smashing the bark. Kenji didn't have time to lick his wounds; the rotating Neji was coming straight for him. Kenji retreated as fast as he could but Neji was hot on his heals. Neji collided with him, but the thing turned out to only be a bushin. Neji stopped to survey his surroundings, because he could not see clearly when rotating. However, that would prove to be his downfall. Neji saw it coming, but not in time; Kenji was right behind him, and grabbed his hair. Kenji then swung the Hyuuga around like a rag-doll, bashing him against trees and bushes.

"The Hyuuga indeed is one of the strongest ninja of Konoha! But they all pale in comparison with me!" Kenji shouted as he continued to thrash Neji.

Neji managed to grab a kunai in his pouch and stab his assailant in the knee. "AAAAA!" Kenji screamed and threw Neji into the vines. Kenji pulled the weapon out; the wound began to close immediately. "You fight well and honorably. But the one I really planned on fighting was Naruto. So how about this: We'll settle this all with one move!"

Neji broke free from the tangled mess and once again got ready for his ultimate attack.

Kenji calmly replied"You remember what I told you; if you attack me like that…"

"If I can rid the world of you, then it will be worth it."

Kenji said nothing and formed his Rasenzan. Out of nowhere, water started to surround it.

"Hakke Hyaku Ni Ju Hashou!"

"Suiton Rasenzan!" Kenji's technique flew and ripped apart Neji's side. Neji ignored the pain and struck Kenji as many times as he could.

Both fighters then collapsed. Kenji lay still, but Neji twitched uncontrollably. Finally Kenji rose. "One more and I would've been a goner." Kenji stared at his fallen foe. "Houkou, I'll need some extra power."

* * *

Naruto ran through the forest, and finally onto a barren cliff. He checked to see if his students were still alive. He saw Shiguri holding his left arm; it seemed to be bleeding quite badly. Iori was clearly scared but looked okay. Yuji appeared unconscious. Then the same monstrous howl was heard. Naruto looked in the opposite direction of his team and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The thing's face looked like an old man's, complete with white hair around his bald scalp and a beard. But his skin was green, and two fangs were protruding from his mouth. His shoulders blades looked more like organic armor. His left arm was nothing but a snake, moving with a mind of its own. His right arm had hideous claws, but in his palm was an eyeball, also moving independently. His torso had all of its internal organs exposed, showing them working. How it could stay alive was beyond Naruto's understanding. Its legs looked more like a Dragon's, and its tail ended in a spiked club. Then Naruto remembered what Kenji told him about this creature.

"How could anyone do this to his father?" he thought in horror.

Suddenly, the creature turned towards his direction. Judging by the look in his eyes, all of his humanity had left him. The creature charged, flinging its snake arm. Naruto jumped up, not anticipating that the snake would stretch. Naruto side stepped only to be flung back by its claws. The scratches on his back hurt like hell, but it wasn't serious. Naruto took one of his kunai, and slashed the abomination's internal organs.

"Sensei, don't!" Iori screamed.

Too late. A strange bile poured out. The substance made contact with Naruto's headband…And started eating away at it. Naruto reluctantly flung it off, and avoided the rest of the substance, hoping onto a rock. "Orochimaru…damn you." Naruto quickly formed the Kage Bushins, and surrounded the beast. Naruto could tell that this monster had lost a good deal of intelligence from when it was human. "Here! I'm over here!" one of the bushin waved. The monster charged, making a sickening thud with each step. It threw a claw at Naruto, only to be met with little resistance. Another clone jumped on its back and stabbed it with a kunai. It was a good thing it was a clone, because the monster then turned its head one-hundred and eighty degrees and sprayed poison into its eyes. The clone clutched its eyes in pain before being dispelled. The real Naruto gritted his teeth. "Orochimaru has made something so twisted. This thing has got to have a weakness."

Naruto looked at its body to figure out a sign that it was vulnerable. Before he could finish, the creature charged again. Naruto readied a kunai, but the snake arm grabbed it and flung it away. Naruto back flipped and grabbed a piece of stone. The move was out of sheer desperation, but he had to find something. He slid past it's front, and stabbed the beast in its hindquarters, causing it to howl in pain. Not only that, but its skin was breaking apart. Naruto stared back at the stone, wondering what about it made it so special.

"Devil stone." Kenji's voice said.

Naruto turned around, staring at his nemesis. "What happened to-"

"Your friend is out of commission. I warned him not to use his gentle fist against me, and now with the shock I gave him, I wouldn't be too surprised if he will bite his tongue off in a minute or so."

Naruto clenched his fists, getting ready to fight.

Kenji crossed his arms and continued. "As to answer your original question, father seems to suffer an unusual reaction to Devil Stone. Imbed it in his flesh, and it starts a chemical reaction that breaks his body down. However, whatever fragments you use on him will be used up to."

Naruto looked at the stone he held, noting that it was indeed a lot smaller than when he first had it. "Well, I'll just go and find more-"

"If it was that simple, do you think I would even bother telling you?" Kenji replied, smiling. "Devil Stone on the surface is extremely rare. Normally, it's located miles beneath the earth's plates. Even skilled Doton users have immense difficulty summoning it. The only thing that had the ability to summon it with no problem was the Shibichi, the seven-tails."

Iori's pupils widened at the thought. She remembered her father's killers mentioning him being the seven-tails. If that was true…

"But the time you had to save your genins is up. You cannot defeat father without using your best techniques. And you cannot defeat me without calling Kyuubi." Kenji began to transform in front of Naruto. "I think 3 tails of power should do it for now." The green jinchuriki cracked his clawed fingers.

Naruto looked back at the monster which had just recovered. "I'm going to have to waste chakra to save them!" Naruto readied his Rasengan, but Kenji tackled him and the two fell off a cliff.

"Your students will die, and all because you refuse to acknowledge your true nature!" Kenji yelled as they fell down. "But don't worry, I'll give you a chance to atone: transform!"

* * *

As Kakashi tree hoped through the forest, he came to a clearing and knew he had to touch down. Once he did however, he stopped dead in his tracks with fear. In front of him was the dark sanin Orochimaru. His back was turned to the copy ninja. Kakashi took a chance by reaching into his shuriken pocket…

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Kakashi."

Kakashi stopped right there. Orochimaru turned to face him, giving his trademark sneer. "It's been so long. Tell me, what are you doing here on this island? Or better yet…did you get here by that slug that crawled to shore?"

Kakashi said nothing, prepared for the worst.

"Who is the new slug summoner? Anyone I-"

"I'm not telling scum like you a thing! I bet you are in allegiance with the Raikage!"

"One of convenience anyway. He's been helpful, but so are all men who have blinded by hate. So easy to manipulate. And dangerous. I know as soon as he gets everything he wants, he will turn on me. But don't worry. I will deal with him eventually."

Kakashi nearly yelled "Where's Sasuke? Did you-"

"No, not yet. His body still has not reached its full potential, and I was forced to switch to another body when Naruto-kun transformed on me. The little pest managed to blow my arm off! Of course, I was toying with him at the time, and under those same circumstances Uchiha managed to do worse. But the chakra of the Kyuubi was spreading like a poison. Even when shielding my body from that chakra ball, it acted like radioactive material. Just being close to its presence caused my body to decay."

That made sense. Kakashi heard from Yamato that Sakura got scratched by Naruto's four-tail form. She was sick for several days afterwards. The damage Orochimaru must have taken was worse. Kakashi was brought out of his thoughts when he heard someone approach from behind the bushes. His eye widened at the sight of Sasuke stepping out! He grew, but his face changed. Sasuke was never emotional like Naruto and Sakura. But he never looked incapable of expressing emotions. His hatred for Itachi was visibly showing as well.

"You see, Kakashi? He's right here!" Orochimaru smiled as he placed his hands on Sasuke's shoulders. Sasuke himself did not respond. "Sasuke, why don't you and your former master have a chat? There is business I must attend to." With that, Orochimaru vanished.

"Sasuke! You have to-"

Sasuke said nothing as he extended his chidori blade. Kakashi side-stepped in time.

"Don't do this! You will never avenge your family like this! Orochimaru will-"

"As I told Naruto and Sakura…whether Orochimaru takes my body or not does not matter. It will still be by my hands that Itachi dies." Sasuke ran towards Kakashi at an incredible speed that the copy ninja barely saw coming. He flipped to avoid a fatal stab by Sasuke's kusunagi, but it still managed to graze his chest badly. "Back in Konoha, I could not get one hit on you. Now it is you who is on the run. Can you still say staying in that weak village would have given me the strength to kill Itachi?" Sasuke said. Kakashi pulled his sharingan down and began making hand signs. Sasuke's eyes activated their sharingan as well.

"Suiton! Suiryudan no Jutsu!"

A dragon formed from the shore close by, and charged straight at Sasuke. Sasuke countered with his own technique, one Kakashi did not see coming.

"Katon! Ryu Yofun no Jutsu!"

Kakashi for some reason was nervous. Countering a suiton jutsu with a katon was madness! Suddenly, pores opened up in the exposed parts of Sasuke's body, and white flames shot in every direction. The water dragon was more like a vapor dragon then.

"It's true that certain elements are superior to others. However, all that really matters is strength. When you put cold water over a heater, it begins to vaporize. Throw the same amount into a volcano, it will disappear all together. In other words, if the said element is concentrated enough in power, it can overcome that weaknesses."

Kakashi took out a kunai and charged.

"Apparently, you have not consulted your comrades on their previous experiences." Sasuke blocked the kunai with his sword, shattering it to pieces. Kakashi had to back flip once again. Sasuke made more sword strikes, and Kakashi continued to dodge. Hand-to-hand was not an option against an opponent armed with such a long-range weapon.

When Sasuke stopped swinging, Kakashi panted. Sasuke stared at him, ready for anything."You've improved Sasuke. I admit, you've come farther than I ever could have led you. But I will bring you back!" Kakashi formed his Raikiri. "I won't kill you, and I will make sure you will not face the death penalty. But you will see the error of your ways."

Sasuke didn't even smirk. "I'm not the same person I was back then." Sasuke created his chidori at the same time. For a second, they just stared into each others' eyes. Finally, they charged, and the Raikiri and Chidori collided.

* * *

I was planning on making this longer, but I think I'll stop here for now. Since I've got more free-time (not quite the way I wanted though) I'd say I can get the next chapter up eventually. Don't know when, late October or beginning of November. Otherwise, continue to enjoy.

Quicksand no Meiun-Quicksand of Doom

Heki-Burst

Nibai Gesi Fuu-Double Sacrifice Seal

Suiton Rasenzan: Water release swirling disc

Ryu Yofun-Dragon Rage


	7. Descent into Madness

Hey. I'm feeling a little bit better about school, and I'm just trying to get things together again. My dog is now a dad too. I saw the pictures of his son (yeah, the mom only had one), and of course he's pretty cute, but both of his parents weren't even ten pounds. I can't even imagine how tiny he must be in person! Been also playing some Dead or Alive 4. Fun game, though I must say…Kasumi's, Lei Fang's and Hitomi's endings were a bit…odd (sure, Christie's by far was the most sultry, but it suits her character). Elliot's ending was by far the best.

Anyway, here's my latest chapter! Please review, even if you've got something bad to say about my story!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…I don't need Kishimoto in ninja attire standing on the rooftop across my bedroom window to make that point.

* * *

Naruto and Kenji broke off from their fall and landed parallel to one another. Naruto began a summoning jutsu, and Kenji did the same.

"No more testing the waters!" Naruto yelled. "I'm going to give you my strongest summon!"

"So shall I!" Kenji cried.

Both of them placed their hands on the ground and two large animals stood in their place. Naruto was on top of Gamabunta, who hadn't changed over the years. Kenji's summon was horrendous: it was a brownish-gold crocodile, covered in steel armor. Its left arm ended in a stump, and where a hand should've been was instead a mace and chain. It had scars across its face as well.

Gamabunta grumbled "It's bad enough you summoned me to fight THAT thing…but Houkou…"

"You let me worry about Houkou, chief. I just need you to take care of that thing in front of us!"

The crocodile stared at its master. "Is he my opponent, master?"

"Yes. Try to take both of them out, but focus on the toad."

Gamabunta leapt into the air and drew his sword. Ryo-sui swung his mace, and the two weapons collided. Due to the mace having more mass, Gamabunta was forced to let go of his sword. He touched down and yelled "Mizu Renkuudan!"

The water hit the croc dead on, but did not fully damage him due to his armor. "That stung a bit. Try this! Houka Rekuudan!"

The croc shot a fireball that was much faster than the ones Sasuke used to shoot. Gamabunta tried to get another renkuudan ready, but couldn't shoot in time, and was hit dead on. Naruto held on for dear life as Gamabunta struggled to keep his balance.

"Chief! Are you alright?" Naruto yelled.

Gamabunta collapsed on all fours. "I've been better, kid. I suggest we start fighting fire with fire!"

Naruto nodded. Though it wasn't his affinity, Naruto knew a few fire techniques. Gamabunta sprayed some oil towards Ryo-sui, and Naruto breathed fire onto the stream. The oil ignited, and burned the croc.

"Damn you!" it shouted. It turned around and swung its massive tail at Gamabunta, sending the toad flying. Naruto had to jump onto the beach below to save himself from being crushed, and braced himself for the shockwave. Gamabunta landed with one of the biggest crashes Naruto had ever felt. He rushed to rejoin his summon, but a chakra hand blocked him.

"It's your fault you couldn't protect your own summon! I'll just have you watch it die!" Kenji screamed.

Ryo-sui then proceeded to beat Gamabunta to death with his mace. The toad cried in pain, and there was no end in sight as the croc continued beating its downed opponent. Naruto made his bushins in an attempt to go and aid his summon, but Kenji beat all of them away.

* * *

The three genins did not have an opportunity to watch the summons battle; their main priority was to stay alive fighting the creature that was once a kage. Iori carried both Shiguri who simply needed a helping hand, and Yuji who was unconscious altogether. This unfortunately slowed her down considerably. The creature continued to swing its tail, forming huge craters in the ground.

Iori then looked at Shiguri. "Hey, you're good with doton jutsus, right? The rock Naruto-sensei hurt that thing with is located underground. We need you to…"

Shiguri nodded his head no. "You heard that guy. It's too hard to summon something that deep in the earth. Never mind the fact that we're on top of a cliff, making it even harder."

Iori was about to scream at him, when Yuji came to. "You've got to try." He said. "Sensei says the most important thing is to never give up, no matter what the odds. Don't ask me how, but I know every word he said was the truth." Yuji adjusted his cracked glasses.

Ioir flipped over the creature just as it was about to catch them. Though she successfully evaded it, her landing due to her extra weight was botched. But at least they were a few more meters away. Shiguri turned to Yuji and asked "Yuji, are you really ok? That thing knocked you with its tail pretty good."

Yuji replied "I'm not ok, but it's better than being dead. We need to do this all together." He turned to Iori. "Will you help us?" Iori nodded yes. "Okay. Shiguri, you get to work on getting that Devil Stone onto the surface. Iori and I will keep it busy."

The two charged towards their adversary while Shiguri made the necessary hand signs.

* * *

Kakashi held his bloodied arm. He and Sasuke fought with their two most famous techniques…and Kakashi appeared to be the victor. His arm was hurt, and though his Raikiri did not pierce Sasuke, it was enough to push him back at several hundred meters per second. "That should knock Sasuke out. I better get him before he regains consciousness. I bet Naruto will be upset with the fact that it was I, and not him, who brings him back."

When the smoke cleared, Kakashi stopped in his tracks.

"I guess in my natural state, I'm STILL not good enough to beat you. Oh well…there's this." Sasuke emerged in his Curse Mark 2 form.

Kakashi threw shuriken, aiming to paralyze, but Sasuke's wings blocked them all. Kakashi jumped forward and landed behind his former pupil. He got him in a sleeper hold, but Sasuke wasn't the least bit worried.

"Chidori Nasagi!"

Electricity surrounded Sasuke's body, causing Kakashi to fall back. Before Kakashi could react in time, Sasuke picked him up and flew to the air. Kakashi kicked the best he could, but Sasuke did not waver. Sasuke finally stopped and threw his former teacher to the ground. Kakashi managed to grab hold of a vine before hitting the ground below, but it put great strain on his arm. Sasuke dived down and finished the job by cutting the vines with his sword. Kakashi continued his descent, and landed hard. Kakashi tried to get up, but his leg sent an incredible pain through his body.

"It must be broken!" he grunted.

Sasuke touched down. "You nearly took my dream away from me, just because you couldn't beat Itachi yourself. You weren't willing to do what it takes. But I'm different. I seek power through anyone and any means. I will do whatever it takes to kill Itachi. No one shall stand in my way." Two snakes emerged from Sasuke's back and bit Kakashi on the shoulders. Kakashi yelped in pain, and tried to stand once more, but his body started to go numb. "If you do not get help within thirty minutes, you will die. Even if you're cured, you will be in no shape to pursue me. Which outcome occurs does not matter to me." With that, Sasuke changed back and left. Kakashi's vision was starting to get blurry.

"Well, at least the pain stopped." His sharingan then shed a tear. "Sasuke…"

* * *

Sakura dodged Kabuto's Chakra Scalpel, and back flipped for dear life. Before Kabuto could reach her, she punched the ground, causing huge pieces of rock to fly in the air. Kabuto maintained his balance on one of them, and Sakura jumped behind another rock. She reached for shuriken and threw them at the silver-haired medic, but Kabuto parried them all with his kunai. Sakura leapt from every piece of earth suspended in the air before they crashed, and tried to kick Kabuto, but he saw it coming and dodged. Just when Sakura landed, Kabuto managed to make contact with his scalpel and got Sakura on the left shoulder. Sakura retreated as she winced in pain. She couldn't move her arm.

"This is bad…" she thought.

Kabuto said "Well, you have Tsunade's strength, I'll give you that much. But when it comes to combat, that's all you have. Tsunade had much more innovative ways of using medical ninjutsu. Despite what I've heard about your intelligence…you obviously don't have the creativity!"

Kabuto charged again. Sakura then used her good arm to reach into her pocket. She took out a capsule and threw it at Kabuto.

Kabuto, unfortunately, reacted in time. He caught the capsule! "I told you that you don't have her imagination!"

Sakura then smirked. "I beg to differ." She used her mobile hand and made a single hand sign. Suddenly, the capsule Kabuto held exploded. Kabuto coughed…then laughed. He held his stomach and was having trouble standing still.

" W-HAHAHA-What HA is HAHA in this HAAA…"

Sakura got up and said "Nitrous Oxide. Every good medi-nin must use their free time to experiment with all sorts of chemicals. I'm embarrassed to say this, but I found out the hard way that inhalation causes one to laugh uncontrollably." Sakura then used a healing jutsu to heal her arm. "Don't worry. You won't die like that." She pulled out a kunai. "But it will make it easier for me to kill you!"

Sakura charged. Kabuto was still on guard though, and managed to dodge Sakura's strikes. She had to keep in mind that his laughing was due to the gas, not her inability. Finally, she managed to sweep her leg underneath Kabuto's, and before he could fall, picked him up and threw him the opposite direction. The silver-haired man shattered a log on impact, but despite that, got up. Sakura noticed the gas must have worn off as well, as this time he was able to keep a straight face.

"I collected my chakra on the point of impact to heal any damage I took immediately. The only thing that managed to cause damage beyond that was Naruto's rasengan. Also, I'm an expert at using my chakra to cleanse my body from any poison within my body. Next time, you should aim to kill."

Kabuto leapt towards the pink-haired medi-nin and brought a kunai down. Sakura countered, and the exchange continued. Sakura threw a kick, which Kabuto dodged, but it still managed to badly cut his skin. Sakura was about to land a right hook, but Kabuto ducked and placed both of his hands on her stomach. Sakura felt a jolt, and flew back. The young woman tried to get back up, but her body would not move the way she wanted. Different limbs would move when she commanded otherwise!

Kabuto walked over and adjusted his glasses."Tsunade used the same jutsu on me. After that ordeal, I practiced and learned how to use my chakra to damage my opponent's nervous system. My version lasts longer than Tsunade's did. If I leave you alone, you won't recover for a day at least."

Sakura kept trying to get up, but just like before, the wrong limbs kept moving. Finally, Kabuto grabbed her by the collar and slammed her into a tree.

"Back when I first met you at the chunin exam, I never believed that you would amount to much." Kabuto commented with a smirk. "You cared more about being Sasuke-kun's bride than you did becoming a kunoichi. But now, I can tell that his departure had a positive affect on you. So why do you persist in bringing him back?"

Sakura, to her surprise, could still move her facial muscles just fine. And to Kabuto, her answer took a lot less coaxing than expected. "Back then, when Naruto and I reunited, we agreed to get Sasuke back because he was OUR comrade. But slowly, whatever reason I had to bring Sasuke-kun back became more for Naruto's sake. Sasuke-kun was like a brother to Naruto, and he was closer to Sasuke than I was. I wanted to help him get HIS brother back. I've accepted the fact now that Sasuke is long gone, but Naruto won't stop. If he keeps going after him, even if I tell him not to, I will help him."

Kabuto smirked. "That's good, that's good. I must say, though you still need work, you're becoming quite a kunoichi."

Sakura just looked at him. "What is he saying?" she thought nervously.

Then Kabuto brought his face in close, to the point where there noses almost touched. "You've also become quite beautiful. Why not come with us? In sound, you can become a better, smarter medi-nin. Think of the things you could create. The sicknesses you could cause. And think of the type of clan we could start together."

NOW Sakura was freaked, even though she didn't show it. Suddenly, something came behind Kabuto, and pulled him off Sakura. When Kabuto turned around, he saw that "thing" was a slug. The mollusk proceeded to throw its master's assailant away. It was only human sized, but Kabuto knew it could contain deadly poison. Then, he noticed Sakura WALKED to it.

"I countered your technique almost immediately." she explained "I just wanted to see if you had any info you were willing to share with me. You didn't…." Sakura then shouted "AND I REGRET I TOOK THE CHANCE, YOU SICKO! As for the slug, I summoned it almost immediately after I threw all that debris in the air."

The slug fired acid at Kabuto, who dodged and threw shuriken at Sakura. Sakura blocked with her kunai, and engaged Kabuto once again. Kabuto activated his chakra scalpel, but instead of attacking with that immediately, he sweep kicked Sakura and knocked her down. He aimed for her heart, but the slug blocked him from landing the final blow on its mistress. The slug convulsed for a few seconds before dying. The surprise allowed Sakura to retreat and go in for another attack.

"This is for my slug!" Sakura aimed another right hook. Kabuto smirked and prepared a counter. He dodged the punch, and this time struck for sure on Sakura's heart. The kunoichi's eyes widened, blood poured from her mouth, and she fell dead on the ground. Or so Kabuto thought, as it was revealed to be nothing more than a log. Before he could even panic, Sakura emerged from the ground behind him and tapped him on the back.

"I know how to use a chakra scalpel as well, you know." She said fiercely. Suddenly, Kabuto's legs gave way, and he lost all feeling in them.

"What…"

Sakura wiped some sweat from her forehead and answered "I severed your spine. You still maintain all of your upper body functions. But you will spend the rest of your life in a wheel chair. You're of no more use to Orochimaru anymore."

Kabuto just stuttered "N-no…"

"One more thing." Sakura said emotionlessly. She picked the helpless man up by the hair, and flicked him on the nose. Of course, this broke it. Sakura dropped him and said "I hate killing. My first kill makes me sick to my stomach to this day. If there was some other way to spare you, I would. But if I left you in perfect condition, you would simply persist as a threat. So I chose this. May someone show you kindness, Kabuto." Sakura put her mask back on, and added in a cold tone "Because next time, I won't." Sakura then ran off. She did not realize that a pair of yellow eyes atop the trees was watching….

* * *

The kage monster charged, swinging its claws at Yuji, who dodged them with ease, despite his injuries. Iori made a low kick behind the shins, but was driven away by the club tail. Shiguri, meanwhile, finished his jutsu and pressed his palms on the ground. He could feel the material they needed come up, but it was so slow. It was taking its toll on him too; his chakra was being depleted fast. "Come on!" He shouted.

Yuji climbed up the monster's back and stabbed it in the back of the neck like Naruto did earlier. And just like before, the monster turned its head and sprayed its poison. However, it didn't work; Yuji's glasses protected his eyes. He then tossed one of his smoke bombs into the creature's mouth, and jumped off, leaving the creature to hack uncontrollably. Iori ran up and delivered a double kick to its head, knocking it to the ground.

"Shiguri!" Iori shouted. "Did you get it yet?"

Shiguri winced "I almost…Got it!" Shiguri collapsed onto his side. Bits of white stone were on the ground next to him.

"This is it?" Iori screamed in disbelief.

"It's all I could get." Shiguri rasped. "That guy wasn't lying when he said Doton users had trouble with this." Shiguri clutched his chest and struggled back up.

Iori and Yuji just looked at one another. Yuji then picked up a couple of the stones. "We'll just have to make do with what we got."

Iori nodded, and gathered some for herself.

"Shiguri, can you still fight?" Yuji asked.

Shiguri answered "I'm out of chakra. But my shurikenjutsu should be as good as ever."

Just then the monster roared, practically jumping back to its feet.

"I've got an idea." Yuji said, keeping his eye on the beast. "Iori, you're with me. Shiguri, when I give the signal, throw the shuriken!" Shiguri nodded, and the other two genins charged.

* * *

Sakura ran through the forest, hoping to catch up to the kids. Then, something jumped in front of her. "Pakkun?" Pakkun was huge now! She could ride on his back if she wanted to.

"Sakura." Pakkun said in a much deeper voice than she remembered. "Kakashi's dying. He used most of his remaining chakra to summon me."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Poison, I think. His leg is broken as well."

Sakura followed the dog through the jungle, and she came across Kakashi. The part of his skin that she could see was incredibly pale, and when she put her bare hand on his forehead, he was burning up. The fact that his immune system was working at the same time to heal his leg also added to the problems. She felt his body twitch as well. She cut open her sensei's chest, and proceeded to a nearby stream. Though it wasn't as sanitary as protocol demanded, Sakura used her chakra to form a bubble and pull most of the poison out. She sniffed some of it and whispered "Neurotoxin.". Right now, she had no way of identifying it. She reached into her pouch and took out an antivenin that, while it would not work as a true antidote, it would help keep him alive. She pulled down Kakashi's mask, and ignored his appearance due to the dire situation. "Kakashi-sensei, drink this." Kakashi coughed after ingesting the last of it. Sakura pulled his mask back up, and pulled her own to the side. "Sensei, who did this to you?"

Kakashi whispered "Sasuke. I tried to stop him, but he was just too much for me. Orochimaru and the Raikage-"

"I already know about that." She then went to his leg, and then set the bone straight. Kakashi was already pretty groggy, so he didn't cry out in pain like most patients. She began to heal the bone, but after a minute stopped. There were others who could be injured, and she needed to save as much chakra as possible. She picked him up and placed him on Pakkun's back. "Pakkun, I need you to carry Kakashi and follow me. There are other people who may need my help, but I simply cannot leave him behind."

Pakkun said "Understood." The medic and the dog ran straight through the jungle, hoping to find anyone else who may need their help in time.

* * *

Naruto narrowly avoided Kenji's attacks. He couldn't do taijutsu type counters when his opponent's body crackled with electricity; shuriken did nothing.

"Transform! You can't hope to save anyone the way you are now!" Kenji growled

Naruto back flipped and formed his Futon Rasengan. Kenji formed his demonically-enhanced Suiton Rasenzan and threw it at Naruto. Naruto ran forward with his technique and blocked Kenji's with the Fuuton Rasengan. For a while, there was a stale mate, until Naruto was thrown clear into the opposite direction.

"You're helpless against me unless you use your true power!" Kenji yelled as he ran towards Naruto.

However, he was so caught up in the battle that he didn't realize where Naruto was thrown: towards Gamabunta's sword. " He engaged with me hoping I would throw him towards it! Doesn't matter! It's too big for him to-"

Just then, Naruto performed the Taiju Kage no Bushin. The thousands of bushins picked the blade up, and ran towards the giant toad that looked like he would black out at any minute. Kenji pursued him, but more clones were created to distract him. It wouldn't last though…

"Chief! Catch!" The bushins threw the sword the best they could, but even a thousand Narutos were no Tsunade. The sword landed some meters off the mark. Naruto pulled out a scroll and summoned a giant shuriken. He threw it at Ryo-sui, and managed to stab the croc in the eye.

"AAARGGHHH! Insignificant dog!" Ryo-sui swung his tail at Naruto and sent him flying. The croc turned his attention to Gamabunta. "How cute; a master trying to save his summon! Or perhaps you're his master?"

Gamabunta smirked. "I have to admit, when he was younger I didn't like him much. I even forced him to agree that he was MY henchman. But things changed over the years."

"Oh?" The croc asked.

"I have never seen someone with as much potential as him. I'd rather much be equals…"

"Too bad you're about to die before you get a chance!" Ryo-sui yelled as he brought his mace down.

Suddenly, Gamabunta struck his tongue out and grabbed his sword with it. He blocked the mace with his hand, and stabbed his sword through Ryo-sui's armor.

Kenji halted, in disbelief of what just happened. "That bastard!"

"But there is no greater honor than serving him as MY master!" Gamabunta hissed, driving his sword in even deeper. Ryo-sui bled, and then collapsed.

"Chief!" Naruto cried. "Are you alright?"

Gamabunta wheezed "I'll live, kiddo. I'm just getting too old for this."

Naruto sighed with relief and dispelled the jutsu, causing the toad to vanish in a puff of smoke. Naruto knew he was done, and unlike the crocodile, did not want to see him killed…then, he felt incredible pain as Kenji grabbed him from behind.

"NEVER let your guard down!" Kenji yelled. "I admit, I had trouble with that too, but surely you've overcame that bad habit." The green jinchuriki smiled as he placed another hand over Naruto's throat.

Naruto winced "As a matter of fact…I have."

Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke. "A bushin!" Kenji yelled.

Kenji turned around to see THREE Narutos coming straight at him, with a huge Fuuton Rasengan.

"Here's a move I've been working on! Fuuton Oodama Rasengan!"

Naruto hit his foe dead on. Kenji screamed in pain, and was sent spinning like a dreidel towards the ocean. The bushins dissipated, and Naruto relaxed.

"You see? The only strength I need is my own." Naruto held his arm and panted. Though that technique was not as harmful to the user as his Rasenshuriken, it still made his arm go numb.

"I see!" Kenji yelled, emerging from the shoreline with his torso bare, and his cape in rags. His front side had a deep spiral pattern on it due to Naruto's technique, but it was healing.

Naruto could only stare at him in horror. That last move cost him almost all of his chakra! There was also the Kyuubi's, but…

"You're much stronger than I gave you credit for!" Kenji cackled. Even more green chakra began to surround him. "Allow me to apologize…" Suddenly, Kenji's shape changed drastically. "…by showing you my true form!"

* * *

Some cloud nin looked at the battle from the bushes. "Should we-?" Another one put a hand over his comrade's mouth. "No. He's about to transform. At this point, he no longer has any need of us. Even so, he specifically ordered us not to interfere. So, we technically aren't betraying him." The head of the squad added "Besides, slim as it may be at this point, I hope he will meet his end here…"

* * *

Iori tried to pound the monster to the ground, but the best she managed to do was to stun it a couple of times. Suddenly, the monster tried to strike Iori with its clawed hand. Iori dodged it. But the next attack she did not see coming: The eye in its palm shot a laser! The red beam shot a hole through Iori's leg, causing her to scream in pain and fall down. The monster charged, but suddenly grabbed its neck. Yuji had snagged a wire around its neck, and pulled to guide him to the edge of the cliff.

"Shiguri, hit it now!" he yelled.

Shiguri threw all the shuriken he had at the monsters' organs. The acid poured out, melting Yuji's wires. However, it also ate away at the ground below the monster. The ground gave way, and the former Raikage fell. Before it got too far, Yuji ran to the edge and threw what little devil stone they had into the beast's mouth. The creature screamed, and fell far below. Yuji then ran up to Iori.

"Are you okay?" he yelled.

Iori smiled in a sarcastic manner. "Well, I've got a hole in my leg, why don't you do the math!"

Yuji picked her up and said "Sorry for not attacking it sooner." He looked at Shiguri. "What about you?" Yuji asked.

Shiguri said "I'm okay. Just tired."

Yuji smiled and nodded. Then, he got something in the reflection of his glasses. The kage monster climbed back up, and it was livid! Its lower jaw was gone, and roared incessantly. It ran towards the genins, and Yuji threw Iori out of the way before it cut them both down with its claws…

* * *

Naruto looked in horror at what he was facing: Houkou, the five-tailed dog itself! It was as enormous as Shukaku, but much more intimidating. Its fur was gold, and tufts of hair protruded from it's limbs. Unlike most dogs, its claws were clearly seen and razor sharp. Its ears looked floppy, but they stood upright. The eyes were red, and it gave the jinchuriki an evil smile. The fangs on the thing were monstrous! And when coupled with the fact that it looked emaciated, that wasn't a good sign.

"**It has been a long time, Kyuubi." **The beast spoke. **"How I've dreamed of getting even with you all these years." **

Naruto backed up. What could he do to fight this creature? He already used up his best summon…even if he could call Gamabunta again, he wasn't sure if the two of them together could take this thing like they did Shukaku. He used up a good deal of chakra from his last attack as well. The only thing he could think of was using the Kyuubi's chakra. But that was not an option. It would take much more than the amount he got fighting Haku to bring this monster down. His four-tailed form might be able to stand up to it, but without Yamato nearby, there would be no way for him to return to normal once the job was done. He might even wind up killing his team!

"**Well, it doesn't look like you'll be acting up any time soon…so, I think I will just get this started!"** The dog yelled. It brought it's paw down, and Naruto dove for safety. Naruto unleashed all of his remaining shuriken, but the demon's fur simply caught it.

"**I normally don't waste moves like these on mice like you, but it's been so long since I was free, I think I will make an exception!"** The shuriken crackled with electricity, and fired straight at Naruto! He dodged as much as he could, but a few got him in the legs, stunning him.

"**HAHAHA! How do you like that? I must say Kyuubi, how you have fallen!" **

Naruto managed to stop shaking and pull the shurikens out. "Damn!" Naruto formed more bushins, and attacked the Houkou. The demon unfortunately swiped them all away with his tails. The real Naruto was trying his best to form a rasengan, but unfortunately, it was failing.

"Come on, COME ON!" he yelled.

Just when he thought it was formed, it dissipated. Naruto did not have time to react when the dog kicked him with his paw, and slammed Naruto against a rock. The ninja landed wrong, and broke his arm. The biju then, by it's terms, lightly stomped on the jinchuriki. Which was still the worst pain imaginable for him.

"**Hmph. I thought just seeing you like this would be fun for me, but I'm already bored. I demand satisfaction!"** The beast continued to stomp on Naruto, who could only scream in pain. **"Reveal yourself and FIGHT ME!"**

* * *

The next thing he knew, Naruto found himself in a sewer. "On no." He knew what this meant: Kyuubi.

"**Fallen, HAVE I? I'll remind him of his place!" **

Naruto got up and faced the cage that held the Kyuubi on the other side. "You stay out of this!" Naruto screamed.

Kyuubi smirked **"And what? I suppose watching you die will give me shivers of pleasure…oh wait. If you die so do I, so that's not an option!" **

Kyuubi's red chakra surrounded Naruto. "Stop it! Stop!" he cried.

"**Embrace my power!"**

* * *

Houku yelled **"You've had your chance! One who refuses to acknowledge his power is the same as one who is weak! It's time I sent you straight to hell!" **Houku brought his paw down in what was supposed to be the final strike. But it stopped a meter or two above the ground. **"What the?"**

Naruto held the paw up, his body resonating with red chakra. His features became more demonic, and he pushed hard. The giant toppled over. Naruto got down on all fours and grew chakra tails, until four grew and he became a mini fox.

Houkou grinned. **"Well, it seems you've finally shown at least a piece of yourself. I'm going to enjoy this!"** The demon got up and the two roared at each other.

* * *

Sakura heard the noises, and ran faster. Pakkun kept her in his sights, but he was too big to efficiently weave through all of the vines to keep up. Just when Sakura was about to reach the source, she stopped and looked to her side. It was Neji! He was twitching uncontrollably and blood was coming from his mouth.

"Neji!" She ran to his side and examined him. He bit his tongue, but not all the way through. She opened his jaw so no further damage would be done. She then placed her hand inside his mouth and sewed his tongue up. After that, she placed her hand on his back, and sent a jolt of electricity to his body. He stopped twitching. Sakura wasn't relieved though. Though he would not die, the twitching she observed was characteristic of someone who was struck by lightning…a very rare occurance, but she saw it happen once before. It was not a sight she wanted to see again. And if his condition was caused by electricity, judging from how bad his condition was, he might never fight again….Suddenly, more noises came from the beach. She laid Neji down and stood up.

"I'm so sorry Neji…but Naruto might be in trouble!" She ordered Pakkun to guard her fallen comrades and took off.

As Pakkun guarded the two, he heard a noise behind the bushes. He turned around and growled, ready to attack whatever would harm his comrades. However, he relaxed when he found it was just a brown haired woman. Her hair was unusually spiky, like she had been in contact with a power cord.

The woman looked around frantically. "Where's Kenji?"

Pakkun just replied "Sorry, but I'm not familiar with this area or its people! And just what are you doing here?" The dog bared his teeth, ready for anything

The woman ignored his comment, and then blurted out "Naruto! What about him? If I don't help, he'll be killed!"

Now this got Pakkun's attention. The woman was clearly not a threat. He sniffed the air, and said "I'm detecting his scent near the beach. A friend of his just went that way. I'd go with you, but I'm occupied at the moment."

Mana simply nodded and headed in the same direction as Sakura.

* * *

Iori stirred and lifted herself off the ground. "Wh-What happened?" The last thing she remembered was Yuji shoving her aside. He did it a little bit too hard, and she didn't exactly make pleasant contact with the earth….

"THAT DUMBASS! WHEN I-"

She stopped when she looked over the horizon. She couldn't believe what she was seeing: A monster, unlike anything her father told her in stories! "What is that thing?" Then she heard Shiguri scream. She turned around and saw Shiguri using every trick he could think of to hold the Kage beast at bay. Those tricks were very limited considering he was out of chakra

"That's right! That thing came back up and…" She remembered when she turned around to see the Kage monster about to take a swipe at her. Yuji pushed her out of the way…

"Yuji! Yuji!" She screamed. She looked, and finally found him. He was unconscious again, lying face first in a pool of his own blood. She ran towards him, and flipped him over. His chest had huge gashes in the form of claw marks.

"That wound…that wound was meant for me!" Iori thought. Yuji coughed up some blood, and opened his eyes, which were glazed over. Iori didn't know why…but suddenly she felt tears come down her cheeks.

"Yuji…"

"Iori?" Yuji asked in a hoarse whisper. "Is that you? Are you alright?"

Iori started hiccupping "You…you idiot! Why'd you do that?"

Yuji coughed some more, and said "Cause you're my friend. What other reason do I need?" He managed to crack a faint smile…

Iori didn't respond at first. Then she said "But-but I've been so mean to you…how could you possibly consider me your friend?"

Yuji just continued to smile. "Doesn't matter…I've always been told I pick the oddest friends." Soon, Yuji simply passed out. Iori's eyes widened, and she shook him violently.

"Yuji! Wake up!" By now Iori was crying hysterically. "YUJI!!"

* * *

_Iori suddenly remembered to a certain day when she was five. The local ninja academy had just finished teaching for the day, and all of the kids scrambled to the playground while they waited for their parents. Iori ran up to some kids to play with them…only to have their backs turned on her. The same process repeated with each new group she came into contact with. Eventually, she would just sit under a tree and hug her knees. Why did they hate her? She wasn't the only one who seemed to have been given a cold shoulder…she was reminded of that fact when her father came to pick her up. "Again, huh?" he gave with his sad smile._

* * *

"_Daddy?" Iori asked. _

"_Yes, dear?" _

"_Why does everyone ignore us?" _

_Her father looked the other way, his face plastered with a melancholy look. "I honestly don't know. They've done the same to me when I was younger. And I'm sorry they do it to you too." _

"_Even mommy?" _

_Her father smiled, but it was a sad one. "Your mother…she was a different story. At first, she did. But somewhere along the way, I guess I became her samurai in shining armor. She's been there for me ever since…before she died of illness." That was far from the truth though: She was murdered by the villagers. However, the Head Jonin couldn't do anything about it. There were no witnesses, and the council would do everything they could to throw the case out. As much as he wanted to burn the village down, he remembered his wife's dying words: _

"_**Please forgive them, and raise Iori to be the kind person you showed me you were." **_

"_Iori." He said. "I know how painful loneliness is. But I'll always be here for you. If something happens to me…well, I know the Gods will give you a special friend who would make sure you would never be lonely again." _

_Iori just looked at her dad quizzically. _

"_Come on." He said. "Let's work more on your taijutsu."_

* * *

Iori's POV

_After he was killed, the villagers tried to burn my house down with me in it. I escaped, and jumped on the first boat as a stowaway that I could. I hated everyone. Not just what they did to me, but because of what they did to my dad too. He was so kind, he always helped out whenever he could…and he was not repaid for his kindness once. I didn't want to make the same mistake he did. If the world would treat me like dirt, I'd do the same to it. Eventually, starved and near death, I found the famous Konohagakure. They put me in the orphanage, and that's when I signed up for the ninja academy. I don't know why; I guess I just wanted the power to physically lash out on somebody. Maybe I wanted to at least reach some part of my dad. But the loneliness got to me. The only things that kept me going was the memory of my dad, and some boy I developed a crush on. I know it was a silly dream to hope for a family so soon…but in the end that's what I really wanted: A family. I didn't want to be alone, and I was tired of being angry. But the further away that dream became, the angrier I became…_

* * *

"…I wasn't angry at you…I'm not sure just what I was angry about, now that I think about it…but I didn't deserve to be saved! Not after the way I treated you!" Iori cried out.

She wasn't sure if Yuji wasn't even listening anymore. She used to think of him as annoying, and to her was the definition of everything she did not want be: clumsy, cowardly, weak…But he was always nice to her, and always tried to help her. And in these past few days, his strategies had been brilliant, something she hoped to aspire to.

"My dad showed so much kindness to the world and was shunned instead…I turn my back on the entire world….and you showed me the same kindness daddy showed." Iori hugged Yuji and cried on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Meanwhile, Shiguri dodged every strike the monster could throw at him…but Shiguri couldn't hope to hurt it. All he could do was survive. The chances of that plummeted when the monster fired it's laser at him and nailed him in the shoulder. Shiguri cried in pain as he clutched it.

Iori suddenly shot her head up at the beast, different from before. Physically. Her eyes turned a cobalt color, and fangs protruded from her mouth.

"I'll make you pay!" She screamed as silver chakra surrounded her, and she became more beast-like in appearance.

The Kage monster stopped its assault on Shiguri to look at her. If she was in her natural state, she would have seen the monster gave her a look that was akin to fear…and she charged.

* * *

Well, another chapter done! More action next time!...And you will get a little bit of NaruSaku interaction too. Just so people will stop begging me for it.


	8. Biju vs Biju

Here's your next chapter; not much for me to say…except maybe responding to some reviews, including those I've neglected.

Uncle Joe: A character dies when I want them to. Although you probably know by now I did not quite do as you requested.

IronicEnding: Thanks for the comments, as always. Foreshadowing was not my intention, but I can see those two scenes certainly worked like that.

Mangalover248: I don't think I had him manipulated with the expertise you are praising me for, but thank you nonetheless!

Razgriz05: I have to agree with you on the slow development part; it's partially the reason why I've come to like NaruSaku. As for Sakura's strength, considering this takes place 3 years after Kakuzu…all I can say is she better be!

Disclaimer: For the last time: I do not fucking own Naruto. No poseo Naruto! Je ne possede pas Naruto! ClickclickclickBloodyOwnclickclickNaruto!

* * *

Shiguri could only stare in disbelief at Iori's transformation. He thought she was vicious before, but if she was like this all the time, he would keep Yuji away from her for his own good.

Iori charged, and the monster tried to counter with its tail. But Iori simply grabbed it one-handed and threw the monster over her body with ease. Before the monster could get up, Iori pinned it to the ground. It tried to get up, but it couldn't even budge. Iori then slammed her fist into its face repeatedly, forming a large crater behind its head. She threw it into the air again, and before it could fall down, Iori jumped up and kicked it down with the velocity of a comet, shaking the earth as it landed. The demon got back up, groggy. Iori landed, bearing her fangs. The kage monster fired its laser, aiming right for her heart…which dissipated when Iori let out a roar. She slashed at the creature's chest, and ran to the other side to avoid having all of her clothes burned off. What burns she did receive on her skin healed instantly. She continued her assault, bouncing the monster around like a ping-pong ball.

Shiguri was scared out of his mind. "What is she? Where is that power coming from?" he thought to himself. Back at the academy, he had a few sparring sessions…okay, fist-fights, with her. He had to admit, she was quite tough, though it was more her tenacity and ferocity than skill that allowed her to stand up to him. But what he was seeing was nothing like the sort.

Finally, the monster struck Iori in the eyes with its poison, and she fell back. Iori simply wiped it away and stared at her adversary, with only one thing on her mind: Carnage.

* * *

"**Show me what you've got, Kyuubi!"** Houkou roared.

Naruto, in his four-tailed form, ran forward and clawed at the creature's face. Houkou bled, but countered by having his razor sharp fur stick straight out and pierce his foe. The mini-Kyuubi screamed in pain, but did not suffer any real damage. Houkou batted it away with ease, as he was still far larger than the four-tailed demon fox. The Kyuubi then dove underground into the sand. Houkou leapt in pursuit, and tried to dig it out, but it was gone.

"**Show yourself, you coward!" **

Just then, a chakra hand came out of nowhere and grabbed him by one of his five tails. Houkou, realizing what was going on, tried to pull away. Instead, he was pulled under, giving the beach a huge sinkhole. A second passed, and he was thrown through the ground, sand and rock flying with him. He landed on the ground, causing a huge earthquake. The dog lay on its side, and shook its head.

"**Not bad. I'm pleased that you do retain your power, my brother." **

The four-tailed Kyuubi crawled out of the ground, seemingly sizing its adversary up. Houkou got back up, and smiled evilly. The mini-fox then began gathering its black chakra, its body becoming bloated.

"**You shouldn't use moves that take time to charge up!" **

Houkou howled as he prepared to pounce on the little demon. However, the demon did not intend to make an attack like he did with Orochimaru. He fired the black chakra ball when Houkou was almost upon him. The ball hit Houkou in the chest, and caused him to fall back. The mini-kyuubi fired more rounds, forcing Houkou back with each one. Houkou managed to stabilize himself, and growled. It shot its mouth open as if to bark, but instead came a bolt of lightning. The bolt hit Kyuubi dead on, and he was sent flying into the beach.

* * *

Sakura finally reached a clearing, and stopped dead in her tracks. Before her was Houkou, the five-tailed dog! Sakura had never seen a biju before; the closest she came to seeing one was Gaara, but he was only partially transformed. She was unconscious when he transformed fully. After seeing this, she could see why people feared such creatures.

"**Kyuubi! You've put up a good fight, but four tails is the point where I feel safe! I will end this now!" **

Sakura realized that thing was fighting Naruto! But there was no way even Naruto could stand up to that thing….unless…

"Oh no! NARUTO!" Sakura screamed. She heard footsteps behind her, and brought a kunai to the stranger's throat. It was a woman!

She held up her hands to show she meant no harm. "I take it you're a friend of Naruto's?"

Sakura was on the edge, and had no time to waste. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kono Mana. I hired Naruto." Sakura's eyes widened. "I hired him because the only thing that could defeat the jinchuriki that is our Raikage was another jinchuriki."

Sakura's eyes narrowed, and she slapped Mana to the ground. "You-"

Mana then yelled "Don't talk like you know me. Kenji was such a good and pure-hearted person! But his brother ruined everything between us! Yes, I want Kenji back above all else, even if it means becoming missing-nins. I tried. But he won't see that what happened wasn't my fault! I can no longer bear to see him consumed with hate…if I have to kill him, it's not for the sake of our village…it's for the sake of his soul."

Sakura didn't know the whole story…but she could tell that what she said was genuine. She lifted the woman up and said "Come on. We've got work to do." Mana nodded, and the two headed off.

* * *

"Oh man!" one of the cloud nins said. "No wonder he told us not to interfere!"

Another replied "He's toast now. If that is the nine-tails like he said it was, there's no way he can win."

"Not true." The captain replied. "Each of the Biju have different strengths and weaknesses. Though the Kyuubi is has the most raw power, he doesn't control elements like many of the others do. But whoever wins…may come for us next."

* * *

The kage monster was in pain, a concept it thought only others could feel. And the source of his pain was this little girl! The girl hissed and charged yet again. The monster whipped its snake arm around Iori's neck. While the girl tried to rip it off, the snake bit her on the neck. She growled, and fell to her knees. If the monster still had its lower jaw, it would smile. But even so, it would be short-lived. Iori was back on her feet and tore the snake off.

Just at that time, Sakura and Mana came to the cliff. Both stopped when they looked at Iori.

"Is she...a jinchuriki as well?" Mana asked.

Sakura didn't know. Extensive background checks were done on all of the students. It would make sense if Tsunade had one jinchuriki become the apprentice of another…but if so, why didn't she tell Naruto? Or her? She looked at the ground, and saw Yuji cut to ribbons. Sakura then put two and two together: He was the trigger! Sakura ran up and checked his vital signs. He was alive, but barely; he wouldn't last another minute. The wound was severe, too. "I'll need to put all of my chakra into this!" Her palms glowed, and immediately Yuji's wounds began to close. Sakura, however, was starting to feel weak. Although she had greatly improved on her chakra reserves, healing an injury of this degree was practically the same has Chiyo-baa's resurrection technique. It didn't help that she used chakra to fight Kabuto and heal two comrades. Finally, the boy's wounds closed. He was out of danger, but he wouldn't be conscious for a while. She looked over at the other boy, Shiguri. He was hurt pretty badly too, but she'd say that he was in no need of any healing at the moment, with everything else going on. She stared back at Iori, who got the monster in a one-hand choke.

"You bastard!" she screamed, in a monstrous voice. "Yuji didn't deserve to die! You could have just escaped and never returned! But you just HAD to come back!" She threw the monster up in the air. "I'll make sure you wish you didn't!" As the monster was airborne, Iori roared so loud, it would make a lion crawl under a bush and hide. The roar seemed unending too. By the time the kage monster began its descent, a pillar of sharp, white stone sprouted from the earth at incredible velocity. It pierced the monster right in the heart. Though the acid was beginning to eat away at it, its body was also disintegrating. Finally, both were gone.

However, the conclusion of the battle didn't calm Iori down. She began tearing at the earth screaming. Various stalagmites shot through the ground. Before he could be impaled, Shiguri was saved by Sakura. Both she and Mana, with Yuji in her arms, bounded back to what looked like a safe location.

"Keep them safe." Sakura ordered. Sakura ran back up to Iori, who was clearly crying. "Iori! It's all right!"

Whether Iori heard her or not, she only became more upset. "Yuji's dead! All because of me!"

Sakura caught Iori into a hug and pulled her in close. Iori was about to bat her away, but Sakura yelled "He's not dead! I got here in the nick of time and healed him! He's going to be fine!" Iori froze, all of her demonic features faded, and she passed out. "He's going to be fine." Sakura whispered one more time. She picked Iori up, and placed her beside Yuji.

Before she could turn around, Shiguri asked "What's going on? I've never seen anything like that!"

Sakura at first didn't answer. Then she said "I don't know."

She ran to the edge, along with Mana, leaving Shiguri to care for the two. If they were to look back at him, they would have seen a hint of jealousy in his eyes.

* * *

Kyuubi swiped at Houkou's eyes, but the demon stepped back and shot a stream of lightning once more. The mini-kyuubi attempted to shield itself with its tails, but screamed in pain, and once again was forced back.

"**I consider it an insult that you think you can defeat me using only four tails."** Houkou's fur began sticking straight up. **"An insult that will cost you dearly!"**

Lightning from all over its body sprouted, frying everything in its path. The mini-kyuubi was struck again and again. Eventually, it stopped trying to stand up. However, instead of dying out, more chakra surrounded it. Its muzzle grew slightly, giving it a more canine appearance, the fangs started to take a more physical appearance…and a fifth tail sprouted. Finally, it grew to the size of an elephant. It leapt at Houkou, and bit it on the snout. Despite the vast difference in size, the five-tailed fox managed to pull Houkou down to the ground. Houkou struggled, and finally bit down on the fox. Despite the pain, the mini-biju scratched at the bigger demon's snout like mad. Houkou tossed the fox into the air, but this would not do much. The mini Kyuubi fanned its tails out, slowing its flight, and then spun rapidly. It then suddenly launched straight towards Houkou, and nailed it right in the forehead. The beast fell, and the mini fox screamed in triumph. However, Houkou got up. Though most people probably couldn't tell, the beast was enraged.

"**DAMN YOU! Thinking you're the victor when our battle has only begun!" **

Houkou charged up another lightning bolt, and Kyuubi fired another black chakra ball. This time both attacks were completely nullified. Both monsters charged again. Houkou pawed at his adversary, but the Kyuubi's smaller size allowed him to evade Houkou's attacks. Kyuubi stretched its chakra hands to get Houkou in a choke hold. The dog was gasping for air! It tried to form another bolt, but that was not possible. Just when the smaller demon thought it had won, Houkou pointed its tails at the fox, and it was struck by lightning. It was different this time though…the lightning streaks were not going away!

"**How do you like this, brother?" **Houkou howled maliciously. His tails moved up, and the Kyuubi moved with them. The dog then pointed its tails behind itself, slamming Kyuubi right onto the ground. It twirled like it was chasing its tails, and Kyuubi went with them, eating sand and causing the hard earth to crack. Soon, the mini-kyuubi had enough, and planted its tails into the ground. Houkou struggled to drag the fox some more, but the electricity chains broke off. Kyuubi turned around and scratched Houkou across the eyes. The dog charged, and the fox halted its jaws with his bare paws. For a while, neither one budged…but Hokou took a step back, causing Kyuubi to loose his balance, and then charged, knocking his adversary flat on his feet. Houkou bit down on the smaller demon, hoping to snap him in two…

* * *

Sakura and Mana ran down to the shore. Sakura's eyes then widened: Her worst fear was confirmed. Naruto went beyond four-tails, which meant he was no longer aware of himself. Jiraya and Yamato both had to use special techniques to subdue this form; Sakura had nothing. If he stayed like this, he could transform further until Kyuubi got out…meaning that Naruto would die.

"Is…Is the small one Naruto?" Mana asked. Sakura barely nodded. Mana's eyes widened, and she stared at the battle in front of her. Tears came down her eyes, and she collapsed on her knees. "I'm sorry…" she said. "I'm so sorry. I thought just using a bit of his demon's chakra would be enough to defeat Kenji…but I didn't want it to come to this…." Sakura didn't respond, she just focused on Naruto. She saw that he was growing a sixth tail…

* * *

The sixth tail wrapped around Hokou's neck. The dog gagged, causing him to release the fox. The Kyuubi then wrapped all of its tails around the biju's neck, and flipped it over, causing another enormous shockwave. As Hokou lay stunned, Kyuubi once more doubled its size, at this point becoming as big as the other's face. Hokou got up, and leapt upon the fox, but six-tailed fox simply picked him up and threw him over. By now, the beach looked more like a rocky outcropping due to the damage being done. Hokou fired another lightning bolt without even getting up. The Kyuubi was pushed back some, but eventually it diverted the lightning into the ocean. Kyuubi charged, and started to maul the downed dog. Hokou used his snout to catapult the fox up in the air, but it simply fired another chakra ball, knocking Hokou unconscious. The Kyuubi landed, and howled in triumph…

* * *

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She didn't care if she was killed…she could not let Naruto loose his soul! She ran straight towards the battle, tears streaming down her face, just like she did during their first attempt to save Sasuke, and threw her mask away.

"Naruto!" she screamed. The demon paid her no heed, instead proceeding to beat the lesser biju senseless. "Please Naruto! You won! Change back! Please change back!"

The demon instead proceeded to tear its foe apart. Sakura leapt between the rocks to get to him. She then latched on to his leg and hugged him. Her skin burned from the close contact with the chakra, but she didn't know what else to do. Ignoring the pain, she hugged tighter. The demon at first did not react, than it slowed its assault…and finally stopped. It looked to its side, seeing pink hair that was all too familiar…

* * *

In the jail within Naruto's body, the Kyuubi was wild with alarm. His flow of chakra to the outside was being disrupted. The chakra pouring out of his cage was caught in a whirlpool, instead of flowing straight out.

"Enough!" Naruto said, in a voice that sounded like his own and the demon's.

"**Fool! If you refuse my power, we will both die!"** Kyuubi screamed.

Naruto's head finally appeared above the red chakra. "If Sakura dies, I promise you I will kill us both!" he screamed. The red chakra that surrounded him dispersed, and the Kyuubi was forced back into his cage…

* * *

The demonic fox slowly began to look more human, and shrunk. Eventually, Naruto reemerged. Instead of a leg, Sakura was now hugging his waste. She slowly opened her eyes, and looked up. "Naruto…"

Naruto was in terrible condition: his skin was burned by chakra, his clothes were tattered, and he was bleeding through every pore in his body. Arguably, he was in worse condition than the time he fought Orochimaru, and yet he still remained conscious.

"Sakura…" he rasped. "…thank you." Naruto returned the hug, but he was too weak to do so at full strength . Naruto then asked "What are you-"

Unfortunately, he never got to finish; Sakura was hurled back by a lightning bolt. "Sakura!" Naruto turned around too late, and was swallowed up by the biju.

* * *

Naruto hung on for dear life inside the mouth of Hokou. He just barely dodged the jaws; had he not he would've been in pieces. Electricity did not seem to flow from within the beast, but it was hot. Naruto lost his grip on the tongue, probably from the beast trying to swallow him, but Naruto stabbed two kunai into the beast to prevent that. While this would help him hang on, he hoped the beast would howl him out. No good.

"You are going to die here, that I promise you."

Naruto looked behind him to see Kenji, embedded in the demon's flesh, showing only his torso and head.

"You! If Sakura is…"

"You weakened Hokou significantly. That bolt could only knock a human being unconscious." Then Kenji grinned wickedly. "But as soon as we swallow you, she will be next!"

The beast tilted it's head, and the kunai Naruto used to hang on began to loose their grip. Despite his weakened state, Naruto bounced of the tongue to punch Kenji. However, once he connected, he felt the same familiar shock that defined his enemy, screamed, and was deflected.

"I'm the medium through which Hokou is brought into this world! He will protect me just so he can have his freedom!"

Naruto was finally about to fall into the throat, but made as much kage bushins as he could to plug the hole up. Even though his body was in terrible condition, he still maintained some of the fox's chakra as his own. And he would use that chakra to finish this in one move…

"Kenji…the world has been cruel to you, just as it has been to me. But that doesn't excuse anything you have done. I will never become what the others perceive me to be. If I do, my existence, all my struggles, will have been for nothing." Two bushin came up and started to help Naruto gather chakra in his palm. "Whether they deserve my protection or not is irrelevant. I will protect this world, I will save your people…" Finally, the Rasenshuriken formed. "And I will protect Sakura!" Naruto jumped up right before his bushins dispelled. Kenji surrounded himself with an electricity barrier to stop him, but the Futon technique simply went through and hit him dead on.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

* * *

Sakura woke up, her vision blurred "Wh-Where am I?" Everything came back to her, and she shot up! She looked up and saw the Hokou. She got ready to run…but the dog did not seem interested in her. Instead, it seemed to be having trouble standing up straight, and it violently shook its head in all directions

"**No! How can this be? He wasn't even at full…"** Suddenly, he exploded in a flash of light. Sakura shielded her eyes, and glanced to see two figures falling.

She jumped across the rocks, hoping to find Naruto. She found him lying face down. "Naruto!"

She ran over to him, and lifted him up. He looked worse than before! Even with his toughness, he shouldn't be alive! Naruto wheezed heavily. Mana finally came into view. She checked up on Naruto's vital signs, since Sakura just seem to freeze at seeing Naruto like this.

"He'll live." She said. "But I have never seen someone with injuries like these and survive. Naruto, you have no idea how lucky you are to be here with us right now…"

Naruto coughed hoarsely. "S-Sakura…"

"Naruto!" Sakura cried; she didn't know what to say. Until she looked at Naruto's arm. Sakura just gaped open-mouthed, and nearly yelled "Y-you used it, didn't you?"

Naruto weakly smiled. "Sorry, Sakura…I had no choice."

Mana interrupted. "Where's Kenji?"

Sakura became infuriated at hearing the Raikage's name, and raised her left fist, nearly choking Naruto in a headlock with her other arm "Who cares about HIM?"

Mana ignored her comment, since it was perfectly understandable why she would react that way. "Both of them fell within close proximity of one another. He should be here." Mana then turned around "Keep in mind, I'm doing this for our safety."

Sakura relaxed (and released Naruto from her grip). "Sorry. It's just…it's just I was once in love with someone who did terrible things, and I took what you said the wrong way."

Naruto just twitched on the ground. "Sakura…We've got to work on controlling your strength…"

Mana weakly smiled "Don't worry. Anyway, I know that cave wasn't there before." She pointed near the cliffs, where a small cave was. Sakura understood the situation. The three of them went to the cave entrance, and Sakura laid Naruto down on the side. If they chased the enemy outside with Naruto right in the entrance, or right in the open, he could take Naruto hostage. So long as Naruto was on either side, if Kenji ran out, he wouldn't have time to look him with the two kunoichi in pursuit.

"Naruto, wait here." Sakura said. Naruto smiled, and slowly nodded.

Mana then signaled to Sakura "Let's go."

* * *

"Did you see that!" one of the cloud nin cried happily. "I think we've won!"

The captain could only smile. "Hokou didn't escape though. He's still trapped within his host. We'll need to kill his host. Not that they were two beings to begin with."

They all got their weapons ready, savoring the thought of their freedom.

* * *

Sakura and Mana sprinted inside the cave, weapons ready.

"Mana, are you really ready to go through with this?" Sakura asked.

Mana said emotionlessly "What choice do I have?"

Sakura could tell there was great sadness in her voice. But still, they were both right: Kenji had to be killed at all costs. They ran and ran…until finally they reached a dead end. "Where is he?" Sakura yelled. The two kunoichi searched furiously. There were no other tunnels; they both used genjutsu techniques just to be certain. The roof of the cave was too shallow the entire length for Kenji to hang upside down without having either of the kunoichi's heads bump into him. Mana and Sakura stared at each other in confusion; then their eyes widened with realization and both frantically sprinted to the outside.

"NARUTO!"

* * *

Naruto rested outside. He had never felt so beat up after a fight; not even his scuffle with Sasuke left him in so much pain. "I should've practiced the Rasenshuriken more." Naruto thought. Granted, with practice, Naruto knew he could get it down right. But Tsunade caught him one time trying it again on the training grounds, and hit him clear to the other side. Naruto, once he regained consciousness, tried his best to explain, but she wouldn't hear any of it.

"_The only way I see you perfecting that technique is by doing it the way that hurts you over and over! Naruto, I know what I'm talking about; that technique damages the cells beyond what even I or the Kyuubi can heal! From now on, I will have Yamato and Kakashi teach you other elemental techniques!"_

Naruto abided by her wishes. How could he not? She was CRYING when she said that. Naruto didn't like to make people cry over him. "Sorry, ba-chan; I had no choice." Just then Naruto heard his name called outside the cave. "Wha-?"

Before he could react, two hands grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. Naruto looked up to see a scared, burned, weakened but clearly not defeated Kenji! "AAARRRGGGHHHH!" he screamed. Kenji threw Naruto onto the side of the beach where the rocks were at their sharpest. Naruto was helpless now; all he could do was scream in pain. Naruto tried to move, but Kenji threw kunai that pinned both of his arms to two outcroppings behind him. Kenji leapt in front of Naruto, picked up the biggest boulder he could, and smashed it over Naruto's head until it shattered. Naruto was bleeding severely from the head; how he managed to stay awake at all was beyond comprehension.

"Kenji.' he rasped, in a much lower voice than before. "Everything you have done you did because you felt Mana betrayed you. She didn't. She's always loved you."

Kenji just screamed "What would you know about LOVE?"

Naruto said "Believe me; I know it hurts to see the girl you've always loved to have her feelings for someone else. But all that is important to me is her happiness. Though the thought that she would choose Sasuke over me kills me, I know her sadness will kill her. So long as Sakura will always smile, and will find someone who will make her happy, I will rest easy."

Kenji just took out one keris and charged it up with lightning. "Then I shall put you out of your misery!" Kenji yelled.

Sakura and Mana just came out of the cave. Their ninja senses kicked in once they saw Naruto. Mana looked at Sakura, and back at Naruto. She realized what she had to do. Mana made hand signs lightning quick, thinking "Naruto. Thank you for helping my people, and I'm sorry I nearly made you give in to your inner demon. As he is, Kenji is weakened; my soldiers will be able to do the rest. Though I cannot atone for the sins of deceiving you and endangering your team. I hope that by sparring your teammate the pain I suffered, that will be enough for you to forgive me." At the final sign, she vanished.

Naruto heard guts splatter. "So this is it…Sakura…I…" A moment passed. "This is not as painful as I thought it would be." Another moment passed, and Naruto knew something was up. He looked up, and saw that it was not his guts that splattered: Mana was right in front of him! Mana used a teleportation jutsu to stand in front of Naruto. Most enemies would've normally threw her corpse away and continue to their intended target. But Kenji just stood wide-eyed, blood splattered all over his face, and trembling.

Mana took the knife right into her stomach, and the energy caused it to explode. "K-Ken…" Mana rasped. She coughed up blood. "I'm sorry. For what Kumo has done. For how I ignored you in the beginning. For not being strong enough…to stop Kyo from touching me…"

Kenji just stood there stunned, while Mana used one hand to stroke his cheek. "Please…let it go…they've suffered just as much as you have…"

Kenji could barely stutter "M-Mana…"

"I wanted to start over…regardless of what's passed…but I couldn't…" Mana was interrupted when more blood leapt out of her mouth again "…let you go through with this…I love you Kenji…I will watch over you…and I will tell our child…you said hello…"

With that, the color faded from her eyes, and she hunched over. Now Kenji was visibly trembling. Naruto couldn't see it, but by the time Sakura did, she could: Tears were rolling down Kenji's eyes.

"Mana…" Kenji released his grip, collapsed on his knees. Before Mana could hit the ground, Kenji caught her. Now sobbing noises were coming from him as he shook her. "Mana! Please wake up! I'm sorry! Wake up! Mana!"

* * *

_Kenji thought back to the day when he just discovered he was the container of Hokou. He was on the training grounds, destroying all of the dummies with his bare-hands. _

"_Kenji! Kenji!" Mana screamed as she ran towards him. Kenji didn't stop until Mana hugged him from behind. Kenji calmed down, but only slightly._

"_How could he do that? How could father just put a demon inside me and abandon me1?" Mana heard Kenji start to cry. He covered his face in shame and sobbed "Why can't they see I'm a human being like them?" _

_Mana just hugged tighter. "Kenji. I know I treated you no different than they did when we first became a team. But then, I got to know the real you. I don't know if we can change their minds. But I want you to know that even if the whole world becomes your enemy I will always be at your side." _

_Kenji continued crying, but it was different this time. "Mana…thank you…"He turned around and hugged her close…_

* * *

Now Kenji truly remembered why he was so full of hate: It wasn't Mana; it was his own family. His revenge on his family did nothing to satisfy him, so he took his rage out on Kumogakure. But it wasn't enough. And somewhere along the line, he blamed the only one who loved him. "How could I have been…such a fool?" Kenji just looked at her lifeless face, and up to the sky.

"If I had only remembered back to that day…I would've realized you would never betray me. I would've dealt with whatever bad thing came to me, no matter what…so long as you were by my side…" He laid Mana's body down, and cupped her cheek.

Sakura, despite hearing about all the terrible things he had done, truly pitied this man. "Naruto…did you feel the same way he did, when we would mistreat you?" she asked the unconscious jinchuriki. She picked him up bridal style, trying to keep herself together. The wounds that Kenji gave Naruto after all that were almost too much for her to bear. She looked back at Kenji, who was on all fours, crying.

"Kill me." Kenji choked. Sakura didn't respond. "KILL ME!"

* * *

This is more or less the end of my first arc. Next: Itachi


	9. The Magenkyo's Threat

Hi! Not much happening. Just bombed another midterm (well, maybe I did okay, but I certainly didn't do great). Otherwise, I guess school is going better. I also bought Transformers and the first Naruto movie.

On another note, I've noticed my fic has become quite popular, especially in comparison to my InuYasha fic. In the five years since that one has been posted, I've received only 14 reviews and barely over a thousand hits. This one, 60 (and probably going up!) reviews, close to 10,000 hits! And my fic has been posted on 7 C2s! I just want to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed my fic. It's an honor to have others hold this story in such high opinion.

IronicEnding: I'm glad you think the fights are good! After all, isn't that why we all got into Naruto in the first place?

Tennisdesi91: I dunno. Maybe.

DarknesstoLight: Good one.

The World At Large: Had to respond because I need to get one review saying fantastic. Thank you!

Sky Maiden: First off, you can use the character filters nowadays to find stories with the pairings you want. While the amount of NaruSaku pales in comparison with the others, it's a growing trend. Second, don't take this the wrong way, but I never said anything about us "uniting" because our favored pairing is considered to be at the bottom of everyone else's choices. All we should do is continue to enjoy NaruSaku, regardless of what the others think. Going to war with the other fans, which I think your review implied, is childish and puts us on the same level of the NaruHina and SasuSaku fans who hate anyone just for liking a different pairing (I'm sure there are plenty of those fans who are mature and nice, but unfortunately the bad ones have left quite a mark on them). Nonetheless, please, continue to read!

Rickp2006: Also had to respond to review that says Damn Awesome.

Disclaimer: You know what? I own Naruto! (Kunai with explosive tag gets pinned to the wall) Everyone duck and cover!

* * *

Naruto felt himself floating in a river. "Am I dead? Were the injuries I sustained enough to kill me?"

Soon, the feeling passed, and Naruto felt himself lying on the ground. Naruto blinked several times before he finally managed to open his eyes. His eyes focused on a camp fire. "What happened?" he thought. It was night, and he had a blanket over him, along with some sort of crudely constructed matt beneath him. He looked to his side, and saw Sakura healing Yuji.

"Are you in any pain?" Sakura asked.

Yuji replied "No; I'm feeling much better." The genin then went back to sleep.

Sakura stopped the jutsu. She walked over to some bushes, gathering some plants; herbs, most likely.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered.

Sakura turned her head back. "Naruto!" she whispered. She lightly ran to him, but somewhere along the way she tripped. Naruto, despite his state, managed to catch her and the plants she was collecting.

"Sakura! Are you alright?"

Sakura just gathered everything up. "I-I'm fine Naruto. Just tired."

Naruto then put his hand on her forehead. "You feel hot; are you sure you're not sick?"

"Naruto! I'm a medi-nin, of course I'm not sick!" Naruto just furrowed his brow. "What?" Sakura asked.

"I know you're lying, Sakura-chan. You're feverish, you look pale, and you look exhausted! When was the last time you slept?"

Sakura's eyes widened, then she looked away and frowned. "Not since I got here."

Naruto didn't like the sound of this. "Just when did you get here?"

"Pretty much a few hours before you fought that thing."

"And how long have I been out?"

Sakura hesitated, then said "Five Days."

Naruto couldn't believe this. "You mean, for five days, you haven't slept at all?"

Sakura had tears coming down her eyes, and she threw her hands up. "Just what do you expect me to do?" she yelled. "Kakashi-sensei's been poisoned, Neji looks like he had a little too much fun with an electrical outlet, which I bet was Kenji, and may never fight again, one of your students was torn to ribbons…and what about you? Your transformation damaged your body, you fell at least 30 meters, you've been stabbed, and you received one of the worst concussions I have ever seen! I don't think I need to remind you what your Rasenshuriken does to you! How can I rest?"

Naruto made no comment; instead he grabbed Sakura and pulled her close.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, have you done everything you could? Is everyone out of danger?"

Sakura didn't respond at first, but then said "I should be able to do so much more."

Naruto sighed. "You did everything you could. Sakura, right now all that's important is that everyone's safe. So please, just rest." Naruto pulled her head in closer. "Just rest."

"Naruto, I can't rest now…you….still…" Sakura's vision was blurring, and she was having trouble focusing. Her mind could only process "His hands feel so nice…he smells…kinda nice…" Soon, she went limp, and passed out.

Naruto got up, and laid her on the makeshift bed that was his. Naruto never really saw her when she was sleeping. "My god, she looks so beautiful." Naruto wasn't fully recovered, but found that so long as he took it easy, he could move no problem. He went to see Neji first. He was breathing more heavily than normal, and if what Sakura said was true…"No, no. Neji, I'm sorry; I should've convinced you to fight that thing, not Kenji; it's all because of me."

He went over to Kakashi. "Hey." He said.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"I'm doing okay now. I'll need some therapy once I get back to Konoha though; the medicine Sakura had isn't enough."

Naruto nodded. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"You know about the person I fought, right? Everything?"

Kakashi knew where this was going to go. "Naruto, you won't…"

"Who says I won't?" Naruto nearly screamed as he threw his hands up in the air. "He was mistreated like me, ignored, discarded…and it was just one thing that caused him to snap. Who's to say I won't become like him?"

Kakashi said " The one who says you won't become like him is you: Only you can make that choice…and I think you've chosen well."

Naruto looked down and said "It still hurts. What the village put me through. How they still look down on me. Sometimes, I'll loose hope that I'll ever be acknowledged as a person. It's only when I go outside of Konoha that everyone treats me like a human being."

"Naruto: you don't need the love of a million people: Just the love of one. And I think you've found her."

Naruto stared at his former teacher. Then, at Sakura. "I think it's a little bit too soon to call it love in her case." He said in an embarrassed tone.

"Whatever you say." Kakashi smirked, underneath his mask of course. Then, Naruto began to walk away. "Sorry, I've got to check up on my students."

Naruto saw Yuji. Though he was not bandaged, scars were all over his body. "I guess Sakura wasn't well rested enough to close them up completely."

"Naruto-sensei?"

Naruto turned around to see Iori. "Hey; are you doing okay?"

"I guess." Iori looked troubled.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

Iori said "Sensei, am I worth saving?"

"Don't be silly; of course you are." Naruto looked back at Yuji, then understood the situation. "Iori, I know you haven't been nice to Yuji…but you're still his teammate. He wouldn't just let you die. Besides, guys are pretty forgiving when it comes to girls." Iori still looked sad. Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look. Just apologize the next time he wakes up. Tell him that he's a nice guy, and you'll treat him better from now on. And no, this does not mean you have to be his girlfriend; but as teammates, you're expected to be there for one another." Iori smiled slightly, and nodded her head saying she understood.

* * *

"Can't we go any faster?" Ino screamed.

Sai simply replied "No." He just had to groan. "Just how did I wind up with this ugly dog?" he thought. Sai was in a rotten mood, if that was even possible. Ino tried flirting with him every chance she got, she complained about the fact that they were letting something like a hurricane stop them from reaching Naruto, and it didn't help that she complained about her hair of all things. "I'll never understand women." At least the storm had cleared up now, and they could continue. They should have been there days ago, but it couldn't be helped. "Hang in there, Naruto." Sai thought. He was still far off from truly understanding what a bond meant, but over the years, something compelled him to help the other members of Team 7 the best he could.

* * *

Itachi and Kisame stood at the shore. "Let's get this over with, Itachi." Kisame said.

Itachi just nodded. They walked on to the water, and sprinted. Though the waves were high and made water-walking difficult, it was nothing a few leaps and bounds could take care of. Suddenly, Kisame just chuckled.

"What is it, Kisame?"

"I've been thinking: Madara wants the power of the biju. Yet we defeated everyone that contains them. Even those weaklings Deidra and Tobi managed to subdue one."

Itachi then said "You underestimate our prey. Shukaku was captured because Deidra forced the Kazekage into taking a blow for his people. It was more due to Hidan's unique abilities that the Nibi was captured. Being both one of the lesser biju and without a host to give it human intelligence, the Sanbi was easily outwitted by Deidra and Tobi. And if it wasn't for me using the Magenkyo Sharingan on the shichibi, you would be nothing but a corpse."

Kisame just shuddered at the thought. His sword couldn't absorb all of that fighter's chakra, and he would've been dead for sure had Itachi not used his eyes.

"There is always more to fighting then brute strength. The ability to overcome those who are physically stronger than you...that is where true power lies." Itachi stated.

* * *

A boat set sail into the sea. Orochimaru's vessel, to be precise. It was heading towards the main land. However, a return to his base did not satisfy him. No, today, he was livid. He lost a valuable ally, or if you would be speaking from Orochimaru's perspective, tool. It wasn't Kabuto; sure, it was bad news that Kabuto could no longer be used for combat. But he was still useful in terms of making medicine. It wasn't Sasuke; you wouldn't want to see him if it was Sasuke. No, it was Kenji! It was a loss Orochimaru could not comprehend! Kenji wasn't killed or crippled: He just cut ties with him altogether…

* * *

_Orochimaru came up to the beach where the huge battle had taken place. He had already ordered Sasuke to take care of Kabuto and bring him to the ship. He just needed to be sure his other ally was okay. It wasn't altruism; he had been rather handy to have around these years. Finally, he found him in rags, kneeling towards the shore line. _

"_Raikage-sama." Orochimaru hissed. "I assume Uzumaki has been taken care of?" Kenji did not respond. Orochimaru then looked to the grave site right in front of Kenji. It was simple: Nothing more than a stick. This confused Orochimaru. Did he bury the other jinchuriki? _

_Then, he heard Kenji sob "Mana…I only want to be with you…Naruto made me realize what terrible things I've done. If only I had allowed myself to be taken by you, at least you would have been all right, and you would have never had to sacrifice yourself." _

_Orochimaru could only stare in disbelief. Kenji was one of the cruelest people he had known! How could he be mourning over someon? "Why did that girl just leave me?" Kenji rasped. " I planned to kill her. I tried to kill her teammate. Couldn't she see I have nothing left to live for?" Kenji broke down completely, his head touching the rocks. _

_Now Orochimaru was truly afraid of Naruto. Not for his power…no, he seemed to redeem people that were unredeemable. If he could do it with Kenji…"No! I can't let him take back Sasuke-kun! I must have the sharingan." Orochimaru, seemingly calm, walked towards Kenji. "Strife-sama. I'm afraid I have no more use for you." Orochimaru used his hidden snake-hands and pinned Kenji to the rocks. He then shot out Kusunagi from his mouth, hoping to impale him…until he saw his eyes. There was anticipation, but not out of fear. No, it seemed to be more like…relief. _

"_Weren't you going to kill me?" Kenji said. "Oh, I see. You're wondering why I'm not afraid. Well, I'll give you the abridged version of a long story: I lost someone precious. Someone I simply cannot live without. Death would be a blessing." He lowered his head, but still left enough room for his neck to be exposed. "So do what you will." _

_Orochimaru growled with dissatisfaction. While people wishing for death were far easier to kill, it was simply unsatisfying when you were mad at them. Oh well. "Give me the contract." Orochimaru ordered. _

_Kenji reached for two scrolls under his leg. "You mean these?" he asked. The contract had power over Kumogakure's economy; Orochimaru planned to nullify Kenji's original plans to destroy all the money, and instead use it for himself. Suddenly, electricity crackled around it, and next thing they knew, it was nothing more than a pile of ash.. _

"_NOOOOO!" Orochimaru screamed. He pressed Kusunagi to Kenji's Adam's apple until he heard him gag. "WHY? WHY?" Orochimaru demanded. _

"_Before I die…I would like some form of redemption. Lightning country is free from your grasp as well. No more funds, no more experiments. They will recover on their own terms."_

* * *

Orochimaru crushed a sake dish he was drinking after he finished reminiscing. There was no way to punish him; even a death prolonged by days would bring more satisfaction to Kenji than it would him. "So long as he does not threaten my plans, I suppose it's a loss I can get through."

Something bothered him though. "Without him, the threat Akatsuki posses is greater than before, especially in his vulnerable state. He could be captured!" Should he have killed him after all to prevent Akatsuki from achieving its goals? Maybe, but he wasn't too worried. The device used to contain the biju's power was unstable; for every year the Akatsuki was free to hunt the biju, the Akatsuki had to spend three stabilizing it. Although their time to hunt again was now, according to his spies, they hadn't made much progress. And so long as he could kill one jinchuriki, their plans will be ruined. "Uzumaki Naruto…I will be rid of you soon."

* * *

Sakura blinked her eyes. Then she shot up. She was on what was supposed to be Naruto's bed, with the covers over her. She looked around frantically. "Naruto? Naruto?"

Suddenly, something was heard over the bushes. "You don't have to be so loud, Sakura-chan." A familiar voice said. Naruto emerged, carrying a basket.

"Are those…?" Sakura thought.

Naruto looked at her, then the basket, and then laughed. "Oh, this? They're not herbs; I couldn't pick them out if I tried. I just found some fruit I know is good, and got some for everyone." Naruto went around to everyone who was conscious. Kakashi declined, claiming he wasn't hungry. Naruto figured that he just didn't want to be unmasked, since he couldn't do his super quick bites in his condition.

"Naruto, how long have I been asleep?" Sakura asked.

Naruto thought. "Oh, I'd say about twelve hours."

Sakura freaked out. "Half a day? What if someone…"

Naruto waved his hands. "Sakura, please! You were sick and exhausted, you needed rest! If someone was in trouble, I would've woken you up! Please believe me!"

Sakura then calmed down. "Sorry, Naruto. I just…" Sakura couldn't find the words.

"Just what, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I guess I just wanted to be acknowledged I could help everyone no matter what the circumstances. Kinda like you, I guess." She said, with a slight smile on her lips.

Naruto didn't know what to say. Then, he grinned like a goof-ball as usual. "Well, why don't you eat up? I'm feeling much better right now. Then, I guess we'll just carry everyone back."

"We may have to wait a while, Naruto." Sakura said. "Summoning a sea slug is the best way, and my chakra is a bit out of whack." Then, the medi-nin got up. "However, I should have enough to finish healing Yuji."

As she walked over, Naruto asked "Sakura-chan?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to him? To Kenji, I mean?"

* * *

_Sakura decided to set Naruto down. Seeing Kenji in his state, as terrible a person as he may have been, she couldn't bear to see other people suffer. Her ninja senses kicked in at the last minute. She pulled out a kunai and parried incoming shuriken. _

"_Kill him while he's weak! Kill him!" A group of cloud nins was running straight towards Kenji, bearing every weapon, both real and makeshift imaginable._

_Sakura knew what she had to do. She ran forward and punched the ground. The cloud nins backed off when the beach seemingly exploded in front of them. When the dust settled, Sakura got up from her battle position. "You bastards!" she screamed. "I know about everything he did. There's no excuse for his actions. But look at him now!" _

_At first, the ninja didn't respond with anything but confusion. However, one of them glanced over. And then another. They all saw the monster that held them captive cradling and crying over a woman. "What are you cowards waiting for?" The captain yelled, pointing his ninken at the jinchuriki. "Kill him!" None of them responded. The captain's look became one of pure rage, and it was directed at his squad "What's wrong with you all? You're sympathizing with our enemy? The one who holds our lives in the palm of his hands?" _

_Suddenly, one of the cloud nins walked over to where Kenji kneeled. Sakura sensed no killing intent from him, and let him passed. He kneeled right in front of Kenji, but not in a submissive manner. "Erase the seals." he said. Kenji only blinked, but the nin took it that he understood what he was asking. "Erase the seals…and we'll help you bury her."_

_At first, Kenji did not respond. Then, his hand slowly came up and touched the nin's forehead. Though he was afraid, he didn't make any attempt to stop his master. A green-light formed on his forehead, and disappeared. _

"_You're free." the jinchuriki whispered. He got up, and walked over to the squad, his head hung low. He repeated the same process on each and every one of them. He finally came up to the captain, who gritted his teeth. The captain pulled out a tanto, aiming for the young man's heart…and was quickly beaten across the beach by Sakura._

_After he too was freed from Kenji's grasp, the cloud nins gathered around Mana, and helped Kenji bury her. Shortly afterwards, Kenji gave them the instructions for removing the seals on everyone else.  
_

_Soon, they gathered their unconscious comrade and took their leave. "Hey!" Sakura shouted. The cloud nin turned around to look at her. "I want you all to promise me: Should you ever have a jinchuriki again, you will treat him or her as a human being. It's because of your own fears and hypocrisy that you're in this situation now." The cloud nin nodded, their heads hung in shame…_

* * *

"What happened to Kenji then?" Naruto asked.

Sakura could only shake her head sadly. "He didn't respond after that. I would've had taken him in, but I realized he was no threat. So, I left him. If he wanted revenge, he would've gone after somebody."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement, and looked away. "Kenji..."

* * *

Ino woke up on the bird they were flying on. She had only been asleep for a few hours, but she needed it. She looked to her side, and noticed Sai observing the scenery, drawing something on his pad. Ino got a sly smile, put her mask behind her back, and walked right over. "Good morning Sai." She said right into his ear. Sai jumped with surprise, and mentally she went "Hell YEAH!"

If only she knew it wasn't the kind of surprise she was aiming for. "Oh no, not her again!" he thought.

"Watcha drawing there? The sun? How lovely!" Ino practically screamed.

Sai just had to mentally sigh to himself. "What is with her?" Sai turned around, trying to ignore her.

Ino looked back, and saw Yamato was still sound asleep. He came down with a cold, but continued with the mission nonetheless. This gave Ino an idea, as another one of her sly smiles got plastered on her lips. "You're such a talented artist, Sai. In fact…" A slight shuffling of clothes was heard. "I was dreaming that you would paint me into your memory." her voice said in a most seductive manner

Sai turned around, and immediately turned paler than before, if that was possible. Ino didn't strip down…at least, not completely. Her armor was off, and her top was up to the point where one could see the bottom of her breasts. She hunched over so that her cleavage was exposed too. The worst part was when Sai noticed she pulled her pants and panties down, but had her exposed cheek to the side, allowing him no access to her sacred area, which was still conveniently covered by her hands. Which was a good thing for Sai. "What am I going to do? Why is she…" Sai then remembered to the incident when he was invited along with Team 7 and Team 10 to have lunch. Then he remembered what he had told Ino that day. "I only said that to be nice! I guess I should tell her the truth." Sai thought. "Ino-san." He said.

"HMM?" Ino said with a big smile on her lips.

"That day, when we had lunch with your teammates, I wasn't being honest." Ino's smile immediately faltered. "The truth is, I don't find you attractive. Your blond hair is so bright it burns my eyes, the way you have it makes you look like a dodo, and you're so skinny that I'm surprised you haven't died of starvation. Sorry Ino, but I'm not interested in you." Sai finally breathed. "There. Hopefully, that should clear things up."

Ino just stood there in shock, mouth agape. Soon, she adjusted her clothes properly, and walked right over to Sai. She closed her eyes…then opened them and slapped Sai right across the cheek. This sent the man flying off the bird. Ino then realized too late that now wasn't the best time: The paint bird Sai had summoned dissipated, and its remaining two occupants fell along with him!

* * *

All three former occupants swam up to the water's surface, and used their chakra to stay on the water.

"What happened, Sai?!" Yamato demanded.

Sai was at a loss for words for a moment. Though he was probably the most socially backward person in all of Konoha, he knew that personal and petty feuds should stay out of missions. Still, he knew Yamato wouldn't take "nothing" for an answer. "Well…"

Suddenly, water shot out of nowhere, and the three of them scattered. They looked at the direction where the water came from, and their eyes widened.

"It seems the nine-tails is nearby, and has brought some friends." A sinister voice said.

Before them stood members of the Akatsuki! Neither Ino nor Sai had seen these particular members, but Yamato knew one of them. "Uchiha…Itachi."

Ino looked at the famed Uchiha who killed his own clan. "That's Sasuke's brother?" she thought.

Itachi stepped forward. "Leaf ninja…we have other pressing matters that do not concern you. Step aside, and you may live."

Kisame snarled "I say we kill them! You know they will not go down without a fight!"

Ino made hand signals, and thrust her hands forward. "Shinranshin no jutsu!"

Suddenly, Kisame's body began to move on it's own. "Wh-What?" Kisame began swinging his sword at Itachi. Itachi, of course, dodged with ease, and did not seem the least bit concerned.

"The famous mind possession techniques of the Yamanaka clan. An interesting technique." Itachi noted.

Ino threw kunai to trick him into running into Samehada. However, they struck Itachi right on target. "Hah, even better!" she yelled. But then something occurred to her: That was too easy. Before she could react, the clone exploded, sending everyone flying. Kisame, free of the mind control, dove underwater. Ino rolled on the water's surface and kneeled. "Where is he?" she screamed.

Her question was answered when a rough hand grabbed her by the throat. "It seems we'll have to do this the hard way after all." Itachi said, no emotion showing.

Suddenly, Ino felt…strange. She looked at her hand: It was wrinkled! Sure, they were on salt water, but her hands couldn't have been under long enough to become prudish. Then she looked down at the ocean's reflection, and nearly screamed. She was old! She had wrinkles everywhere, her hair was white, and she really DID look like a pile of skin and bones.

"It's Genjutsu!" she thought. "It has to be!"

She looked up at Itachi, and prepared a round kick just for him. However, when it got up to hip level, it felt like her back had snapped in two.

"Old women should not exert themselves." Itachi said, as he watched Ino sink into the sea.

Ino struggled to stay afloat. "Come on, move it! It's nothing but genjutsu…" It was getting harder to believe that as she both saw and felt her body decay to bone.

"Ino-san!" Sai yelled. He and Yamato ran towards her, but they were caught in water prisons.

Kisame then raised his sword. "This is for interfering!" he yelled. He was about to bring it down, when Itachi raised his hand.

"Enough, Kisame. Our objective is the five-tails and the offspring of the seven-tails. We're wasting time."

After saying that, Itachi turned around and walked on the water towards Monsoon.

Kisame just growled. "Fine!" Kisame then ran towards his partner, leaving Sai and Yamato trapped in their prisons. He looked back, and sneered "Feel free to drown while I'm gone! I'll be back to check up on you!"

Sai struggled against his water prison, but the pressure, combined with his lack of air, was too strong for him. Yamato, however, came prepared. He put his chakra into a seed, and roots began to grow. Finally, the bubble burst. Yamato ran towards Sai, and cut his prison open with a kunai. Sai hacked water, and ran towards where Ino was. Was.

"She must've drowned!" Sai thought. He dove underwater, and found her. He grabbed her around the waste and brought her to the surface. She wasn't breathing.

"We'll have to do CPR." Yamato said. "You hold her up while I do the recitation."

* * *

Naruto wasn't in the best shape ever, but he was feeling a lot better from his battle now. He could do flips and chakra climbing with ease. Acting like he was about to fight put strain on him, though. "Oh, well, that's not an issue anymore." Naruto thought.

Yuji had fully recovered. Not the slightest trace of his wounds could be seen. Naruto caught Iori several times approaching Yuji from behind, only to chicken out. Naruto decided not to push it.

"She realizes her mistakes. She's just afraid her apology will be rejected. She'll do it when she's ready." He thought.

Neji and Kakashi, unfortunately, hadn't recovered. Sakura assured him that they would get better treatment at the hospital. Speaking of Sakura…

"Sakura! Where are you?" He heard a cough. He walked towards it, and saw Sakura lying down.

"I'm okay, Naruto. Just tired." She looked more sick than tired, in his opinion. But how? Though even the best of medi-nins got sick occasionally, they had great immune systems.

Naruto thought back to the battle…and a realization came to him. "It's my chakra, isn't it?"

Sakura looked at Naruto alarmed, then turned away. "I didn't want to hurt you, Naruto." She said. "I couldn't let you transform any further. I did the only thing I could think of at the time."

Naruto didn't know what to say. And he knew his fox transformation hurt Sakura before…"What's going to happen now?" You were ill for days just from a tiny scratch from me…"

"Naruto, I promise I'll be fine." Sakura stated.

Naruto just said "I'll believe that as soon as we go see Tsunade." Naruto heard from Kakashi why Orochimaru didn't possess Sasuke yet. If his fox's chakra could do so much damage to a sanin, there was no telling what it would do to Sakura. He got up, and gathered his team.

"Listen up. We've got comrades who are injured, and they need to be taken back to Konoha right now. I want the three of you to carry Kakashi and follow me."

Iori asked "What about Sakura-san and that guy?" and pointed to Neji.

"Leave it to me." Naruto replied. He bit his thumb and summoned a human sized toad. Naruto felt a bit tired afterwards, but he could still walk fine, and he knew so long as he took it slow, water-walking would be no problem. "Go over to Neji." Naruto said to the toad and pointed him in the direction of the Hyugga. "Shiguri, I want you to tie him to the toad's back." Naruto said.

Shiguri did as he was told, and Naruto picked up Sakura.

"Naruto…you're…"

Naruto cut Sakura off. "The longer we wait for you to recover, the greater the risk we face of loosing Neji and Kakashi-sensei. Don't worry: I'll take care of everything." Sakura didn't say anything, but fell asleep as Naruto adjusted her for a piggy-back position. "All right, let's move out!" Naruto yelled.

* * *

Kenji watched in camouflage attire as he saw the cloud ninjas he once enslaved cheer in joy. A cloud nin that Kenji recognized as Mana's second in command stood in front. It was Sakura who told the rebellion that Kenji was defeated. Then, the man spoke up.

"Today, our country is free!" he yelled to his troops. They pumped their fists in joy. "We will rebuild, select a new Raikage, and raise Kumogakure to new heights!" The crowd cheered at this. "And we must also learn from our mistakes!"

At this, they went silent. "While it's true that a jinchuriki enslaved us, it was also a jinchuriki that saved us as well. The previous Raikage sacrificed his wife to create a weapon that he feared he could not control. He shunned him, and so did we, in turn. Believe it or not, Kenji was just as human as us. I myself saw him wanting to play with us as kids, he would smile and laugh, I've even saw him crying once. Our leader, the late Mana, was all he ever had, and I could tell he always did love her. That is something I imagine the rest of you couldn't even comprehend him doing. What made him snap was the return of his brother, who betrayed the village. We didn't know it, but we should have at least had reservations for why he returned after so many years. If you had given everything to your homeland only to be rejected, and find them welcoming back a traitor with open arms, would you have felt any different?"

There were some murmurs among the men. "In contrast, the one who saved us was not only a Konoha ninja, one of our enemies, but a jinchuriki who contained the Kyuubi as well. I've done some background research on him: He had a lifestyle similar to Kenji's. We tried to trick him into helping us. We took his genins hostage. He caught onto it and topped us. Yet despite that, of his own free will he chose to help us. Why? It was because he had a heart of gold. He forbade Mana from allowing us to fight not for his own personal amusement. No, he did it because he did not want anyone to die. Just how many ninja do you know of that would do such a thing?"

No one could give an answer. "What Kenji did to us was wrong. But we wronged him first, and the rest was simply karma. Perhaps there are others like him. But if out of all the possible jinchuriki that exists, that Naruto Uzumaki is the only just one, he alone makes treating them all like human beings justified."

More silence followed, but this time, not from disagreement or confusion: no, everyone was crying. Kenji could not believe what he was seeing. "When we rebuild, this new law will pass: should a jinchuriki ever be born in Kumogakure again, we will not shun them. No, we shall treat them like one of us. If he is without family, he shall be adopted. He will be taught and housed properly. We will accept him as an equal, a comrade…a brother."

Slowly, people began applauding. Kenji gripped his heart and ran into the forest. When he got far enough away, he sat down crying. Then he remembered his discussion with Naruto about his actions. Then he thought back to what he just heard from the people he used to hate.

"They're not passing these laws because of what I did to them…they're passing those laws because of what Naruto did FOR them." Suddenly, Kenji lied down, and cried and laughed simultaneously.

* * *

"Aw, shit." Naruto moaned. He forgot one thing about their return trip: The sea.

"Even if I taught them walking on water and was at full health, this would be a problem." Naruto thought to himself.

"Um, sensei…" Shiguri said.

"I know. It looks like I'm going to have to send in a messenger toad instead." Naruto set Sakura down on the shore and bit his thumb, thinking "As if I haven't wasted enough chakra already."

He was down to the last hand sign, when a familiar voice chuckled "Well, I never expected to see you here." Naruto froze, and slowly looked up. Before him stood Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hogogachi.

"Itachi-san, if the information we received is correct, we'll be able to bag THREE jinchurikis!"

Itachi only replied "Whether the third one can live up to the definition remains to be seen."

Naruto was confused. Three? He was definitely one of the ones they were talking about. If they came here, it would mean they were after Kenji. But who was the third? Naruto turned to his team to see Iori trembling. His eyes widened in alarm: They were after her!

"Just what do you want with Iori?" Naruto yelled at them.

"Do you know what powers the offspring of a Jinchuriki possess?" Itachi asked, though it was more of a statement. Naruto didn't respond. "Neither do we. Which is why the little girl is coming with us."

Naruto immediately reached for shuriken and threw them at the two Akatsuki. Kisame blocked the ones directed at him with his sword. Others did manage to hit Itachi, but then a huge explosion knocked everyone off their feet.

"I wish he would warn me before he creates one of those!" Kisame yelled.

Itachi emerged from the water, and walked onto the shore. "Give us the child, and we shall let you live for now." Itachi ordered.

Naruto snarled, and drew a kunai. He ran forward, and slashed at Itachi. None of it did any good. Using his Sharingan, Itachi could easily see Naruto's moves from a mile away. Itachi foot swept Naruto, and knocked him down. "Only one with the Magenkyo and the Kekei Genkai can stop me." Itachi said.

"Naruto, get out of the way!" Naruto looked up to see an ill but standing Kakashi, with his Magenkyo exposed.

Itachi didn't look surprised. "Your magenkyo would be powerful. But you're weak. And you lack the second important variable that I have stated."

Kakashi whispered "That won't matter!" Soon, his magenkyo started spinning. Naruto ran a good distance, knowing what was coming. A black hole opened up some distance from Itachi. It wasn't as close as anybody would've liked, but Itachi was nonetheless being pulled in.

"Hmm, an interesting technique. But!..." Itachi's eyes changed, and spun as well. Slowly, the hole closed, only taking Itachi's cloak with it.

Kakashi and Naruto could only say "No way…"

"I do not know how you have managed to obtain the Magenkyo…but because of your condition, and the fact you're not like me, your sharingan jutsus are weak." Itachi pulled out a scroll, and summoned a katanna. "Kisame! Grab the girl! I'll see to them!"

Kisame ran towards Naruto's team. Iori was simply paralyzed with fear. "Ahh, you look just like your father little girl! I remember when we extracted his biju! He kept crying out your name!"

Just when Kisame got close, a wall rose from the ground with huge spikes, knocking Kisame to the ground. Kisame was back on his feet, but wires wrapped his limbs up. Shiguri came and threw shuriken, only to have it all blocked by Kisame's sword.

"Iori!" Yuji screamed. "Run!"

Iori finally snapped out of her trance, and ran, crying as she did. "In the end, I couldn't do anything!"

Kisame continued to struggle with his bonds. "Very clever of you." Kisame growled. "But!..." Kisame pulled one of the wires, and slammed Yuji into Shiguri. Both groaned.

"Are you okay up there, buddy?" Shiguri asked in a hoarse whisper. "I've been better. That guy is strong." Yuji replied. Both got up, and Yuji pulled out more wires. "Plan F?" Yuji asked. Shiguri nodded and replied "Plan F."

Yuji then poured a liquid over the wires he was holding. "Ready!" Yuji yelled. Yuji threw his wires, and once again ensnared Kisame.

"Fool!" he yelled. Shiguri made hand signs and fired up the wires. The flames traveled towards Kisame at an incredible speed, and reached their destination. However, when they finally hit him, his body collapsed into a puddle.

"A Bushin?" the two genins asked.

Suddenly, the real Kisame erupted from the ground and swung his sword. Though both genins managed to avoid a fatal blow, the blade still ruined their limbs, and the two found themselves crippled. For once, Kisame did not stick around to gloat. He leapt over the two genin, and ran after Iori. "Man, this has been such a crappy week." Yuji said, struggling to get up.

* * *

Itachi charged and sliced. Naruto blocked with his kunai, but he still got a nasty cut on his cheek. Naruto noticed that he could not keep it up like this; his kunai was cracking. Naruto flipped away and threw what shuriken he could. Itachi simply side-stepped them all.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A giant fireball was sent straight at Naruto, but he was ready!

"Suiton! Hanryohou!" Naruto brought a wave down to counter the fireball. Naruto used the smoke as a diversion and ran. "I've got to get to Iori!" Not yet, though. He dove in the bushes first. Itachi simply stood their, calm. "I can't leave him alone with the others!" Naruto thought.

Itachi just said "It's pointless. You cannot change the course of time, Naruto-kun. The biju's power will be handed over to my master." No response. Itachi continued. "It's unfortunate that the girl would get caught up in this. I saw her looking at us the night Kisame and I took away her father. I said nothing, feeling that killing her would be a waste of time. But I suppose I was wrong. The Akatsuki leader and our master wishes to see what she is capable of…but even if she does not display the power we hope for, she will be killed."

Naruto charged up his Rasengan and lunged towards Itachi. "You will hurt no one anymore, Uchiha Itachi!"

* * *

Iori continued running. A part of her wanted revenge…but she didn't know how it would be possible. She was no where near as strong as her father. If they were able to defeat him, what could she do?

Suddenly Kisame's large frame leapt in front of her. "Don't worry, little girl. I'm not going to kill you…not yet. First, let's see what you got!"

Kisame swung his sword once more, Iori dodging each one by a hair. "Come on, fight back!" Kisame roared.

Iori couldn't. She continued to jump over him again and again. Finally, the sword made contact with Iori's shoulder, and Kisame pulled. Iori fell forward, and grabbed her bloody shoulder.

"Hahaha, I guess I shouldn't expect much of someone your age. Not that your father amounted to much anyways."

Iori's eyes widened.

"One little hit, and he was on his knees begging for mercy! It was the most pathetic sight I've ever seen!" This of course was a lie; Kisame hoped to never fight someone like that without Itachi ever again. But nonetheless he thought he should push her. "Best way to see what she's capable of."

Kisame looked, and could have sworn that the girl was growing fangs. "It seems she does have some transformation abilities. Maybe a bit more." Kisame summoned a water sprout, and shot it at Iori. It wasn't very strong, but for someone like her, it would normally be enough. "I don't think killing you will be that much fun. Perhaps I should add your teammates to the mix? That kid with the glasses will be especially fun to torture! Kids like those are so full of themselves, it's not even funny! Then kids like him break down, but it's too late! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Suddenly, a pillar blocked the water, and Iori stepped out. She had the beast like features of an enraged jinchuriki; he took note of her silver chakra and silver-highlighted hair. "Hm, just like her father." Kisame prepared a horizontal swing….and was met with the back of Iori's sandal.

The shark-man was sent flying, praying he would land safely; judging by the stalagmites forming on the ground, the chances of that didn't look too good. He landed, and while most broke off, he knew he wasn't out of the woods yet. Once he stopped, his foot was grabbed, and he felt himself fly 180 degrees. The impact was hard…and that was saying a lot.

"Take this!" Kisame yelled as he stuck his sword forward. It began eating Iori's chakra, and she was starting to feel dizzy. However, she perked up, and backed away at an astounding speed. Then, she charged again.

* * *

Naruto couldn't comprehend what just happened. His rasengan had been countered. What was even more shocking was what it was countered with: A Chidori! But this one made Sasuke's pale in comparison. It was huge, and the sparks of lightning struck the ground, leaving little craters.

"I've seen my brother use it once. Did you not think my own sharingan could copy it?" Itachi asked.

Both attacks dissipated, and Naruto was hurled back over a hundred feet, burned from the attack and sliding across the rough ground. The battle was starting to take its toll on Naruto: The minor aches and pains he felt before became cramps, and he could barely move. Itachi ran forward and kicked the jinchuriki while he was down. "Give it up. You cannot defeat me."

Itachi suddenly felt himself restrained from behind. A bushin of Naruto had him in a full nelson! The real Naruto struggled up, and began forming another Rasengan. Though it was clear he was exhausted, he finished it up, and charged. Naruto was almost upon him, when time just stopped for everyone. Except Itachi.

"Itachi." A voice said.

"K-Kizu-sama?" Itachi asked, with fear in his voice.

"Kisame is taking too long. Go and aid him, then you shall return to the base at the shore. The two of you shall wait for the five-tails and nine tails there."

Itachi said nothing, but the leader knew that was a yes. Time started all over again, and Naruto continued moving. Itachi activated his magenkyo once more. "Amaterasu!"

Black flames erupted from Itachi's eyes, and Naruto was forced to double back. However, the flames veered course and went the opposite direction. Naruto soon realized he wasn't the target: Sakura was! Naruto released his rasengan and ran towards the girl, struggling to make it before the flames did. Just as he wrapped his arms around her waste, the fire caught his jacket. Naruto unzipped it quickly, and rolled to the side. Naruto checked them both, to see that they were unharmed. Quickly, he looked for Itachi, preparing for the worse. He wasn't anywhere! "Where could he be?" Then it struck him: Iori!

* * *

Iori held Kisame in a choke hold, and punched him repeatedly. Though each one still hurt, Kisame was able to take the blows, and eventually he countered with an uppercut. "You little brat!"

Kisame charged, but then Itachi stood right in front of him.

"This has been taking too long, Kisame. Let's take the girl." Iori charged, growling madly, but Itachi only stared at her with his sharingan. It began spinning…and Iori suddenly, relaxed, collapsing

"Itachi, you know what the Magenkyo does to you." Kisame said. "You shouldn't have wasted it on this brat."

Itachi replied "The drawbacks of the Magenkyo no longer concern me. Besides, I used normal sharingan hypnosis, not the Tsukiyomi." He picked up the child and said "Let's go. We don't have much time to head back and set up the trap."

With that, the two missing nins ran towards the shore, and continued onwards.

* * *

Naruto ran in the direction he saw Itachi move. "Iori! Iori!" Naruto looked everywhere. He found nothing. Not her nor the Akatsuki. Naruto sunk down to his knees, struggling to keep himself together. He failed miserably, as evidenced by his tears. "How could I? She was my student, I was all she had. Why do I keep failing the people I love?"

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts when a voice said "For the love of God, don't cry. At least give me some comfort that the one who defeated me isn't a total pussy."

Naruto shot up, and pulled out a kunai. Kenji stood right before him! But something was different. Something in his eyes…

"I saw them leave." Kenji said "I wasn't close enough to hear what they said, but they're off the island."

Kenji made the hand signs for a summon, but instead of a crocodile, he summoned a hawk. Kenji picked it up and said to the bird "I need you to look for three people. One is a little girl with red hair. The other two are wearing black cloaks with red clouds. And one of those two looks like a shark." The hawk flew up, and Kenji turned to face Naruto.

"We'll need allies."

Naruto, though still a bit stunned at what he was seeing, managed to say "This hasn't exactly been the best week for them."

Kenji just nodded, and said "Well, let's see what we can get out of this debacle."

* * *

The two jinchuriki came back to the shore, each inspecting their allies.

"His allies." Kenji reminded himself. The two genin, despite being unable to stand, held up their kunai defensively.

Though Kakashi could not move, he managed to choke

"Naruto…"

"It's all right. He's on our side…for now, at least."

Kenji didn't show any visible reaction, but instead looked around him. "Let's see, that guy looks poisoned. I don't mean to brag, but with what I put that guy through, he's definitely not fighting." He said, pointing at Neji. "Taking two genins to face the Akatsuki is not an option." He then looked at Sakura. "Nope."

Naruto yelled "Hey, come on! Sakura's really strong, literally I might add! I'll just pop in a soldier pill, and…"

"You don't want to risk her life. I'd hate to see how badly our little rescue will go if something happens to her."

Naruto stood silent, and then understood. He always trusted Sakura to take care of herself…and while he didn't let it cloud his judgment, the thought of her dying always came to his mind. Then Naruto realized that Kenji was trying to spare him from the pain he received. His former enemy was sympathizing with him!

Naruto walked forward, and said "Sakura told me what happened with Mana. Kenji, I'm…"

"Why are you apologizing?" the other jinchuriki snapped. He turned to face Naruto, his face more solemn. "Her death was my fault. I lost my temper that day and wouldn't let the anger go. Deep down, I still loved her. But I let that thing manipulate me, just because of how much I hated my brother. Houkou used those feelings to justify hating her. But this whole time, she was trying to save me. If I stayed, she would be alive. If I stayed…" Kenji's head sunk. "If I stayed, I'd have a family to care for, and I would never be alone again."

The two said nothing for a long time, and then they heard something. They turned around to see three Shinobi heading towards them. Naruto squinted his eyes, and immediately recognized them!

"Ino! Sai! Yamato!"

The three other shinobi made it to the shore. "We got here as fast as we could." Yamato said. "But the Akatsuki…"

Naruto interrupted and said "They've got my student. Apparently, she was the child of a jinchuriki. We have to save her!"

Ino looked behind Naruto, and asked "Who's he?"

Naruto looked behind and saw she was asking about Kenji. He seemed to have a nervous look on his face. He stuttered "I…I'm…"

"A friend." Naruto interrupted. Kenji just looked at Naruto in awe.

Meanwhile, Ino went inspecting everyone. She healed Yuji and Shiguri's wounds, and they were back on their feet.

Yuji lifted his leg up, and said "Not bad. But you weren't able to get rid of the scars like she did."

The next thing he knew, his face was right in the sand.

Shiguri just sighed. "Idiot."

Ino walked towards Sakura, fuming at what Yuji said. "I may not be Tsunade's top apprentice, but I will surpass you, Sakura!" she thought. She felt Sakura's body, and recognized all of the symptoms.

"Exhaustion, fever…irregular chakra…this is bad."

Ino looked up and said "I'm sorry Naruto, but I won't be able to get her back up into fighting condition. I can slowly heal her, but that's it."

Naruto nodded "Just do what you can."

He then looked at Yuji and Shiguri. "I need you two to stay with her, and help protect the others." Naruto said. "And this time I expect you two to do as you are told."

The two nodded, and Shiguri made his way to the center of everyone. Yuji, however, stood there.

Naruto got angry and grabbed Yuji by the collar. "Yuji, what did I just tell the two of you to do? You remember what happened the last time you didn't do what I told you? These guys are a thousand times stronger than that thing you fought! Besides, we have leaf shinobi who are incapacitated and need to be attended to!"

Yuji just stood there, and Naruto noticed something: Yuji was crying!

"Sensei! Please…bring her back! Promise me you'll bring her back! If you fail….I'll never forgive you!"

Naruto was shocked…then smiled. "You really care about her a lot, don't you?"

Yuji blushed a bit, and nodded sheepishly.

Naruto then chuckled. "Don't worry. I promise I'll bring her back. And since you're so anxious about trusting others with your loved ones lives…when we get back to Konoha, we'll train hard so that you will be strong enough to take matters into your own hands."

Yuji nodded, clearly thankful. Then, they both heard an "ahem". Naruto turned around to face Kenji.

"I think we've wasted some time." Kenji said, then pointed to Sai and Yamato. "Though these two lost, they're in good condition and will not make the same mistake again." Naruto nodded, and then Kenji pointed North-East. "I saw them head that way. If they have changed direction, my hawk will intercept with us and inform us. Let's move!"

Kenji tossed Naruto a bag of soldier pills. "Take them. We'll be needing them." Naruto swallowed a pill. Though he was still in some pain, he felt he was ready and able to fight at his full potential.

"Hang in there, Iori. I'm coming." Naruto then ran to catch up to the group, trying to quench the rage in his body…

* * *

I've got another rant on mind. Basically, there's some debate on whether Naruto should end up with or without a pairing, besides Asuma and Kurenai. Maybe I'm being a sucker for romance in a shonen series of all things, but I think it should, and here's why:

1) Naruto is a coming of age story. If part of the show is about growing up, settling down and having a family should be included.

2) If Kishimoto intends to have the story go on to the next generation (as in having a new generation of genins at the end of the story, nothing more), someone needs to bang someone.

3) In Naruto's case, it will give the most closure. Without arguing for a pairing with any specific females (though you probably know who I'm rooting for), Naruto finding someone and having a family with her would probably give him what he always wanted since childhood, something in my mind just friends who are like family simply cannot fill in.

It's just my opinion. Whether two people officially hook up or not depends on how relevant it is to the story, and as I pointed out, really has nothing to do with romance, but the development of the characters. For example, I don't particularly care for any pairings in Bleach (though I'm sure Kubo could pull any one pair off fairly well), because a couple getting together just does not have the same impact a series like Naruto would. But that's just my opinion.

Until next time!


	10. Best bring your best

Hey. Just getting by, nothing else going on, other than downloading Human Weapon off ITunes (a very cool show, and the only reality tv I have EVER liked). Thanksgiving was nice, but it was a pretty small party for once. Oh well. In other news, it looks like InuYasha is finally going to end. I'm barely past chapter 400, but I look forward to reading the rest.

Also, just one thing about the last chapter: If you thought I portrayed Ino as being too slutty…I'm sorry. Since I see Ino still being boy-crazy as an adult, I thought the whole set up would be funny.

Thanks for the reviews as always, but there's something I want to ask: I'm sorry if I'm sounding mean here, but could you please say more than "Cool, update soon!" I look forward to constructive criticism and comments about my story. I get excited when I get a new review, then I get bummed out if all it says was what I quoted. If you're going to take time to give me a review, all I ask is that you tell me at least one part you liked, one part you didn't like, and possibly what you hope for…and something more specific than NaruSakuness, cause that could mean anything involving the two. It just makes me look forward more to reading my reviews, that's all.

Mrfipp: Yes, it's a badger. One of my reviews posts a link to all the biju if you want to see them. It really wasn't a debate, but quite a few think that Naruto will end up paringless (which is likely if it ends when Naruto is still 15), and some think it should so that everyone can enjoy every pairing they like without having it contradict cannon. I was obviously in favor of NaruSaku, but I argued for why it should end with A pairing. ZetsuXHinata…Ewwww. On the 2nd generation Garaa…it seems you and I think alike! I don't see Sasuke having kids anytime soon though.

Starlight Wild Koneko: She'll get better, when I won't say.

Razgriz05: Glad the fights are as good as ever. And I have to agree with the GodNaruto thing: The whole point of the series was that he's the underdog. In my story, under normal circumstances he's a bit more powerful than Kakashi..

Mistywaterflowerhasyou: If this is the best story you have ever read, the rest must suck! But I'm glad you think so nonetheless! I'm glad you enjoyed Kenji's back story, though I wouldn't put KenjiXMana above NarutoXSakura, since they're essentially the same thing, only one went horribly wrong! But that's just me. Heck, I'm flattered you like some of my OCs better than the main characters! Just one thing…please, for the love of GOD don't spam me. I'm getting these chapters up as quickly as I can!

Infernal Malestorm: Sorry, my bad.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, this is exactly what would be printed in Shounen Jump. How cool would that be?

* * *

Itachi and Kisame entered the cave.

"We're here, Kizu-sama." Itachi said. A table then shot up from the ground.

"Place her on there." The deep voice said. Itachi did as he was told, and strapped the unconscious girl to the table. "Madara wishes to see just how much power she has. Wake her up."

Though he was not known for it, Itachi had some knowledge of medical ninjutsu. He placed his hand on her forehead, and it glowed green. Iori's eyes fluttered, and she would have shot up had it not been for the restraints. She looked around in fright, and saw Itachi.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" she screamed. Itachi said nothing. Iori just yelled "Then why did you kill Daddy?"

Kisame came forward and laughed. "Forgive him, little girl. Itachi-san is not much of a talker. Not the type of characteristic you'd look for in a man who killed his entire family."

"Kisame…enough." Itachi said. If one would listen closely, one would hear a bit of anger.

"Anyway, I'll tell you. What do you know about the biju?"

Iori just said "The wha?"

Kisame chuckled. "Nothing, I see. The biju are tailed beasts, each possessing an incredible amount of chakra. They're nine of them, starting with one tail and then up to nine. They're also well known as being harbingers of death and destruction. They are greatly feared. Our organization has spent years capturing them!"

Iori snapped "And just what has this got to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that. Anyway, there are two ways to capture them. One is to simply get them in their free state. The second is a bit more complex. There are certain people who contain the biju within, called jinchuriki. They tend to posses the incredible power of their inner demons. Like your father."

Iori was about to refute back, but suddenly, it made sense! Her father was looked down upon and always called a monster, and if what they were telling her was true, then that would explain everything.

" Normally, this would impede our goal of capturing the biju. Fortunately, we have a device that extracts it from the container. The beast is contained within the statue as pure chakra…and the jinchuriki that contained it dies."

Iori's eyes widened. "Then…"

Kisame screamed "That's right! We killed your father after his fight! Itachi merely used the same genjutsu he placed you under a while ago!"

Iori's silver chakra began to overtake her, and fangs started to grow. "Then what do you want with me? I don't contain a monster!"

Itachi replied this time. "That remains to be seen. As the offspring of a jinchuriki, you might contain incredible power. I've already seen you use it. How much you have is what we're going to find out." Itachi once again looked Iori straight in the eye. "Tsukiyomi!"

* * *

Naruto and the others ran across the water. He was getting worried that they may have made a mistake. "Kenji! Are you sure we should be heading this way?" Naruto yelled.

Kenji yelled back "I'm positive! My hawk has incredible vision! It would have signaled me to change directions by now!" Suddenly, a squawking noise was heard. A hawk was circling above. Kenji then pointed Northeast. "Okay, he says they are on an island that way!"

Everyone ran in the new direction. Naruto suddenly ran up to Kenji. "I have to ask you: Why are you helping us?"

Kenji at first said nothing. "Why do you want to know?" he asked.

"You were a complete maniac when we fought. I know about what happened to Mana, but I don't think you would be in any condition to do anything in less then a week. What is it that's making you want to help us?"

Kenji sighed. "Remember our little argument? About how by acting like a monster they would respect people like us?" Naruto didn't like where this was going. "The cloud ninjas passed a new law to treat any new jinchuriki that are born as equals. But they're not doing it as a way of preventing someone like me coming into existence." Kenji sighed sadly. "It's their way of thanking you. In the end, it was doing good things for a people who would otherwise shun you that got them to change for the better."

Naruto was shocked. Sure, he did say Kenji would only make things worse, but Naruto had doubts that his way would make things any better. A small smile came to his face…and he suddenly had to kneel.

Yamato stopped running and yelled "Naruto! What's wrong?"

Naruto held his side and winced in pain. His head was throbbing too. "I guess I'm really not fully recovered."

Sai then said "Maybe you should head back. Your injuries-"

"Are a handicap he will have to deal with." Kenji finished. The two leaf ninjas looked like they were about to argue with him, but Kenji said "One of his own students was captured. It's a responsibility that he must oversee, one that cannot be placed on the shoulders of others without him. Besides, he made a promise. Even if the three of us managed to retrieve the girl, by heading back he will break that promise." Naruto could only stare in awe of how well his rival understood him. Though Yamato and Sai still had their reservations, they got the message. Kenji grabbed Naruto's arm and wrapped it around his shoulder. "We must hurry. If Akatsuki is as dangerous as I hear, we need to get to their layer before the girl dies." Once again, they raced towards the hideout, guided only by the hawk.

* * *

"_Iori. Iori. AAAAAA" A man screamed, strapped to a table. Something that looked like fog was coming out of his mouth, into a statue. _

_Iori recognized this man to be her father. "Stop it! Make it stop!" she screamed._

* * *

Iori transformed further on the table, screaming and pulling on her restraints. "If she were a true jinchuriki, she would've grown one chakra tail by now."

"She's not quite as powerful as her father, I see." Kisame noted.

Itachi said "The torture has only just begun. We'll see just how far her power goes soon enough."

* * *

The Akatsuki leader made his way through the hidden fortress. Many people assumed that the Akatsuki took orders from no one. But that was not the case. The leader, known as Kizu, opened the door, and saw a man apparently devouring chakra from the statue they used to capture the Biju.

He kneeled, and said "You wished to see me, Madara-sama?"

Madara stopped his activity, and coughed. "Six years…" he said. "Six years I have been waiting for my immortality. That's too long. You gathered what you told me were the best ninja you could find. Yet we only managed to capture 6 of the 9 required biju. The time to find them once again is now. I refuse to wait another three years."

Kizu humbly said "With all due respect sir, the Biju are no weaklings. I gathered these ninja because they were the most likely to capture them. Even then, it will take time." Madara said nothing. Then, the Kizu said "But the good news is, we may have two in our grasp soon. I have set a trap for both the Houkou and the Kyuubi."

Madara then said "And what about the child?"

Kizu replied "Itachi has begun the experiments. I will give you a full report soon."

Madara looked out the window, and said "Very well. Dismissed."

* * *

For an hour, Iori screamed and struggled against her bonds. She showed the same signs of possessing an inner demon as the others. However, there was no change in her chakra level, and she did not develop a single tail.

"Perhaps you're not trying hard enough Itachi?"

Itachi replied "I have used Tsukiyomi on her every fifteen minutes. I feel this is as far as she can go."

Just then, both Akatsuki ninjas felt something. "We have visitors." Kisame growled. "I'll go check it out." Kisame ran out to the entrance, leaving Itachi behind.

Then, Itachi put his hand over the screaming child. One second she was screaming, the next she calmed down. She changed back to her natural state, and finally, Iori drifted off to sleep. Itachi then rubbed his hand over her forehead. "I'm sorry." Itachi said, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Kenji looked up at the sky, and found his hawk. He stopped running on the water. Sai and Yamato looked up, and saw it.

"Is it here?" Sai asked. Several small outcroppings surrounded them. Though most could be ignored, some were large enough to support breeding colonies of birds.

Kenji replied. "Yeah. It just doesn't know where exactly they went. It will look for any possible entrances, but they're definitely within this area."

"Perhaps I can help you with that!" a voice said. Everyone turned around to see the water behind them take a distinct shape: Kisame Hoshigaki! "It took you much shorter than expected to find us! Although, I suppose that's not saying much since we didn't expect you to find us at all!" Everyone tensed up.

"Where is she?" Naruto yelled. "Where is Iori?"

Kisame grinned and said "Itachi is experimenting on her right now. We're trying to see just how much Biju power she has. She hasn't made much progress, but I told Itachi we should keep going. If she doesn't advance, she'll be of no use to us, and I think you know what will happen next." Kisame grinned at the last sentence. Naruto growled, and broke away from the group.

"Naruto, wait!" Kenji yelled.

Naruto charged at Kisame, only to be batted away. He sunk as soon as he landed on the surface, and Yamato had to bring him back up. Kisame laughed. "Itachi told me you weren't quite up to par. But I didn't expect the nine-tails to be this weak."

Sai came up to his wounded comrade and said "Naruto, you should stay back. You're not at full strength, and you need every little bit you can get if you want to defeat Itachi."

Naruto could only nod. Kenji took out a scroll, and summoned a sword that resembled his krises. "Let's do this." He said. Yamato and Kenji charged.

Kisame made hand signs and yelled "Suiton! Tsunami Buryoku no Jutsu!" Waves rose from the ground without moving forward. Kisame thrust his hands forward, THEN they moved. Kenji and Yamato shielded themselves from the water, and disappeared. Wave after wave, there was no sign of them. Kisame grinned, but it quickly faded away when he saw something coming out of the water.

"Suiton Rasenzan!" A disc came out, and cut Kisame on the leg. Luckily, he managed to step away in time to avoid loosing it. When the waves settled, all of the ninja were found under a wooden shelter, with Kenji holding the disc. "Though I once claimed the title 'Raikage', my affinity has always been water." Kenji made hand signs of his own. "Suiton! SuiPiranha no Jutsu!" The water formed into fish with razor sharp teeth, and leapt at Kisame. He struggled with the ones that snapped on, and tried to pry them off. "Go ahead. You'll just tear bits of your own flesh off." Kenji stated.

Kisame screamed and made another move. "Sution! Nettou no jutsu!" The surrounding water, including the piranhas, began to rise drastically in temperature.

"Retreat!" Sai yelled. Everyone backed away before they were fried. Sai then took out a vial from his vest. When Naruto looked at him, Sai explained "Waterproof solution. For my artwork."

Kenji screamed "How can you think of painting in a time like this?!"

Naruto shushed him and said "Watch."

Sai drew something, and the next thing they knew, something fell into the water. Kisame ran at them, planning to rip them apart. However, he fell face first in the water instead when a tentacle grabbed him. A squid emerged, and was squeezing the life out of Kisame. Sai turned and yelled "Finish him off, Yamato!"

Yamato made his hand signs, and from the small islands, branches came forward and impaled Kisame. Unfortunately, the bases of the plants were too far, and the branches didn't go deep enough.

Kisame ripped the branches apart, and screamed. "How dare you make a fool out of me!" Kisame tossed Samehada, which despite its size, was advancing towards everyone at an incredible rate.

"Look out!" Kenji yelled. Everyone ducked, but Yamato caught a good portion of the blade on his shoulder.

"NNN"

Like a boomerang, the strange sword returned to its owner. Kenji handed Naruto to Sai, and said "Take him and hide. I can beat this freak, now that I've seen at least some of his abilities."

Naruto said "Kenji…"

"Do as I say." The other two leaf ninja took Naruto and hid.

Kisame said "You're either very brave or very stupid. It doesn't matter to me. You seemed to have trouble even with the two of them helping you. Just how do you plan on beating me by yourself?"

Kenji crouched, and smirked. He twirled his sword, and said "Just watch me."

* * *

"_Shisui! Shisui!" _

_Shisui Uchiha turned around to see his best friend, Itachi, run up to him. _

"_Itachi! It's been a while!" The two uchihas walked side by side, joking until they finally came to a river._

"_Let's sit down here." Itachi suggested. Both ninjas lazily took their chosen positions, and stared at the clouds. _

"_I still find it hard to believe you're already in ANBU." Shisui said. "It just seemed like yesterday you were trailing behind me by a hair. Now we're equals." _

"_No. You've always been better than me, Shisui. It's because of you I've come this far. I always wanted to surpass you…" Itachi sighed. "…but I realize it's not meant to be." _

_Shisui then looked at Itachi. "How have things been with your parents?" Itachi asked. _

_This was a sore subject for Shisui. His parents were ridiculously strict and unsympathetic. Though he had achieved some of the best grades in the academy, his parents felt it wasn't good enough. He went from genin to ANBU in the blink of an eye by most standards. They said he could've done it even faster. The other clan member said his parents were just trying to motivate him. Even if that was the case, Itachi knew that it tore Shisui apart inside. _

"_Same as ever. Sometimes, I don't know what I really live for." Shisui then looked back at Itachi, who was facing the other way. "Itachi?" _

_Itachi said "Shisui. You've always been my inspiration. You looked out for me on missions, you helped me improve my skills, and whenever there was something I couldn't talk to my parents about, I could confine in you. You're the best friend I ever had." _

_Shisui was confused, and grabbed Itachi's shoulder. "Itachi! Is something wrong?"_

* * *

Itachi finally snapped back to the present. "It's been so long." Itachi banged the wall next to him. "Sasuke…please save me."

* * *

"Suiryudan!" both the shark man and the jinchuriki screamed. The two water dragons collided, neutralizing one another. "Suikodan no jutsu!" Two geysers erupted, with the same results.

Kisame yelled "Just what do you think you're doing, fool? You can't beat me by using the same techniques!"

Kenji just smiled. "True. I just wanted to see the look on your face."

Kisame finally cracked a smile. "Ohh, I'm going to enjoy killing you." The missing nin dove under the water in a flash.

"Ba-dum." Kenji hummed. "Ba-dum. Ba dumdumdumdumdumdum…right about…"

Kenji leaped up just as Samehada erupted from the water. In the air, he flipped and slashed his curved sword. The two blades collided, and Kenji pushed against Kisame. Kisame grinned and toyed with him, allowing Kenji to push his sword to within an inch of his body. Then he swung, sending the young man flying…who vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Oh…" Before Kisame could finish, the real Kenji erupted out of the water and kicked the shark man right in the chin.

Kenji then made his hand signs. "Suiton! Takko Dekisui no Jutsu!" Water like tentacles emerged from the sea and wrapped themselves around Kisame. He struggled, but despite his great strength, could not budge. "We're not finished yet!" Kenji yelled. More water erupted in a geyser, and then aimed straight for Kisame. The tentacles squeezed tighter, forcing Kisame to open his mouth. The water poured straight in. Though the shark man did have gills, they only functioned when he was underwater. At the surface, he could not get them to work, and with his normal passage of air being blocked, he was for the first time experiencing drowning. Just when it looked like the end, Kisame waved his fingers. Samehada flew towards towards Kenji!

"Look out!" Naruto yelled from behind the rocks. Kenji turned around, and ducked. Not in time, though. The sword ripped apart Kenji's shoulder, and returned to Kisame's hand. The water surrounding him dissipated, and Kisame managed to catch his breath.

"I'll gut you to pieces!" Kisame tried to cut down the jinchuriki with his sword, but Kenji dodged and countered with his own blade.

"One arm is all I need!" Kenji yelled. He made various strikes at Kisame, but none connected. Kisame did the same thing, and Kenji dodged each one. Blocking Samehada was out of the question due to Kisame's strength. Kisame made a vertical strike, but Kenji twirled around and swung his blade at the back of the man's head. Kisame ran forward to avoid it, but still he got a slight cut.

"You!" Kisame backhanded Kenji several meters away, and made more signs. "Suiton! Goshoku Zame!" Before Kenji could get back up, a shark made of water grabbed his ankle and pulled him under.

Sai and Yamato watched as their ally was pulled under. "Shit." Yamato cursed.

Naruto nearly screamed "We have to save him!"

Yamato put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and said "We'll try. But the odds don't look so good. It will probably take me and Sai combined to stop him. Normally, we would have you dive under, but the sea is now filled with those things. Besides, in your current condition, we don't want you to drown."

Naruto hung his head down. "For the first time in my life…I really can't do anything."

Sai got ready to go. "Yamato-sempai, we must hurry."

Yamato nodded and whispered to Naruto "Wait right there."

* * *

Kisame looked below the surface, seemingly satisfied with the job he had done. Just then vines erupted from the surface and immobilized him. Kisame just rolled his eyes. "Not this again." Using his inhuman strength, he simply broke free of his bonds. Before he could walk over to investigate, a dragon that looked like it came out of a painting erupted from the water, and breathed its fire at the Akatsuki ninja. Kisame dodged and sliced it in half with his sword. Kisame raised it up, and blocked an incoming slash by Sai. The shark-man got so focused on Sai that he didn't notice Yamato running up behind him and received a round kick by the ANBU ninja. Kisame grunted, and got the man in a choke hold. However, it solidified to reveal it was nothing more than a wood bushin. The real Yamato was on one of the higher cliffs preparing the real attack.

"Akikaze no Jutsu!" Leaves in his palm gathered up in a tornado, and touched down on the surface.

Kisame saw it, but did not retreat. "They're just leaves! What's the worst that could happen?" Kisame swung Samehada, but it just passed through. The leaf tornado finally hit him, and then he understood the danger: Each leaf was as sharp as a razor. Though Kisame was more or less intact, he was bleeding all over. Kisame ignored the pain to block kunai attacks by the two leaf ninja. Kisame tried to throw them off balance, but something was wrong. Though Sai and Yamato were clearly struggling, Kisame could not push them back. "What's happening to me? I'm weaker than usual…there's no way their attacks could have…" Then Kisame remembered one cut: The one Kenji gave him. "That sword must have been poisoned!" Kisame fell back, and took several deep breaths. He evaluated his body, and calmed down to an extent. "Okay. My senses are not going haywire, and I'm in no pain. So, the toxins must have a tranquilizer affect, nothing more. I didn't get enough to make me pass out, or else that would have happened long ago." Kisame continued parrying Sai and Yamato's attacks. The two managed to land some cuts, but Kisame got both of them with his sword as well. Sai clutched his side, but he still managed to make more ink creations. They latched on to Kisame and tried to tear him apart.

"In your current state, you will not be able to just toss them aside." Sai said.

Yamato followed up as well. "Kishi no Jutsu!" A tree sprung from an outcropping near the shark-man. Unlike most of the other ones Yamato created, this one looked quite dead. Despite that, it continued to grow. It extended itself to Kisame, and wrapped its branches around him. Kisame then began to feel his chakra being drained, and fast.

"W-What's happening?" The trunk opened up, resembling a mouth with jagged teeth.

Yamato explained "That tree grabs a hold of the most sinister chakra in the area and captures it. Then, it will devour all of the chakra until the container dies."

Just when it seemed like they had finally won the battle, the paint-beasts and the tree were destroyed in an explosion. Sai and Yamato flew back, barely able to concentrate their chakra in time to avoid drowning. They looked at Kisame, and their eyes widened. He was standing on top of a giant unusual shark! It had six fins, and dinosaur-like feet that allowed it to stay on the surface. "When all else fails, use a summoning jutsu!"

The shark-thing charged at the two leaf ninja. Yamato leapt to the side, but was smacked by one of the fins and sent flying. He hit the water hard, and began to sink. Sai summoned more paint beasts, but the shark thing gobbled them all up. Before the root ninja could react, the shark sprayed water right from its mouth. The water pressure was so intense, it ripped his skin, and he could not breathe. When the water finally let up, Sai was on his knees, his body barely able to stand the immense pain, and the fact that he was out of breath did not help either. Kisame sat on top of his shark in a meditative position.

"I must borrow some chakra from him, and cleanse myself of the poison before I pass out."

His concentration was broken when he heard a scream. "Enough!" Kisame turned around to see Naruto lunging towards him with a kunai in hand. Naruto landed on the summon, and attacked. Both seemed to freeze. Kisame grabbed hold of Naruto's wrist, stopping the kunai from attacking his heart by a hair. Naruto tried to push further, but Kisame's strength began to return. He tightened his grip on his opponent's wrist, causing Naruto to scream. Kisame punched the jinchuriki off his summon and watched Naruto fall to the ocean surface. "You can't hope to stop me! You're two comrades are no sanin. For some reason, you do not seem to be at your best. And that one guy-"

"Needed to take a breather." Kisame looked down to the other side, and saw Kenji standing right there. Though it was clear from the cuts and gashes that he didn't escape unscathed, he was still very much able to fight. "Naruto!" Kenji yelled. "Get your friends onto the rocks ASAP!"

Naruto knew what was coming. He forced his aching body to retrieve Sai and Yamato, and climbed on to an outcropping until they were beyond the reach of the waves.

Kisame only grinned. "That was quite clever of you to poison your sword like that. Those people almost had me because of that. Please, tell me your name." Kenji's face didn't even crack a smile. "By the time you're in pieces, you will care less about my name."

Kisame only growled. "We'll see about that!" The shark monster ran forward, its mouth open wide. Kenji closed his eyes…and opened them again to reveal jet black ones. Green chakra surrounded him, a single tail formed, and electricity traveled through the water. The beast screamed in pain, and collapsed. Kisame felt the electricity as well, but not enough to do the same damage. He looked quickly, and hopped on to the nearest rocks he could find. Kenji made it there the instant Kisame found his footing.

Kisame grabbed Samehada and panted. The two charged, beginning their sword fight. It was fast and furious, neither one seemed to have an edge over the other. Due to the power of his Biju, Kenji could match Kisame in strength now, and nearly threw him off balance several times. Kisame pretended to fall off the edge, but when he saw an opening, he immediately side jumped and cut Kenji across the right shoulder. The jinchuriki yelled in pain, but his wound started closing, so he pressed on.

As the battle dragged on, Kenji noticed that Kisame seemed to be gaining more of an edge on him. In fact, Kenji was beginning to feel winded. Kenji finally felt himself collapse. "What's wrong with me? I put myself through worse and didn't get spent so easily before!" Kisame side kicked the jinchuriki, who hit the far side of the outcropping so hard it stabbed his left shoulder. Kenji struggled back up, clutching his wound. "Your sword…"

"So you finally figured it out. Yes, my sword took about 80 of your chakra." Kisame charged forward. "And now I will break you and take your power!"

Kenji at first looked afraid, ten smiled. "Lucky for me, 20 is all I need." Kenji wrapped his torn sleeve around the hilt of his sword, grabbed the other end, and threw it at Kisame. The shark man did not see it coming, and by moving sideways to avoid a fatal strike, the curved blade his wrist, forcing him to release his sword. Before Kisame could react, Kenji formed his Rasenzan and threw it. The disc severed the man from both of his legs, and his upper half went flying up. Kisame was about to scream, but Kenji leapt at him and sliced his head off. Kisame's body landed with a thud. Kenji landed near it, and swung his sword horizontally, cutting his fallen foe's head in half. The green chakra dissipated, and Kenji collapsed on all fours. "Oh man…"

* * *

Naruto stared in awe of the battle that took place. He was surprised that Kenji had such control over his inner demon. "Wow." Naruto climbed down the best he could, and went straight towards his rival, who was panting like crazy.

"Got a soldier pill there?" Kenji asked. Naruto took out the pouch from earlier and tossed it over to Kenji. "Even with Houkou healing me…for his own preservation really…I haven't fully recovered from the attack you gave me the other day. That was something." Kenji got up and stretched. "Besides, that guy's sword took almost all of my normal chakra. Anyway, how are your friends?"

Naruto replied "They're unconscious. We can't take them with us."

Kenji swallowed the pill and began to feel some chakra being replenished. The hawk Kenji summoned squawked again, and the two jinchuriki turned around to see circle a small cove. "The entrance is somewhere in there." Kenji said. "Are you ready?" Naruto nodded, and the two headed towards the location.

"By the way." Kenji said. Naruto turned around. "Thank you. You know what it really takes to win the hearts of people, and what it really means to care. You showed me how I should have lived…and how I must live now…"

Naruto didn't have any visible expression, but was glad that Kenji finally realized his mistakes. "Come on." Naruto said. "She won't last much longer." The two jinchuriki raced into the cave.

* * *

Itachi sat down in his meditative position, trying to calm himself. After a while, his breathing returned back to normal. Then, he opened his eyes and activated his Magenkyo Sharingan. "They're here."

* * *

I'll get the next chapter up whenever I can.

Also, just so you know, the Akatsuki leader is another OC, not Pein. I thought of my own version of the AL before he came along. It's not that I don't like him; I just want to experiment with my own story is all. Sorry to all the Pein fans that I may have pissed off.

Random Rant #3:

Is Sai gay? I don't mean that in a character bashing way…I'm just asking based on what I've seen. I usually don't go in and automatically label a character as gay, but there are some things about him that get to me:

1) He's obsessed with the word "penis" when he should be obsessed with the word "vagina/pussy/whatever you call it."

2) If he thought of two girls as ugly, it can't be a coincidence.

3) Wearing a midriff shirt. Usually a girl thing.

4) He reacted to the double knockout jutsu with him and Sasuke. I kind of think he actually liked it!

I don't mind if he is or isn't, but it just makes me want to go hmm…

Tsunami Buryoku-Tidal Wave Force

SuiPiranha-Piranhas of Water

Nettou-Boiling Water

Takko Dekisui-Octopus Drowning

Akikaze-Autumn Wind

Kishi-Tree of Death


	11. Free

Hi! Thanks for the reviews as usual, and for reading. I noticed my request from the last chapter had only half the effect I wanted. Reviews saying only "Update Soon!" were mostly stopped, but the number of the reviews was cut in half. Honestly, all you have to say is one thing that grabbed your attention in the story. It's not that hard.

Right now, I'm staying at my mom's for winter break, and so far it's been going okay. We've had quite a few skirmishes though, but oh well. For some reason it's been hard to reconnect with my friends.

Well, enough about me!

Mrfipp: My roommate thinks that Sai will say something along the lines of "Are you a man?' That would only work during the bath scene. Also, keep in mind that I'm disregarding the current arc. Deidra's alive and kicking, so is Tobi, and he is not Madara. The female Akatsuki member is neither Konan nor an OC. You'll find out in the distant future.

NaruSakuHasYou: I see we have a name change here. Anyway, I'm glad you really don't know how to spam me.

Razgriz05: The chapter after this, everything you thought you knew about Itachi will be destroyed. I doubt Kishi will go the way I'm going, but it's fun to explore. I have just found some translation sites. However, I just learned that the words used in the techniques are different from the actual Japanese language (well, probably not, but different words ARE used, that much I know.). But it's a start. Anyway, I haven't really thought about Naruto using the Hiraishin, but I'll look into it now that you have mentioned it.

Show time!

* * *

Sakura fluttered her eyes open. "Naruto…" She sat straight up suddenly. "Naruto!"

Ino, Yuji and Shiguri ran over to her. "Are you feeling better, Sakura?" Ino asked. "I've been using my medical ninjutsu to cleanse you of whatever foreign chakra was in your body."

Sakura just nodded acknowledging it, and looked around. "Where's Naruto?" She looked at the two genin. "Where's your teammate?"

Yuji looked away, but Shiguri answered for him. "She was kidnapped by two ninjas. They had black cloaks with red clouds. Naruto, the Raikage, and two leaf jonin went after them."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Akatsuki?" Sakura was about to leap off to find them, when Ino grabbed her wrist. "Wait! You're not fully recovered! Besides, we don't know where they ran off too!!" Ino yelled.

Sakura pulled away from Ino, with a furious look on her face. "Would that have stopped you from going after Shikamaru and Chouji!?" Ino seemed a bit taken aback. Sakura's face softened, and she looked down at her clenched fists. "Besides, the Akatsuki attacked. Who knows how badly they will hurt Naruto? In the end…" Sakura struggled to keep herself from crying. "In the end, I am just a burden! Naruto and the others needed me more than ever, and all I could do was just snore away!!"

Ino said "Sakura, it's not your fault!! You were…"

"OF COURSE IT'S MY FAULT!! I TRAINED UNDER TSUNADE SO I WOULD NEVER BE A BURDEN AGAIN!!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs. "You don't know what it's like, Ino. You don't know what it's like to always be the one rescued, to watch your comrades get hurt. You don't know what it's like to be useless."

Yuji stepped forward, and nervously said "Uh…I know what it's like." Sakura faced the genin. "My whole life, I've been treated as someone useless. I could never do anything right. I screwed up every game I would play with other kids. I either didn't look deep enough or over thought it on the written exams back at the academy. I was always the one to catch onto things last. Now here I am, a ninja. A lowly genin, but a ninja nonetheless. And I know just what it's like to let your comrades down…" Yuji hung his head down. "Because that's exactly what I did earlier today."

Shiguri placed his hand on the genin's shoulder. Shiguri then told Sakura "I think what he's trying to say is that even the best of make mistakes."

Sakura just stared at this genin. He was in many ways like her. Suddenly, she remembered why his name sounded familiar. "He looks just like him…" Before she could form another thought, everyone's attention snapped to the sky when they heard a hawk. It landed right in the center of them and squawked madly.

Sakura noticed it was a Blue-Wing, common in Lightning country but not here. "It must have belonged to Kenji! I think it's telling us to follow it!!" Sakura turned to Ino and said "Watch over everyone! I must go, now that I've got a guide!!" Ino knew that now there was nothing she could do to keep her friend and rival from leaving. Ino nodded, and Sakura turned to the hawk. "Lead the way!!"

* * *

Kenji and Naruto finally reached the cave entrance. Neither one said a word. They simply descended down the stairs. "Kenji." Naruto said. "There are a few things you need to know about this guy. First off, he has a Kekkei Genkai called the Sharingan, an eye that allows one to copy his opponent's techniques. He's also a master of genjutsu. He has two attacks that you especially need to watch out for. First, there's the Amateratsu. He creates black flames hotter than the sun and can fry so-called fire proof things. Second, he has a genjutsu called Tsukiyomi. It can't be cancelled out, and once you're in it, you'll be tortured for what seems like days when only seconds have passed."

Kenji didn't turn around, but he said "Thanks for letting me know." The two jinchuriki finally reached the downstairs.

"Finally, you two have come to your deaths." Itachi's voice said.

Naruto saw the Uchiha at the edge, with Iori sleeping on the table. "You bastard!!" Naruto yelled. "What have you done to her!?"

Itachi stepped forward. "She's simply sleeping. However, if you do not intend to do anything about it, I will be ordered to kill her."

Kenji just grinned. "That's what we're here for." Kenji transformed, his green chakra surrounding him and two tails formed. "This is the max I can go without loosing myself to Houkou. But it's more than enough to kill you!!" Kenji charged on all fours towards Itachi.

Naruto ran behind him. However, he stopped when the caverns began to glow. Naruto took a close look, and realized that seals were emitting the light. Naruto didn't know how he knew, he just did: The seals were triggered by chakra of the biju!! "Kenji!! Cut off your demon's power now!!" Naruto yelled.

Kenji was almost upon Itachi, who just stood there. Suddenly, he vanished. Naruto looked around. "Wh-Where did he go!?"

Itachi walked towards Naruto and said "This room was constructed by the Akatsuki leader himself, a master of ancient seals. These particular seals are triggered by the presence of the biju. In the cases of jinchuriki, they have to call out the beasts' power for it to work. Your friend has been teleported to our base."

Naruto just grinned. "This actually might be good in the long run. Kenji will kill your master just like he did Kisame!"

Itachi replied "I highly doubt that. The seals will have drained almost one hundred percent of his chakra, minus that to keep him and the beast alive. And even if he did have any strength left, Kizu-sama is quite powerful himself."

* * *

Kenji had never felt so drained of energy in his life. One second he was charging the Akatsuki…the next he was…someplace he didn't recognize. The floor was metallic and cold; he was definitely not in the same place as before. Kenji struggled to stand up, but felt like he would pass out any second. He grabbed a pipe on the wall and said 'Wh-Where am I?"

A voice said "Welcome to Soragakure. This is quite literally your final destination."

Kenji turned around, at first not caring about who that person was…but then his eyes widened. "W-Who are….!?"

The Akatsuki leader smiled. "You will never live to figure it out."

* * *

Naruto felt a pit in his stomach from what Itachi had just told him. "Your master…this Kizu…why does he want the biju!?"

Itachi emotionlessly replied "It is not he who desires the biju." The next thing the blonde ninja knew, Itachi was right in front of him. Naruto stumbled away, avoiding a kunai aimed for the underside of his chin. Naruto struggled back up as fast as he could. He would've normally been pissed that an opponent was taking him lightly; but against Itachi, he couldn't be more thankful. "If you can defeat me…" Itachi said. He twirled the kunai and got into an attack position. "…I will reveal all I know about the Akatsuki."

Naruto grabbed his last kunai as well. "Sounds good. Either you're trying to just goad me into a fight, which I don't have a choice about I might add, or you actually want me to win." The two ninjas charged, and attacked with their kunai.

* * *

"All right, men!" Tsunade yelled. "One of our comrades, Uzumaki Naruto, is engaged with the new Raikage in monsoon country!! He has his genin team with him as well, and saving them will be top priority. Your mission is simple: Get there as fast as possible, and rescue them. If you can help him defeat the Raikage, then do it, but if not, take them and retreat back here! Is that understood!?"

"Yes Hokage-sama!" the seven nins screamed. The remaining members of the rookie nine were there, as well as Lee and Tenten.

Tsunade gave one last minute inspection, and yelled "You will start the mission now!!" The ninja disappeared, leaving the Godaime behind. Tsunade sighed when they left…and nearly sighed again when she felt a familiar presence behind her. "Miyamoto-san."

Yuji's mother was right behind her, with a look of both concern and anger etched on her face. Tsunade turned around and faced her. "I accept full responsibility for anything that may happen to your son. All I ask is that you have faith in his sensei."

Yuji's mother turned away and whispered viciously "Why should I? If he was as great a ninja as you say, my son would be safe in his own house by now!! What is it you see in such a monster!? I wouldn't be too surprised if he simply handed over my boy with his head on a platter."

Tsunade did not let her emotions get to her like last time. "That MONSTER as you call him is able to bring out the best in everyone. He saved the fifth Kazekage, and because of him, I am Hokage. If he really were a monster, he would've used his skills to wreak havoc on us right now. But he never will. And I know he would rather die himself than allow one of his comrades to die." Mrs. Miyamoto said nothing, she simply walked away. Tsunade went back to her office almost immediately afterwards for some sake. She still had a load to do, but with everything going on, she really needed that one drink. She clutched her forehead and whispered "Naruto…please make it back safe…"

* * *

Naruto and Itachi slashed at each other, neither one managing to score a hit. Itachi threw a straight punch at Naruto, who caught it with his palm. "You still seem to have some fight in you, I see." Itachi growled.

"I was saving everything I had, just for you." Naruto replied. The jinchuriki formed a bushin, who then transformed into a scythe. Naruto swung, and managed to scratch Itachi's hand. However, the Uchiha kicked him away and forced him to let go of his improvised weapon. Naruto made his hand signs and yelled "Doton! Doryu Kawa!" The ground between Naruto and Itachi softened up, and mud started rushing towards Itachi.

The Uchiha struggled for a while, but made hand signs of his own. "Katon! Karyu Edan!" A brief but powerful fireball sprung forward from his mouth, drying up the earth to a crisp.

Naruto ducked out of the way, and formed a clone. "Right now, my chakra control is crappier than usual!" The clone helped him form a Rasengan, and Naruto charged. "Even if you're a bushin, I know you won't explode! Not while we're in this cave!" Naruto moved faster than Itachi anticipated, and the Rasengan connected. Itachi spun and hit the wall, leaving a nice crack. Naruto grinned, but it faded quickly. Instead of Itachi lying there in near-death, it was Iori!

"Sensei…Why?"

Naruto stepped back, shocked.

"Mom was right, you are a monster!"

Naruto turned around to see Yuji with clenched fists, and looking at Naruto with pure hatred.

"Well, what did you expect from something like the Kyuubi?"

Naruto turned the other direction to see Shiguri just smiling, in much the same manner that Mizuki did when he told him the truth about what he was. Naruto was then surrounded by all of his friends, and they all gave him a look of malice.

"Monster!" "Murderer!" "Traitor!"

Naruto was about to break down, but he realized in the nick of time it was genjutsu. "Not this time, Itachi!!" Naruto clasped his hands together, and shouted "Kai!" The illusion disappeared, but Naruto knew that wasn't the end of it. He turned around and blocked a strike by Itachi. Naruto ducked and aimed a low round kick at Itachi's knee. Itachi's leg buckled, and Naruto followed through with some punches before sending the Uchiha flying with an uppercut. Naruto panted heavily.

Itachi simply got up and wiped the blood from his lips. "You have improved, Naruto-kun. I'd say you're almost on par with Sasuke, assuming he's been training."

Naruto clenched his fists. "You…" Naruto looked his foe in the eye. "It's because of you that Sasuke's gone!!"

Itachi's face didn't falter. "What is Sasuke to you? To my knowledge, he was your childhood rival. And now he's a traitor to Konoha, like me. Why do you want him back?"

Naruto yelled back "He's the closest thing I've ever had to a brother!"

Itachi's eyes widened at this statement.

"He was one of the first to acknowledge my existence, it's because of him that I managed to become as good as he was, and when I was with him…" Naruto softened. "…I no longer felt lonely. I've made lots of friends…but he was one of my first true friends." Naruto raised his voice once more. "If only you had never come back, Sasuke would never resort to going to Orochimaru for help!" Naruto charged again, and the two exchanged fists.

"Don't talk like you know me!!" Itachi yelled. "If you were in my position…" Itachi threw a sword hand into Naruto's throat, causing him to hunch over. Itachi then elbowed the back of the jinchuriki's head, knocking him to the floor. "If you were in my position, you would have done the exact same thing!!" Itachi finished.

Naruto crawled away as fast as he could. "What kind of person would kill his entire clan and consider himself a good person!? Huh!?" Naruto yelled. The Itachi standing in front of Naruto was completely different from the one in his past two encounters. He looked ANGRY. It wasn't so much THE emotion he was showing Naruto. It was the fact that he was showing any emotion at all. Naruto was confused even more when a single tear rolled down Itachi's left eye.

"That's for you to find out." He said. "But you will die before you get the chance!!" Itachi charged again.

Naruto bit his thumb, and rubbed it over a smoke bomb. He side stepped Itachi, and hit him. The smoke didn't even cause Itachi to go into tears. "You should check your weapons before you bring them into battle!" Itachi said. The Uchiha threw some shuriken where Naruto stood.

Naruto simply jumped back and smirked. "Hahonryu!" Naruto sent a wave of water onto all the torches, making the cave pitch black. "He can't see me…" Naruto thought. "But thanks to that marker…I can see him!" Naruto remembered back when he had a chat with Kakashi about countering the Sharingan.

"_Well, the one thing I can think off the top of my head is pitch-blackness. The sharingan is a powerful eye, but like all eyes, it can't function without light. If you met those conditions however, you'd be fighting in the dark too."_

Naruto went to Shizune for help in making those markers. They made up of chemicals that reacted with the chakra in his own blood. When released, they marked everything they touched, and emitted a light only he could see. "It's time for you to face defeat Itachi!" Naruto almost yelled.

* * *

Sakura ran along the water, following the hawk. Ino hadn't fully cleansed her, and she was a bit more sluggish than usual. "This has been a really bad week." She thought. She looked up at the hawk. "I sure hope it knows where it's going."

* * *

Naruto snuck around the Uchiha as quietly as possible. "There is no way he can see me, even with the Sharingan!" Naruto had no weapon this time, and making a bushin would be too loud. Instead, the blond felt around and picked up a rock. Then he snuck up behind him. The Uchiha looked around everywhere, but Naruto made sure to stay behind the back of his head. Naruto felt the moment…and struck. He did not make one sound. Just hit him and beat him to unconsciousness, if not death. That was the plan, and it went down the drain once Itachi grabbed his throat. "How?!" Naruto thought, unable to even cry out in pain. "I didn't make any noise, no wind…how did he find me!?"

Itachi punched his opponent several times, not letting go. "Darkness will not stop me from finding you!" Itachi pulled out his kunai and stabbed Naruto in the gut, causing him to choke out a muffled scream. "You've fought well to rescue your pupil, but not well enough. It's time for you to meet Kizu-sama." Itachi squeezed Naruto's throat once more, even tighter than before. "Time to bring out the beast. Tsukiyomi!"

* * *

_The next thing he knew, Naruto was strapped to a cross. The colors around him were inverted, and Itachi stood before him with a sword. "This is the same illusion I used on Kakashi. You will be stabbed over and over for the next 3 days." All Naruto could do was scream in pain…_

* * *

For what seemed like an eternity, Naruto snapped back to the real world. He vomited, but refused to collapse. Itachi uppercutted the stunned leaf ninja. Naruto was sent flying but managed to land on his feet. "I have to keep it together! I must…" Naruto then felt the Kyuubi's charka flow within him. "No, stop it! We'll both die!" Naruto thought. He concentrated the best he could, and suppressed his inner demon's chakra.

Itachi brushed something from his eye. "Though Tsukiyomi is nothing but genjutsu, its victims' bodies respond to the stress just the same as if it were real. Right now, your body is overloaded with endorphins, lactic acid, and the other responses happened too fast for your body to handle. Not to mention that the mental fatigue is overwhelming. Normally, I would just tip you over and you'd be out like a light. However, I must bring you to Kizu-sama. And to do that, we need but a flicker of the fox's chakra." Itachi walked over, and grabbed the jinchuriki by the collar. " Let us try this again: Tsukiyomi!"

* * *

The Blue-Wing circled around an island. Sakura stopped right there as soon as he reached it. "So, this is it, huh?" Sakura was about to enter the cave, when she took a look back at the hawk. It seemed to be pecking at the walls. At first, she brushed it off…but some nagging feeling told her to do what the bird was…

* * *

Naruto endured what seemed like weeks of torture: Being stoned, drowned, burned…the most horrible physical pains that one could imagine. Though it seemed like weeks, only a few minutes have passed. Naruto was on all fours, hyperventilating.

Though he couldn't see it, Itachi was clenching his fists in frustration. "After all I've put you through, not once did you allow the Kyuubi's chakra to overflow within you. You are stronger than any foe I've ever faced. You have my congratulations. But the fox must surface." Itachi thought about what his next illusion would be. "I've put him through every pain I could think of. If I simply carry him back to the base, I could risk capture. What else can I do…" Then Itachi found his answer. "Not physical pain. Emotional pain." Itachi knelt down and forced Naruto's eyes open. "This will be the last time you surpass my expectations. Tsukiyomi!!"

* * *

_Naruto didn't care what would happen to him now. He just closed his… "Huh? I can't close my eyes?" Naruto's sense of touch came back, and he realized something was holding his lids open. _

"_Naruto!! Help me!!" Naruto's vision focused, and he could not believe what he was seeing: Sakura was right before him, chained up, and truly afraid. _

"_Sakura! Sakura!" Naruto knew it was only an illusion created by the Tsukiyomi. But still…Then Itachi walked up and pinned her down. _

"_For the next week, you will watch nothing but me and her." He then violently ripped off her clothes. _

"_Naruto, please help me!!" _

_Naruto kept telling himself it was only genjutsu…but seeing Itachi assault Sakura like that and not being able to look away… The screaming, the crying, Itachi touching her…_

* * *

Naruto's fox chakra was beginning to take over. No matter how many times he kept telling himself to calm down, the rage he felt from the illusion was overwhelming. The red chakra surrounded him, and his fangs began to grow.

"It's over." Itachi stepped back, and closed his eyes. "Naruto…thank you…for being there for my brother…and I'm sorry." Just as the seals were lighting up, a crack was formed on the wall. Itachi turned around and stared at it in fright. Suddenly, the wall seemed to explode, and it all came crumbling down. "No!! Without even one seal, the teleportation will not work!!"

Naruto stopped struggling, squinting his eyes to see who it was. He heard some liquid being poured on the ground, and suddenly it lit up. A very familiar shape took form. The only two details that Naruto could make out were bloodied hands and pink hair. "Sakura…"

The circle in front of Kizu suddenly faded away. "No! How is this possible!?" he shouted. "I was so close…" He turned around to his female companion. "Bring him to Madara. That's as good as we're going to get right now." She picked up the unconscious Kenji and left. "Now, I must find out who is responsible…" Kizu growled.

Sakura panted as she stared the two down. Naruto was going Kyuubi, but he seemed to halt any further transformation before he could grow even one tail. "Good." Sakura made the mistake of taking her eyes off Itachi, who grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the wall. Itachi made one-handed signs and formed his Chidori. He thrust, and a wound was torn open. Not on Sakura, but on Naruto, who stepped in between them in the nick of time. Naruto spat blood and elbowed Itachi to the other side of the room.

Now that he was back to reality, Naruto focused as he hunched over. "Sakura." He wheezed. Sakura was about to bend over and heal him, but Naruto held out his hand. "No time. The fox is healing me anyway." Naruto then pointed the direction of the table. "Iori is on that table over there. I need to you to go get her, and bring her back to the island."

"But Naruto-"

"Do it now! I don't know how much longer I can keep myself in control. But I promise you, I will defeat Itachi! Now go get her!!"

Sakura ran towards the table, and pulled the straps loose. "I've got you." She ran up the stairs, hoping for the best. "I trust you, Naruto…"

Naruto stared at Itachi. "You said you would reveal everything you know about Akatsuki if I defeated you. What if you're not alive to talk about it when I'm through with you?"

Itachi lifted his cloak and revealed a scroll tied to his leg. "This is all I can reveal about myself and Akatsuki. If you take me alive, I'll give it to you. If you kill me, you will discover all I know regardless."

Naruto held his hand up. "I can't hold onto the Rasenshuriken again. Not in the shape I'm in. Maybe it's time I took it to the next step. It's dangerous, but only as much as where I'm at right now." With one hand, thanks to the Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto formed his Rasenshuriken. Itachi readied his Chidori. "You can't beat me." Naruto growled. "Not with that."

Itachi countered "Then attack me!" Itachi charged. "His technique does incredible damage, but I can avoid it!!" Naruto charged as well. Just when it seemed like the two techniques would collide, Itachi ducked. "I'm not foolish enough to fight wind with lightning!!" Itachi thrust his hand forward, expecting to impale the jinchuuriki once again.

However, his opponent leapt into the air at the last minute. "I know." Once he was a good distance away, he threw the Rasenshuriken…and it traveled fast.

Itachi was just stood there in shock, but the Uchiha activated his Magenkyo once more. "Amateratsu!!" The black flames erupted from his eyes for what would be their last time.

"Shit!!" Naruto screamed. The black flames grew in size as they passed the wind shuriken, and hit him dead on. The red chakra was protecting him, but he was experiencing burns like never before. Just when he thought he was going to make it, something else hit him. Naruto lost his voice, and couldn't scream. For what seemed like an eternity of pain, he finally fell. It seemed like the black flames would consume him, but then several beasts that looked like they came from paintings surrounded him. It was Sai! The black flames were eating their way through his creations, but he needed as much time as he could get. Sai ran into the middle of it all, and lifted Naruto onto his back. At that moment, his creations dissipated, and the fire was after them now. It seemed like the fire would consume both of them when they finally reached the exit, and Sai completely submerged the two of them.

. Sai emerged, and brought his friend to the surface. "Naruto! Naruto! Can you hear me!?" The new jonin was in bad shape: Chakra burns, blood freely pouring out of his mouth…the burns from the Amateratsu left his back bare, and much of his hair was gone. If it weren't for the Kyuubi's chakra, he would have been dead.

"Sai!" Yamato came running up to him. "Are you all right?"

"I'm alright, but this idiot is not. Take him to Sakura, quickly!"

The said kunoichi came up. "Give him to me." Though on the inside she was an emotional wreck, she didn't show it. Naruto needed her to keep a cool head more than ever.

Yamato patted Sai on the shoulder and said "I'm going to check out the remains."

* * *

Yamato traveled down into the room, kunai in hand. He knew it was dangerous to go in alone, but Sakura was busy healing Naruto, and she would later be preoccupied with healing Sai and Iori. Itachi's death or escape had to be confirmed. He reached it, and looked in amazement. Black flames decorated the area, and chunks of recently uprooted rock were everywhere. Yamato looked around, and he finally saw Itachi. The Uchiha was lying on the ground, his clothes it tatters, his hair undone, and his eyelids half-closed. His breathing was uneven, and he coughed up some blood as well. Yamato went over to him, and looked at his bare torso. There were…tattoos? "No, these are seals! Ones I've never seen before!"

Itachi coughed more and said something. Yamato didn't kneel down to hear him more clearly; that was the worst thing a ninja could do, even with a dying enemy. Finally, Itachi managed to hoarsely whisper "Take me to him." Yamato just blinked. "Naruto…he saved me. I wanted my savior to be Sasuke, but I have no right to complain. I don't have much longer. I must thank him." Yamato hesitated. His chakra levels were almost nil, he was dying…but still…

"Please. I have no more tricks left. I'm no danger to you. The scroll on my leg and the seals on my body will be of great use to you after I've died. Please, bring me to see him."

* * *

The healing process was taking too long for Sakura's liking. Every time she was with him, his injuries became worse and worse. "Why?" she thought. "What good is it being a medical ninja if I can't keep you from getting hurt, Naruto?" Half-way through she had to stop. The biju chakra inside of her was acting up again, and she could not afford to make a mistake with Naruto the way he was. At least he was out of danger for now. When she heard water splash, she turned around to see Yamato holding up…Itachi!?

"Relax, Sakura." Yamato said. "Naruto's Rasenshuriken has done its job. Besides, I must bring his body to Hokage-samma and Jiraya-sama. He said he wanted to thank Naruto."

Yamato stood a good way from Naruto, knowing that if he was wrong about Itachi, this could wind up very bad. Still, he was close enough so that Naruto, if he were awake, could hear Itachi just fine. "Naruto…thank you…you have saved this poor man from a long life of darkness…I wish I could truly repent for what I have done…but my scroll is all I have to offer. Konoha…is truly blessed to have a ninja like you among them. Though I have no right to ask…I beg you, save Sasuke. The only one who can rescue him from the darkness I have forced him into…is you…" With that, the color from his eyes faded. Yamato put his fingers on the Uchiha's pulse. He was dead.

Meanwhile, inside the cave, a shape took form. Zetsu crawled out of the space and investigated the area. It didn't seem like he could salvage much from the destruction. But then something caught his eye. He bent down to pick it up. A few strands of hair…Pink hair.

* * *

Next chapter probably won't be up until after New Year's. So please, review!

Next time: Naruto recovers, and the reason behind Itachi's massacre is revealed.

Forgot to mention, Kisame's summon from last chapter was based on some fan art of the Cloverfield monster. Even though I saw nothing but the legs in the actual trailer, I can tell it's none of those.

Doryuu Kawa-Mud River


	12. Itachi's Tragedy

Well, I hope each and everyone of you had happy holidays. I'm back in school…hopefully no more of this dropping will occur. Thanks for the reviews, as always.

Mangalover248: Well, I thought I made it clear the chapter before that he does regret what he did.

Infernal Malestorm: On the first one, no matter how hot fire is, if it is submerged underwater, it will be extinguished. Fire needs oxygen. Also, Naruto's fox chakra protected him, although you do make a point about Sai.

Angels Falls8: Well, hopefully you won't have that problem again. I've done that once before, and trust me, it's not worth it.

Mrfipp: Excuse me? I don't think I quite understand. Anyway, I guess I might as well not do that again, since I'm not going to get any increase in the reviews I want. Zetsu will not be fighting for a while. I'll think of something. And merry belated Christmas to you.

Razgriz05: Yes, yes he's gone. How else could he be with Mana? Itachi, as far as I know, will be out of character. But read this chapter, and I think you'll understand why. Happy belated holidays to you as well.

* * *

Naruto stirred in his sleep. "Ah…this feels nice." He dug his head deeper into the pillow. "Waitaminute…" Naruto shot up, reaching for a kunai but found nothing. Suddenly, his back stung like mad. "AAAAHHHHH!!"

"Naruto!" Someone pinned him to the bed and put her hand over his back. The pain subsided almost immediately.

"Sakura…" His pink haired teammate was dressed in a nurse apron, and with her hair pulled back. "She looks quite cute with that." Naruto mused. "What happened?" the jinchuuriki asked.

Sakura said "You won. You beat Itachi."

"And Iori?"

"She's just fine. Well, physically. Something seems to be bothering her."

Naruto made a mental note to himself to check on her later. "How long have I been out?"

"A week. It took forever to heal the burns on your back. You're lucky that the you-know-what protected you or else there wouldn't have been a trace of you left. Sai almost got himself killed trying to save you from the flames, but he had painted some fire seals on him. Not nearly enough to completely counter Itachi's flames, but they were enough to save his life."

Naruto nodded. "I hope you didn't nearly kill yourself to make sure I was okay."

Sakura smiled slightly. "I tried, but no one would let me."

"That reminds me, how are Kakashi-sensei and Neji?"

"Kakashi has fully recovered now…but Neji…" Naruto remembered what she had told him about the Hyugga. "He's conscious, he's walking, but he still has been having seizures at least twice a day. I don't think he can ever be a ninja again."

Naruto looked downcast. "Sakura…"

"Yes?"

"Could you do me a favor? Whenever you feel like it…could you look into repairing his nervous system?"

"Naruto…"

"I don't know anything about medical ninjutsu, and I understand you can't cure everything. But I know what he must be going through. It's my fault that he wound up fighting Kenji before me."

Sakura pulled the blond in for a hug. "Naruto, it wasn't your fault. That is what he told me. He let the whole thing about the Cloud people and their seals get to him, and he took it personal. He wanted you to know he accepts full responsibility for his actions." The blonde took no comfort in this. Sakura knew it, but felt she should give the message to Naruto regardless.

"Anyway, Sakura, I know what I'm asking is a lot, but it would mean a lot to me if you could at least look into it."

Sakura smiled. "You don't have to tell me. I was planning to as soon as you recovered. Just one thing I don't understand…"

"What?"

Sakura picked up a clipboard and smashed it over Naruto's head. "DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH!? YOU USED THE RASENSHURIKEN AGAIN!!"

Naruto rubbed his head, and looked into Sakura's eyes, which were in kill mode. "S-S-Sakura…yes, I used it, but I threw it at him!! I wasn't holding onto it like before, I swear!! There was no way I could've been injured by my jutsu if I used it like that!!"

"IT LOOKS MORE LIKE YOU TOOK YOUR DAMN TECHNIQUE AND TRIED TO STAB YOURSELF WITH IT!!"

Naruto stood silent, and then realized something: The thing that hit him after the amateratsu was his technique. "It was like…it exploded." He needed to look more into this. So far, the Rasenshuriken was his best move…with the enemies he was facing he could not afford to simply leave it incomplete. He had to learn everything about it that he could, but he needed to learn how to use it safely. "Even if I must injure myself a hundred times over." Naruto then smiled at Sakura. "I think I know what went wrong. I'll be more careful with it next time.

"NARU"

"Sakura!! I cannot afford to limit myself to what techniques I can and cannot use!! The Akatsuki have lost 5 members now. I know they'll just get more dangerous." Sakura gave up. "So long as I don't rely on IT…I'll find a way." Something else occurred to Naruto. "Sakura, about the fox's chakra…"

"SHHH!!" Sakura hushed him. "This isn't the best place to talk about it Naruto, but yes, I'm fine. Tsunade-shishou gave me the clean bill of health. She'll explain why it's not such a hazard for me but is for Orochimaru."

Naruto nodded. Suddenly, someone familiar entered the door. Naruto blinked a couple of times, then shouted "Ero-senin!!"

Jiraya sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You never change." After Kakuzu was defeated, Jiraya returned to continue Naruto's training. He helped Naruto learn about the different ways to use summoning, and got him to manipulate other elements, some with less success than others. "Anyway, Tsunade has finished inspecting Itachi's body, and we feel that the both of you and Kakashi should come."

The two looked at him. "But Naruto is-"

"He'll deal with it. Besides, I've got a ride outside for him." The two looked out the window to see a giant toad in front of the entrance, with all of the nurses and doctors looking and pointing in fascination.

* * *

Zetsu handed the strands of hair to Kizu. "This was all I could find. There was a huge hole in the wall as well."

Kizu looked at it. "Pink…what an unusual color." Kizu turned around and looked outside. "I know of no one in Konoha with pink hair. It seems I will have to check it out myself."

"What of Itachi?" Zetsu asked.

"Most likely they will simply dispose of him. No village has seals like mine on their records. They'll give up and simply burn him."

A third voice chimed in. "Still, it was a great loss to us. Kisame had the most chakra out of all of us by far, and while he was not as powerful as I, Itachi was still a great asset to the organization."

Kizu simply replied "Master…I thought you had despised the very clan you have created."

"Hmph. Itachi was a fluke among those weaklings."

"We have to worry about his brother, keep in mind."

"That was just sympathy. It had nothing to do with his potential."

"It doesn't mean he never had any." Kizu turned around and walked. "I'm going to Konoha. All I'm going to do is to look into Uzumaki's partner and see what he's capable of. Oh, and see if we can get an old comrade back."

"What shall we do with the Gobi's host?" Zetsu asked.

"Throw it away. We have the biju, and he's of no use to anyone dead." Kizu replied as he put on his hood.

* * *

Sakura leaned Naruto on her shoulder as they walked into the morgue. Jiraya knocked on the door. When they heard Tsunade say "Enter.", they did so. The toad sage opened the door for both of them, and they walked in. Inside were Tsunade, Kakashi, and Yamato.

"Naruto." Tsunade said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been in a stampede of bulls, thrown off a cliff, and then have an avalanche of stampeding bulls fall on me. But other than that, I'm doing great."

Tsunade snorted. "Ungrateful brat…Anyway, I need you two to look at Itachi's body, and read his scroll."

Sakura went to one of the compartments, and pulled out a frozen Itachi. "It's amazing that he could fight at all in his condition." Tsunade commented.

Naruto blinked. "Condition?"

"If you look at his eyes, you'll notice that the lens is foggy. I dissected one of the eyes, and confirmed my suspicion: He was blind."

Naruto thought back to his failed sneak attack. _"Darkness will not stop me from finding you."_ "No wonder he found me!! He couldn't see at all…"

Jiraya intervened and said "I'm guessing he used his four other senses to fight and move."

Kakashi also added "He also used the magenkyo more often than he should've, and now we know why: He already lost his eyesight, and the magenkyo's drawbacks were null."

Tsunade nodded, confirming what the two said. "Also, look at this." She pointed to the seals on Itachi. She lifted the corpse's hair, and showed some were around his head like a ring. Naruto and Sakura could only stare.

"Were they to…enhance him?" Sakura asked.

"Doubtful." Jiraya answered. "After Tsunade determined the injuries and inspected the body, we found no such thing. We were confused…until we read this." Jiraya pulled out a scroll, and handed it to the two nins. "This will be a hard read…everything we thought we knew was proven wrong. And unfortunately, it's still not enough to tell us the identity of the Akatsuki leader. And apparently, the Akatsuki works not for itself, but for one man…one we thought was dead for a long time. The location of their base…was supposed to have been a myth."

Naruto and Sakura pulled it open, and started reading…

* * *

_I pray to the Gods that it is my brother, Sasuke, who reads this. However, because of the terrible things I have done, I am open to allow this scroll to fall into the hands of anyone pure of heart who manages to defeat me. To whomever that may be, I thank you for finally setting me free._

_My name is Uchiha Itachi. By now, I am probably known as the one who massacred the entire Uchiha clan, save for one. I do not deny that it was I who murdered them. Most believe this is because I went mad. Though I do question my own sanity to this day, that was not the case._

_It all started when I was promoted to the ANBU squad. I was given a routine mission: Track down a missing nin. It was going well. My squad finally cornered him, and I was about to land the killing blow. But before I could reach him, a kunai from behind struck him in the back of the neck. I turned around to see four figures take out my entire squad. Though 2 of them managed to surprise me, I defeated them. But when I was about to confront the leader I looked into his eyes, and for the first time I saw the Magenkyo Sharingan. Not even a minute had passed but I felt like I was tortured non-stop for a month. Too weak to fight I collapsed, and I lost consciousness._

_When I woke up, I was strapped to a table. I felt that something was different. When I heard voices, I immediately broke free, and attacked the man standing in front of me. At least, that's what I tried to do. When I was just upon him, I collapsed in pain. I looked at my body, to see that seals had been placed all around me. They were planning to use me! I almost went for a kunai to kill myself, in order to protect Konoha, but one of them, who I later learned was named Kizu, kicked it away from me. He told me he was the one who placed the seals on me. The ones around my body were to bring me pain whenever I disobeyed what they ordered. He placed more around my head as well, which would let him know when I was thinking of double-crossing him, or not trying my best when ordered to. Then he explained they were called the Akatsuki, an organization of missing nins that were trying to unite the five great shinobi lands. And they wanted me, noting that I was the strongest ninja of my generation. I flat-out refused, of course. Though Kizu tortured me, I still refused to yield. Until his master came before me. When he told me his name, I was shocked beyond belief. The master of the group was Madara Uchiha, the first of my clan and one of the founders of Konohagakure. He was the one who defeated me when I was ambushed. He was also dissatisfied with the Uchiha as of now, claiming I was the only one who had talents worth noting. Though he was so old, I could sense the power in his eyes. He gave me an ultimatum: Either kill my dearest friend to obtain the magenkyo sharingan, and kill my clan, or watch as they force Konoha to tear itself apart. If I chose the former, he said I would be allowed to spare one member of my family._

_It wasn't hard to explain that my comrades died when we cornered our target, as he was an S-ranked criminal to begin with. Soon after, I murdered my best friend, Shusui, and tried to make it look like suicide. The police didn't buy it, but regardless, did not have conclusive evidence. I then hinted to everyone I had gone mad. Though I was crying on the inside, I wanted them to hate me for what I was about to do. I wanted to be hated. I did not deserve to be loved or pitied for what I would do._

_Then, that night came. Though inside I was furious with rage at myself, I showed no emotion as I slaughtered my clan. It's true I did not want them to love me as I killed them, but there was another purpose: The one family member I had chosen to spare was my brother Sasuke. I wanted him to hate me, to gain power, so that he could kill me…and save me. While I know in doing so I will have sent him on an evil path, I know he is strong enough to turn back and redeem not only himself, but our entire clan. While he trained , I was ordered to hunt down the biju one by one, in order to keep Madara alive, and confined to Soragakure._

_This is all I can reveal without them knowing. Though the seal has some loopholes, it is not enough for Akatsuki to be defeated. I apologize for not being able to give out more information. But it should help. Beware the Akatsuki, and once again I thank you._

_And I hope Sasuke knows I love him, no matter what._

_Uchiha Itachi_

* * *

Neither Sakura nor Naruto said a word. They just seemed to stare endlessly into space. The only sound that was heard was Naruto dropping the scroll. _"If you were in my position, you would have done the same thing!"_ Itachi's words ran through Naruto's mind. During the fight, he thought he was just a madman, but now he knew better. "This whole time…he was a slave…he was trying to protect his brother."

Jiraya then intervened. "So far, we have a name for the Akatsuki leader. Unfortunately, it's not enough. I'll be working with my spy network the best I can."

"Then there's Uchiha Madara." Tsunade said.

Naruto asked "Another Uchiha?" Why did that name sound so familiar…

"Madara Uchiha was one of the founders of Konoha. If you paid attention in history, you would know that." Sakura answered. "He was the result of a Hyugga having a child with someone outside the land of fire."

Tsunade continued "He was also the best friend of my grandfather, the First Hokage." She paused for a minute. "From what my grandfather told me, when he was very young, Madara's parents were killed right in front of him. The perpetrator was a fanatical Hyugga. He was all alone. My grandfather was the only real family he had. But he continued to hate the Hyugga. When Konoha was formed, and my grandfather became Hokage, Madara argued with him to expel the Hyugga. Of course, the Hokage refused. Eventually, the Hyugga who murdered his family was killed. Not by Madara, but by my Grandfather. This sent him into a rage, and he did the unthinkable."

Naruto just stared at her. "What?"

Jiraya answered for her. "He created the Biju."

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened. Sakura and the other kids learned that Madara did indeed betray Konoha, but it was said to have been through politics and corruption, not something as horrid as that.

"His hatred of the Hyugga escalated to the point where he hated Konoha. Though we do not understand how, he used ancient rituals to enhance nine creatures he had selected. But they were not under his control. They decimated Konoha, and killed many people. Madara ran away, but the First pursued him. They battled at the valley of the end…and there the First Hokage lost his life."

Naruto thought back to his fight with Sasuke. "It's…it's the same as us." He thought.

"We never heard from him again. After about 5 decades, he was taken off the bingo book. We figured he would be too old to pose a threat, and he could not have come up with the money for a coup." There was silence across the room. "Also, there's this Soragakure. That's not really its official name. It's the name the five shinobi nations have given it. As it name implies, its location is said to be in the sky. Very few ninja have lived to tell about it, and from what we understand, only the very outside have been seen. We don't know whether anyone lives there. What we were told is that it looks very advanced, technologically." Jiraya finished.

Naruto, Sakura, even Kakashi and Yamato were speechless. "Our most dangerous enemy…is one of our founders." Yamato whispered. Kakashi nodded. Yamato pretty much said the same thing he was thinking. He looked at Naruto, who had his fist clenched. "Naruto…"

Naruto shot up and yelled "I will kill Madara and Kizu for what they have done to Itachi!! And I will make sure that Sasuke will not become like him!!"

* * *

Sasuke slept. Lightly, anyway. With Orochimaru's teachings, he learned that one could never be too careful. When he heard a hissing sound, everything came together. "Another training session?" he asked. He knew it was Orochimaru who snuck up on him.

"Far from it, Sasuke-kun. You and I shall become one."

Sasuke immediately leapt from the bed, kusunagi in hand.

Orochimaru simply chuckled. "I thought you said that so long as Itachi dies by your hand, I can have both your body and your soul?"

Sasuke replied emotionlessly "That was to get rid of those gnats. The reality is, I was only using you. I have become stronger, and I'll show you. Come and take this body, if you dare!!"

Orochimaru simply grinned. Then he started to become transparent…and expanded. Sasuke looked in shock. Sasuke immediately performed his hand signals and yelled "Katon!! Goukakyu no jutsu!!"

The fireball went right through the urethral Orochimaru, who just laughed and advanced on the young Uchiha. The ghost like Orochimaru attached himself to Sasuke, who yelled "Chidori Nasagi!!" The spirit was repelled, and he was forced to retreat.

Sasuke just smirked. "In that form, you're not so invincible after all. It seems you cannot withstand lightning chakra!!" Sasuke formed Chidori and lunged forward. But Orochimaru was too fast for him. Sasuke obliterated nothing but the concrete walls.

"Kukukuku. You will never reach me Sasuke-kun. Your body will be mine. Sharingan and all."

Before he could laugh some more, Sasuke formed Chidori again. Orochimaru prepared to dodge once more. But, to his surprise, the ball of lightning formed into a blade. A blade that pinned his spirit into the wall. Sasuke smirked at the sight of Orochimaru looking shocked. But that didn't last. Orochimaru's grin returned. Then, his head separated from his body and launched itself at Sasuke.

"Fool! As long as one part of my soul reaches you, you're mine!!"

The head expanded, and widened its mouth. Sasuke was caught in between. He struggled the best he could. No good. The giant head finally consumed him. Orochimaru cackled, and the giant head spun into nothingness. Soon, the cackling transferred to Sasuke. Or what used to be Sasuke.

"At last!! The sharingan is mine!! Now I-" He tried activating the Sharingan. Nothing. He tried again. Still nothing. Every time he transferred to a new body, the memories of how to use their jutsus and kekkei genkais came to him as if they were second nature to him. "Why!? I took his body!!"

Suddenly, a door swung open. Orochimaru's face once held rage, but then it held fright. Standing in front of him was Sasuke!! And he was transforming into his Curse Mark 2 form!!

"Surprised? You don't think that I simply learned techniques by looking at only the scrolls you gave me? It took me forever to master my chakra control to do it, but I saw Kabuto use this trick before. I had him construct a corpse to look like me, and I simply had to supply my chakra to give it life. You should have known something was up before you even started. I would have never taken you on without the Sharingan, or this form."

Orochimaru widened his eyes in surprise. "I should have known!! But I was so obsessed with getting his body, I did not notice his odd behavior!!" He was broken out of his thoughts when Sasuke's green form stepped towards him. Orochimaru's first instinct was to reason with him. But he realized that would do nothing. Sasuke already saw him try to take his body; how could Orochimaru convince him that he would not do so in another 3 years? Orochimaru had to face the truth now: It was either kill Sasuke and forsake the Sharingan in order to live…or to die. Orochimaru reluctantly chose the third. He made hand signs, but before he could complete them, Sasuke grabbed both wrists and crushed them. As Orochimaru screamed, Sasuke pulled him in closer, and activated his sharingan…

* * *

Orochimaru found himself in his original body. Well, not his original, but the last one before the switch. He noticed that all of his limbs were held by some pulsating flesh. Looking closely, he could see that his body was slowly deteriorating.

"This is how your soul is connected to bodies that were not yours, I see." Sasuke's voice said. "The flesh represents your connection. It's firm, but can be broken. It's how you escape. And escape you must." Then he held his hand to each of the tubes. Each one then transmuted into metal.

* * *

Orochimaru came back to reality, and gripped his chest. "Wh-What did you just do?"

Sasuke reverted back to his natural state. "Your soul will remain within that body. It was similar to what I did to Naruto back then, but in your case it's permanent."

A thought just occurred to Orochimaru. "But…I must transfer."

"Exactly. I prevented you from moving from body to body. But that won't stop the effects of the body switch you did just now. Within six years time, you will die."

Orochimaru could not believe it. He was one of the sanin, considered one of the wisest and most clever ninja of his time…and yet his own future container, with decades of less experience, outwitted him. Orochimaru was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a blade pressed against his chin.

"I won't kill you, Orochimaru…provided you follow one condition."

Orochimaru said nothing, but they both knew that was a yes.

"You will swear your loyalty and strength to me as my slave. Everything you own shall now be mine. You are my new sword." Sasuke retracted kusunagi. "Now kneel!" he yelled.

Orochimaru hesitated for one second, and kneeled. Orochimaru never had more hatred then he did now, but this time, there was nothing he could do. He could not switch bodies, Sasuke was stronger then him now, and he knew every one of his jutsus. For every jutsu he could master in a year, Sasuke could master a hundred. Orochimaru met his match, not only in strength, but in cunning as well. He had to face the facts: He was beaten. "I swear…all my loyalty to you…Sasuke…sama."

The Uchiha had a slight grin on his face and retracted his sword. "Back when you were in the Akatsuki, you were defeated by my own brother. Correct?"

Orochimaru simply replied "Yes."

"He only managed to take your hand, a hand you soon replaced. I on the other hand, have taken away the ability you were most proud of, and it's never coming back. Now I will do the same to Itachi. I will defeat his Magenkyo sharingan…and make him suffer through the same hell I was." Sasuke sheathed his sword and began to walk outside. "Since that body was dead to begin with, the chakra I provided with it won't last. I'll have Kabuto work on making it sustainable." Sasuke turned around, staring at the seething sanin with his sharingan. "Be grateful you can at least live as a tool. Otherwise, I'd leave you to rot."

* * *

As Sasuke walked down the corridors, he thought about Itachi dying at his hands. Then something else came to his mind, something he realized he should have thought about sooner: what would he do afterwards? His other goal…reviving the Uchiha clan. He was so hell-bent on revenge, that he pushed that in the back of his mind. He was only a child back in Konoha, and didn't think much about it much as a kid. The process crossed even HIS thoughts, but like any young boy, that was it. "Go back to Konoha? No, they'll never let me in…can't really blame them." He mused that he would probably have to go look for some random girl of child-bearing age…a bit awkward, but maybe with some work…now that he thought of it, the idea of a new Uchiha clan seemed farther away than ever. "I'm loosing my focus. I must concentrate at the task at hand."

He opened a door to the side and stepped in. "Kabuto. Have your spies found Itachi yet?"

Due to his paralysis, Kabuto was nothing more than the medicine man and the simple right-hand man. He couldn't complain though; he was lucky that Orochimaru was willing to take him back at all. "Yes." He said. "But you're not going to like what we found."

Sasuke's eyes twitched. "Your spies died giving you the information. No matter. They served their purpose, and I could have done away with them just as easily."

Kabuto stuttered "T-That's not what I meant. Sasuke-samma…Itachi is dead."

Sasuke's normally emotionless expression slowly turned to shock. "No."

"It's true. My spies found Konoha ninja carrying his body back. There-"

Sasuke couldn't take anymore and backhanded Kabuto with such force that he was knocked out of his wheelchair. "LIAR!!" Sasuke was seething, his sharingan activated and his curse mark spreading.

"Sasuke-sama!! I swear, it's the truth!!"

Sasuke walked over and put his foot over Kabuto's throat. "ITACHI'S ALIVE!! NO ONE CAN KILL HIM BUT ME!!"

Kabuto choked out "I-I'm not…lying. He was…killed…in battle."

Sasuke slowly let his foot off. He hyperventilated, and ran to the corner and collapsed. He vomited into the gutter. "This can't be…my purpose…my reason for living…all gone!!" His bearings weren't straight, but he managed to choke out "Who…who did this?"

Kabuto finished rubbing his throat, and whispered "Judging by the burns on one of them…Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke hyperventilated again, but this time he slowly stood up, his face changing from disbelief to pure rage. His skin changed back to green, and his wings broke the walls behind him. He lifted his head high, and screamed "NARUTO!!"

* * *

After everyone managed to process the truth behind Itachi's betrayal, Tsunade saw Naruto about his concerns for Sakura's health. "It's certainly bad if you do that to her constantly. But her body is young, strong, and healthy. Though it takes time, her body naturally expels the Kyuubi's chakra. She's also stronger than before, so that factors in."

Naruto then asked "But Orochimaru…he is insanely strong, and from what I heard, he would have died because of the fox's chakra had he not changed bodies."

"The fact that he changes bodies is exactly why it has such an adverse affect on him. I studied that jutsu…the effects, I would never use it for myself. Anyway, every time he claims a new body, it begins to deteriorate immediately. Slowly, but surely. About six years. It takes 3 to allow him to transfer at all. He was near his limit when he returned to Konoha…Sarutobi-sensei simply hastened the deadline. Kyuubi's chakra probably did incredible damage to his system, and he had to change again."

Naruto smiled, satisfied with her answer. He stood up and waved "Thanks again, Ba-chan! You're the best!!" He turned around, and was smacked from behind with a sake cup, nearly causing him to fall over his crutches.

"I'm not finished yet!! I need to speak to you about one of your students!!"

Naruto was about to complain, but kept his mouth shut. He knew when to be serious. "Is it Iori?"

Tsunade blinked. "No…why?"

Naruto replied "Before I forget, I've found out she is the daughter of a jinchuuriki!! Did you know that!?"

Tsunade stood up and said "N-No!! If I did, I'd have been the first to tell you!! I looked at her records, it stated she was found in the woods. Once we could not find any family members or clan, we accepted her into the academy!!" Both were silent for a while. "I need to run some tests on her…don't worry, I promise nothing bad will happen to her. But we need to see what she is capable of…this should concern especially you."

Naruto just blinked "W-why me?"

Tsunade smiled "Well, you are thinking of having children soon, aren't you?" Naruto nearly fell over again. "Anyway, we know what jinchuuriki can do, but not their offspring. Send her in tomorrow, please."

Naruto was about to get up again, but Tsunade forced him to sit down. "OOOWWWW!"

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU IT WAS NOT IORI I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT!!" Tsunade yelled. "It's Yuji." she replied.

Naruto blinked. "Yuji?"

Tsunade frowned a bit. "Her mother has put in a resignation form for him. She's not a ninja, and by law, we are obligated to fulfill the requests of such parents. Naruto…I completely understand that he was the one that lead them back when you tried to send them away. But the fact remains that your team was tricked into an S-ranked assignment. She couldn't handle it." Both ninjas remained silent. "What I'm saying is, if you want Yuji to remain on the team, you'll have to talk with her. I won't sign the form yet…I can just say I've been backed up with more important things, which is true by the way. But I can't give you much time."

Naruto nodded and said. "Understood."

Naruto walked out of the office. He thought he should swing by Iori's first. "I think I have an idea of what may be bothering her." Suddenly he bumped into someone. "Sakura! I'm sorry, I should've-"

"No, it's all right Naruto! I was completely spaced out! Not something an ANBU ninja should do, huh?" The kunoichi gave an embarrased smile.

Naruto just chuckled. "We all have our flaws." Suddenly, something came to Naruto's mind. "Hey, Sakura, um…" Naruto grimaced. This felt harder than it was. "I…I was wondering…next time we're free, and I'm recovered…"

"What, Naruto?"

"T-That we could go on a date." Naruto expected her to turn a bit red and stutter.

Instead, she just sighed and calmly said "Sure, I'm up of Ichikaru anytime."

Naruto just laughed nervously. "Um…I was thinking more of a real date…if that's okay with you."

NOW he got the response he expected. "Y-You want t-to g-g…"

"If you don't want to, I'll understand." Naruto sighed sadly. "Well, so long as we're friends"

He began to walk away when Sakura grabbed his shoulder. "Next week, 2'o clock. It should be my day off, and you should have fully recovered by then!"

Naruto was stunned. "She said yes."

* * *

Iori came out of her apartment only for grocery shopping. With the lack of missions they had, her money would only last her so long and it would only be a matter of time before she ran out of food and couldn't pay her rent…but she didn't care. "My father was a monster…I'm a monster." Everything she questioned finally made sense, and her world came crashing down on her. Suddenly, she heard a knocking on her door. She didn't respond. The knocking continued. "Go away!" she screamed.

"Iori, I have to talk with you." Naruto said from behind the door.

"Screw it!!" Iori yelled back. The knocking ceased, and for a while, she had no more distractions. But then, she heard someone jump into her room. She reacted, and grabbed a kunai under her pillow. She turned around, and saw her sensei standing before her. "H-how?"

"Your window was open, and you were so out of it you didn't hear me climb in, even with the crutches. I was standing there for a while, so I stomped on the floor to get your attention." Naruto managed to sit down on her bed, though painfully. "I really need to speak with you Iori. I know what you're going through."

Iori had her back turned to him, and she said "You don't know a thing about me. Nothing you say can make it all go away."

Naruto simply replied "Those 2 were the same ones that killed your dad, right? I bet they said something about him being a monster, and that you were one too?"

Iori said nothing for a minute, then replied "The specific words they said were that he had a monster SEALED inside of him. But I guess that's really not a difference, is it?"

"Was your dad shunned?"

"Yes."

"And you?"

"Yes."

"What about after your dad died?"

"They tried to kill me! The whole damn village tried to kill me! My father always protected the village, but they treated us like garbage!! They tried to kill me just because my father was gone!! They didn't deserve anything that he did for them!!"

Naruto was taken a back by Iori's outburst. He hoped whatever children he would have would not face the same problems as she was. "Iori, I know what you went through."

Iori just snapped back. "No you don't!! Just stop trying!! You know you can't say anything to make it all better!!"

Naruto sighed. "Iori…you do know about the Kyuubi, right?"

"A big tailed monster like the one dad had. Came to Konoha before I was even born. Killed lots of people, and the all-mighty fourth Hokage killed it and himself. Everyone knows that story." Iori grumbled.

"Yeah." Naruto replied. "Everyone knows THAT story. What if I gave you the director's cut?"

Iori turned back. "Wha?"

"The story you were told about the Kyuubi…was all a lie." He had Iori's full attention right now. "The truth is, the fourth could not kill the Kyuubi. Instead, he sacrificed his life to seal it within an infant boy. Since that day, that child has been alone for a good portion of his life. Even now, so many people think he is a monster when he is really just a person who wants to be acknowledged for all the good he's done…" Iori just scooted closer. "And that child is me."

Iori's eyes widened. "You mean…"

Naruto lifted his shirt just enough so she could see his belly button. Then, he let his chakra flow, and called the tiniest amount of Kyuubi chakra he could without raising suspicion. The spiral appeared, as did the red chakra and his animal traits. As quickly as he showed her, he changed back. "Though most of the people of my generation had no idea, the adults were scared of me. I will admit, compared to Gaara, Kenji, and your family, I've had it good. But that doesn't erase the loneliness and pain."

Iori struggled to keep her tears in check, but she was loosing it. She tackled her sensei and cried on his shirt. After a good ten minutes, she finally let go.

"Iori…" Naruto whispered. "Your heritage will be a secret between me and the Hokage. If there is anything you ever need to get off my chest, come see me. Believe me, just having another person just listen helps a lot." Iori smiled, and nodded.

Naruto headed for the door with his crutches. "See Tsunade tomorrow. She needs to run a few tests. Don't worry, it's nothing like the ones Itachi may have put you through. We just need to find out…well you know."

Naruto closed the door, before Iori could whisper "Thank you…sensei."

* * *

Naruto had one more person to see. He hardly knew her, but she was the one responsible for trying to put Yuji off the team. He looked up their address, and finally came to their house. It didn't scream that they were rich, but it was better then most other people could afford. He knocked on the door. It occurred to him that Mrs. Miyamoto could simply look out the peephole and pretend no one was home. But he looked closely, and could see there was none. Then, the door opened. He was hoping it would be Yuji, but fate never was his best friend. His mother was right there, and her look of surprise changed into a nasty glare.

"Mrs. Miyamoto." Naruto said as calmly as he could. " I'm here to talk about Yuji." There was an uncomfortable silence between the two. Finally, she gestured for him to come inside.

* * *

Naruto looked around. The house was a bit of a mess, but the furniture was nice. He noticed a lot of paintings inside as well. Very nice ones. He was never very interested in art before, but he couldn't help but admire them.

"My husband's." the woman said. "He loved to paint during his spare time when he wasn't out on missions."

Naruto then remembered Yuji wanted to be the great ninja his dad was. "If I can convince her to withdraw her request, I'll have to ask him about it." That's when his eyes landed on what seemed to be the family photo. The typical ones with both parents and their kids. In the center was Yuji, who must have been 6 years old. His mother was on his right. On the left, was his father, wearing a Konoha headband and jonin vest. He also seemed to have on a short cape of some sort. Those were generally considered a hazard for most ninja, but if he made jonin he must've known what he was doing. Naruto could see some family resemblances. Yuji's face and his father's looked alike, and they had the same hair and eyes. But Naruto couldn't see Yuji becoming like his dad physically. Judging from the height difference between the two parents, the father was almost 2 meters in height and had a build to match it too. When Naruto first heard Yuji call his dad a great ninja, he figured it was typical hero worship. But this guy looked like he could back up that claim.

"My husband was killed on a mission a while ago. Yuji always had trouble in school, but his father always figured out a way to help piece the lessons together for him."

Naruto turned around to see the petite woman carrying two cups of tea. Naruto thanked her, sat down, and pretended to take a sip. It wasn't likely that she was trying to poison him, nor did he believe she would have any decent poisons available. Still, judging by her attitude the last time around, he had valid reason to be concerned.

"I understand Yuji's dream to be a ninja like his father." Mrs. Miyamoto said. "I felt so long as he had a proper teacher, it would be alright. But when Ryu died, I felt he had no one. The teachers could never accommodate his needs, and the only ninja he ever truly looked up to was his father. There are no other ninjas in our family. I know he hates me right now, but this is the best for him in the end. He's blinded by the illusion that he can be like his father without help. I'm sorry…Uzumaki-san. But the one true teacher he ever had is gone, is never coming back, and can never be replaced."

Naruto just held his head down. "You know. About my secret, right?" Mrs. Miyamoto didn't say anything. "I know you don't think of me as a person. Whether I am or not is not important. When I first entered the academy, I had no family. All I had was a monthly stipend from the third so I could get my own place. A lot of the teachers…felt the same way you do about me. All they did was lecture, and when any of us had trouble, they would help out the best they could…but not me. The few times I got lucky to receive help I still didn't get it often, and I had no parents to help me make sense of any of it. Even though I was accepted early, I failed to graduate so many times that soon I became one of the youngest in my class. Just when it seemed so much farther away, I finally found teachers who accepted me and did everything to help me. While I do admit there's still room for improvement…I think I've come a long way." Naruto grabbed his crutches, and lifted himself. "Mrs. Miyamoto…no matter what the obstacles, anyone can become a great ninja. I don't know if I'm the right teacher for Yuji, but I'll do my best. If not, I will find someone better. And no matter what, I promise that I'll throw my own life away before Yuji has to give his!!" With that Naruto walked out of the house. Mrs. Miyamoto would've normally disregarded everything he said. But for some reason, she couldn't. She just couldn't.

* * *

Next chapter, some developments, and the date! Plus, Sakura has a secret!


	13. Taking a Break

Hi! I've been crashing classes and put up with a bunch of crap in between, but it's all settled now.

Also, I've been forgetting to make comments about my story. And that would be no more relevant than last chapter. Since in the manga both Uchihas appear evil, I thought it would make a great twist if one was with the bad guys only to protect his brother. After all, before the massacre, Itachi seemed to be a distant but kind person who loved his brother. If he really did kill the Uchiha clan because he felt superior or because Madara told him so…I feel that is weak writing (remember, I haven't read the Naruto manga for a while now; don't tell me whether or not that is indeed the case). So, I thought since the story specializes in taking interesting twists, a scenario like that would be very fitting. And yes, Soragakure does mean "Village Hidden in the Sky." You won't find out how that is possible for a long time now. Not much else I can say, except read the reviews, which have gone up again!!

J.A. Jasper: Thanks for the comment. I don't think Naruto was 100 percent illiterate, but I am aware he had trouble reading. Even so, that is negligible in this story.

Maxslayer10: Um, probably not as much as you like, but this chapter will be mostly fluff. Also, there's going to be lots of fights in the future, since this is my view on how Naruto should end (well, maybe not should, but its one way it could've gone).

Unspoken Emotions: Yeah. It's not quite over, and won't be for awhile. Also, I hope I didn't offend you with my little rant on chapter 5. It's mostly the die-hard fanatics of SasuSaku (and NaruHina) that annoy me. But you seem to be cool though (the fact you're reading my NARUSAKU fic and stated you're loving it speaks volumes). Sometime, I might try a SasuSaku fic, but as of right now, I'm too biased…

HawkofNavarre: I feel embarrassed being corrected by a 14 year old (I'm 23). But you're right; I'll fix that right away. And I'm glad you liked how I played out Itachi's killings.

Mrfipp: Regarding how Sasuke feels: (Speaks in a Will Smith like voice) Ya THINK!? Well, it's nice to know you miss Kenji. I thought of doing a Heaven scene between him and Mana, but for some reason I didn't feel comfortable taking a stab at the afterlife, and it's too late for a scene between Kenji and Mana. Maybe I'll edit Chapter 11 a little. As for your question regarding Sakura's secret: Well, first off, that's not the secret I had in mind. I'd imagine any guy trying to figure that out has a death-wish filled with pain…unless of course it's Naruto and he happens to score.

Disclaimer: I do not understand why this has not gotten through your thick skulls…but I HONESTLY DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

Edit: My apologies, but I noticed that there were some grammatical errors, inconsistencies, and sentances that just sound plain bad. Once I finish writing the rough draft of a chapter, I rush through and try to get it up online. I'll try to show more restraint next time. In the meantime, enjoy this slight revision!

* * *

It was the morning after Naruto talked with Iori and Mrs. Miyamoto. Currently, he was sleeping in his apartment. It felt so nice to finally relax…until he heard a knock from his door. He grumbled and looked over at his alarm clock. "Eight in the morning!?" Naruto struggled to get his crutches. The knocking continued. "I'm coming, I'm coming!!" Naruto made his way out, wondering who was seeing him at this time. He couldn't be summoned by the Hokage…if it was an emergency, he was in no condition to fight. So why was someone bothering him? He looked in the peephole, and saw it was Ebisu. He never interacted much with him, so why was he here? Something wrong with Konohamaru? No, Konohamaru wasn't in any trouble; Naruto knew the boy would sometimes sleep as late as 2:00, unless it was a mission. Besides, Ebisu was way too calm for it to be an emergency. Naruto needed to test the guy, just to be sure it was him. He opened the door, and screamed "Ninja Centerfold Harem!!"

Ebisu passed out at the sight of several forms of Naruto's female form. "Yup, it's him." Naruto mused. "Sorry about that. I just had to be sure it was you. Anyway, what brings you here?"

Ebisu stood up and adjusted his sunglasses. "Uzumaki, Hokage-sama requests your presence immediately."

Naruto blinked. "But I'm off duty right now."

"It concerns your student Miyamoto."

When Naruto arrived at the office, Tsunade looked like she was a cross between confused and amused.

"What's wrong, Ba-chan?"

Tsunade's trance was broken and she looked at him with a vein popping across her forehead. "DO YOU HAVE A DEATHWISH OR SOMETHING, BECAUSE YOU ALREADY MISSED TWO GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR IT TO BE FULLFILLED!!"

Naruto retreated to the other side of the room, quickly as he could, and Shizune hugged Ton-Ton in fright.

Tsunade finally calmed down. "Anyway, I found something very interesting about the form Mrs. Miyamoto sent me." She pulled it out. "It's hard to see, but if you look closely, you'll see that some of the lines are cracked, almost as if they were hand drawn…"

Naruto said "You mean…she sent you a fake?"

"You're half-right. It's a fake, but I don't think Mrs. Miyamoto was the one who made it."

Naruto then looked shocked. "Yuji…"

"This is good for your team for two reasons. First, since this is a forgery, I can't call it a valid resignation form, therefore making it null. Second, your student as shown me some interesting skills. A skill like this could come in handy for stealing files and making sure no one notices it, or tricking an enemy during war-time. Genin that display certain extraordinary talents are not allowed to withdraw. So, your student is still on the team!"

Naruto could only smile. Though it wasn't a talent he thought of, such a talent actually WAS very unique. "That's awesome!! But I bet Mrs. Miyamoto is going to be pissed."

Tsunade smirked. "I won't tell her just yet. Don't worry, there is nothing she can make me do now."

Naruto was about to walk away, when someone else opened the door. His normally bright smile became a wary and suspicious face. Right in front of him was Danzo, the man who ordered Sai to kill Sasuke. He looked to Danzo's left, and his suspicion turned to surprise. His student, Shiguri, was standing right next to him! "Shiguri." Naruto said. "Sorry I didn't come by to visit you. I was-"

"No need to worry about it…sensei."

Naruto then looked back at Danzo. "Shiguri…any reason why you're with him?"

Danzo scoffed. "You didn't know? Well, given our colorful past, that's not surprising…he's my grandson."

Naruto's eyes widened. One of his students was Danzo's grandson!?

"I wasn't too fond of the arrangement." Danzo said. "But because he worked closely with that peasant, I couldn't get…Hokage-samma…to transfer him to another team." Shiguri stood back while Danzo made his way to Tsunade. "Rumor has it that Orochimaru is on the move. We need to set another trap for him."

Tsunade folded her hands. "If what you say is true, then we should definitely prepare the troops. But we can't set a trap. He is far too smart for that, and when it fails, that will be nothing but bad news for us. We'll have our spies keep a close watch on him, and defend the village as we see fit. Besides…you don't have an ulterior motive by any chance, do you?"

Danzo said nothing. He began to storm out, but before he left, he turned toward Naruto. "I expect my grandson to become chunin when the exam comes by."

Naruto was in fact weighing in on whether or not he should send his team into the exam or wait for a year. He still hadn't decided, but he gestured to Danzo that he would, even though he didn't mean it. Soon, the pair left. Naruto looked back at Tsunade. "Ba-chan…"

Tsunade sighed. "I'm sorry Naruto. I did know, but I didn't know what you would do if I told you. Besides, the fact is that he's the best teammate for Yuji. I felt I would tell you eventually as soon as you got to trust him, but now that you know the truth…"

Naruto sighed. "It's all right. I think I understand what you're talking about. Don't worry, I won't think any less of Shiguri; he's a bit crude, but he's talented. So far he's nothing like his grandfather; he hasn't been spewing any comments about you or the state of Konoha"

* * *

Later that day, Tsunade continued with her paperwork. Though she loved her job, it WAS a lot of work. In addition to that, her work at the hospital didn't help and made her even more stressed, perhaps more so than her predecessors. She could hardly ever drink, and she had no time for gambling other than bets with fellow ninja. And the paperwork…most people would be tempted to skim it, but she HAD to read the whole thing. Especially now, since she was tricked into sending a genin team on an S-ranked mission. But that was behind her when she heard a certain knock on the door. "Enter."

The door opened, revealing one of the genins she sent on a faulty mission. Iori bowed, and said "You wanted to see me, Hokage-samma?"

Tsunade smiled. "Well, at least his students don't have his bad habits." Tsunade said. "First, I apologize for sending you and your team on a mission you were not ready for. Now, onto business; I'm sure that your sensei informed you of why you were summoned here." Iori nodded yes. "We will keep your inheritance a secret. Your sensei had a hard enough time as it was, and I'm not going to put that burden on you." Tsunade got up from her desk. "We're going to run a few tests. Maybe a few questions. That's all."

The tests were simple. Just a blood sample to be analyzed later, a basic check up. Nothing bad at all. But then she was guided to the training grounds. Yamato was there as well.

"All right Iori." Tsunade said. "I need to ask you to do something that will be hard on you emotionally. Your father was killed right in front of you, right?"

"Y-Yes."

"I need you to go back and remember that day as clear as you can. You have my permission to pound anything around you minus us." The hokage then wrapped a necklace with some kind of crystal around girl.

Iori inspected the necklace curiously. "Hokage-sama...what is this?"

Tsunade replied "It belongs to Naruto. I needed to borrow it from him, just in case you get too out of control." Tsunade stood back, next to Yamato.

Iori closed her eyes, remembering that night. She could still remember it clear as day. Whether or not those murderers were dead now did not matter: The thought of them still filled her with rage. Then, she began to change.

"She shows the physical characteristics of a beast." Tsunade noted. Then silver chakra surrounded her. She roared, and the earth started to crack.

"This is getting bad, Tsunade-samma! I'm going to…"

Tsunade held her arm out and barked "Not yet! Let's wait to see if she develops any tails. Subdue her only if virtually all human traces of her are gone."

Iori pounded all the ground available to her, and plateaus began to emerge. They waited for fifteen minutes, but Iori did not change any further. Soon, she collapsed and her transformation disappeared. As she struggled to get up, the Hokage came over to help her. "Very good. I've seen what I needed to see. I'll summon for you again within the next week."

* * *

The days went by, and soon Naruto was completely healed. Under normal circumstances, he would go straight to training. But today was special: His first OFFICIAL date with Sakura. Sure, he called the many times they hung out alone dates, but he was really just joking around. He was sure that Sakura was still in love with Sasuke at the time, and he simply wanted to spend any time he could with her before he brought him back. Even now he would still try to find a way to bring Sasuke back, but now that he knew she wasn't in love the Uchiha…he just couldn't put it in words. Right now, he had 15 minutes left to get ready, which he was. Since he was off-duty, he didn't wear his headband. That went double for his vest. He wore a traditional Japanese uniform instead, with hakama pants, and his trademark whirlpool symbol on his back. It was a gift to him from Tsunade when he turned 17.

_"If you get lucky enough to meet a certain someone, you will have to wear this."_ She said.

Naruto had a feeling in the back of his head that she was trying to hook the two of them up. Of course, he didn't mind. Then Naruto picked up a scroll, one for carrying certain objects. But this wasn't carrying ninja gear. It sealed inside a swimsuit. Sakura stopped by his apartment the night before for a final check-up, and they discussed their date.

They of course discussed times and the like, but in the middle of it, Sakura said _"Oh, Naruto. Do you think you can bring some swimwear? I know a place in the forest behind the village that has a nice lake. I'd like to start out there." _

Naruto gave himself a final evaluation in the mirror, and once he was satisfied, he made his way. But then a thought occurred to him: What was SAKURA going to wear when they went swimming? He thought of the possibilities: A one piece suit seemed the most likely. Then again, she might get a two-piece. Or a string bikini? "That would be…" His mind went further down the gutter when he imagined Sakura in a g-string swimsuit, or even a Venus swimsuit!! At that point Naruto smacked his temples. "Put yourself together!! Seeing Jiraya again has corrupted me!!"

* * *

Naruto got to the corner where they were supposed to meet. The only problem was she was late. Only by 5 minutes, but he was a bit worried. "Geez, the relationship hasn't even officially begun, and I'm already getting overprotective."

"Naruto!"

The blonde turned around and found his date. He knew no matter what she wore, Sakura would look nice. But still he was stunned. She was wearing a beautiful white kimono covered with Sakura petals, the colors matching her perfectly. Her hair was free flowing, without being tied or bound by a headband, and she had a little flower comb in her hair. Naruto also caught emerald earrings on her ears. Such practices were strongly discouraged among shinobi, but since they were simply enjoying their free time, there was nothing wrong with it. Naruto could only stare.

"What?" Sakura asked.

Naruto snapped out of it and said "Oh! You look…you look great is all!"

Sakura's face darkened in color at the comment. "Th-Thanks." Soon Sakura composed herself. "So, I take it you're ready to go?"

"You bet! Off to the lake?"

"Yes!"

* * *

Naruto could not believe he never came to this place. The lake was in the middle of the forest and off the trails, so it wasn't too much of a surprise no one was around. But he always got lost in the woods on bad days during his childhood; how did he miss it? The lake was clear, with some small fish swimming around, and with the perfect day they had before them, it was sparkling. Even without Sakura, Naruto would not be able to resist taking a dip. He was eager to get started. "Well, I think I'll go into a bush and get changed." Naruto told the pink ANBU.

"Oh, Naruto." Sakura chimed in. "I'm just curious: What kind of swimsuit did you think I brought?"

Naruto took a second to think about it. "One piece. Even if I'm wrong, she won't pound me for it."

Naruto didn't get a chance to say anything when the kunoichi said "Were you thinking a two piece?"

"Uh…"

"With the top a bit too small for me?" Naruto's face reddened at this. Sakura just grinned. "And with a bottom that's very tight fitting? And a thong in the back?" Naruto was practically counting down the seconds before he would faint. Sakura reached for her scroll, and Naruto looked in wonder. Sakura then pulled out…a red one piece swimsuit. "Too bad!" she said, smiling mischievously.

Naruto fell over in shock. "She got me!" he thought. Naruto scratched his head as he got up. "Good one…you had me there."

"Well, maybe if you weren't such a pervert…"

"If that little fact bothers you that much, you shouldn't have bothered accepting my offer."

"Not as much as it used to. Provided, of course, that you do not peak when I'm changing or try to pin me down and have your way with me. I promise that will not end well for you" She grinned. She looked toward the lake, then back at Naruto. "Hurry up and get changed! I can't wait to swim!"

* * *

After changing, both emerged with their respective swimwear on. When they caught sight of one another, they stared for what seemed to be the longest time.

Though she was only wearing a one piece, Naruto thought it still made her look sexy. He could see every curve of her body, as well as her well-defined thighs. Just when he thought he managed to see what he needed to see and suppress his lust, he moved his head to meet her face, but he stopped half-way to her chest. "Whoa. She…she filled out." She was not anywhere near as big as Tsunade in that respect, but considering she hardly grew in height after their reunion, that was a good thing. To him, they were the perfect size: Big enough that any man would want to touch them, but not so large that it would get in the way of her kunoichi duties. "SNAP OUT OF IT!! SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME IF I DON'T!!" he thought. "You look great, Sakura-chan." He said, wanting to at least complement her. When he didn't get a response, he looked at Sakura. She appeared…spaced out.

"He's…hot." Sakura thought. Sakura had never seen Naruto bare-chested before. "Well, there was that ONE incident, but I focused on something else at the time." She reminded herself. Naruto was well-built, with well defined muscles everywhere, but they were thin enough that in hand-to-hand combat, he could move quickly. When she got her super strength, Sakura worried that strong, well-built men would no longer turn her on. But she knew she was much stronger than Naruto, yet just the sight of his body made her feel safe and aroused. Coupled with the fact that now she only came up to his shoulders, and…. "Oh God, I've got to get in the water now!!" Sakura snapped out of her own trance and said "Race you?"

"With pleasure."

The two shinobi crouched to the ground, and took off. Soon, both were racing across the water. Naruto had a slight lead, but decided to slow down and let Sakura get ahead, then at the last minute cut her off. The blonde put his plan into motion, but as soon as Sakura took the lead….Naruto fell straight into the water.

Sakura turned around and said "Naruto! What's wrong?"

Naruto, with his head in the water, replied "Nothing." Truth was, without the semi-skirt she often wore, Naruto could see her breasts weren't her only new asset. But at least the cold water calmed him down. Then, a smile appeared across Naruto's face, and he submerged himself underwater.

Sakura just smirked. "I know what you're planning. I'm not falling for that." As if on cue, a hand emerged out of the water, trying to grab her ankle. Sakura jumped out of the way, playfully screaming "Catch me if you can!" Just when she thought she was in the clear, she bumped into someone. Sakura turned around to see Naruto holding her shoulders firmly, but not enough that it would hurt. Then a bushin grabbed her ankles and swept her off her feet. "Nar-"

The two Narutos began swinging her body. "One, two, three…four!!" The two blondes threw her into the air. Granted, it wasn't high, but with her spinning out of control at the same time, it was disorienting. She hit the water, and Naruto dispelled his bushin and laughed. "Sakura! You should have seen the look on your…"

Naruto almost went silent as he saw Sakura emerge from the water with her kill face on. "NARUTO, YOU BAKA!!" Sakura punched the water, which sent a tidal wave Naruto's way.

"Oh sh-" The wave came, and there was nothing the jinchuuriki could do about it.

* * *

About 2 hours later, the two redressed and continued their date. It was close to 5 p.m., and Naruto was about to take Sakura out to a restaurant. "So, where are we going? Nothing I hope I'd be underdressed for." Sakura said.

Naruto grinned "Don't worry, it's nice, but nothing fancy."

"Speaking of which…what are YOU going to be eating?"

"Oh, ramen of course."

Sakura frowned. "I've never seen you eat anything else. You're going to eat something else when we get there. If you need me to, I'll pick it out for you."

Naruto looked horrified. "B-but, Sakura-chan…"

"No buts!! You're going to eat something with meat and vegetables, or this date is off!!" Sakura's now rarely seen inner-self screamed **"I don't care what it takes: If we have to put you on a diet of fruits and vegetables or increase your workout by a hundred, you're keeping that hot piece of ass!! Shannaro!!"**

Naruto sighed and said "Okay. I don't eat much else besides ramen, so you're going to have to choose something for me." Sakura smiled at this.

Once Naruto turned to face the road, his eyes widened. "Yuji!? Is that you!?"

Sakura turned away from Naruto, and saw the genin carrying a bag with groceries.

"Naruto-sensei!!" The small kid ran up to them. "Listen, thanks for seeing my mom!! She decided to let me be part of the team again!!"

Naruto smirked at this. "No problem. Besides, the pseudo-withdrawal form you made cancelled out her request anyway, and now even if you wanted to, you couldn't withdraw."

Yuji just stammered "Y-yeah. I knew my mom wouldn't notice, but I was counting on the Hokage to. I left those lines cracked on purpose. If I wanted to, I could have made it completley identical to the original. Just don't tell her I swapped hers with a fake. All she did was go to the Hokage and tell her that she changed her mind. She still doesn't know." Yuji then looked to Naruto's side and noticed Sakura. "Is this a date?" the genin asked.

Naruto chuckled and said "Yes, yes it is."

"Oh. Well, I won't keep you any longer. Besides, I've got to get home before the ice cream melts." Yuji waved goodbye, and let them be. Naruto turned to Sakura, and noticed she looked a bit distressed. "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura snapped out of her trance, and said "Oh, it's nothing. Listen, are we almost there? I'm starving!!" As she and Naruto made their way towards it, she thought back to their brief encounter with the genin. "There's no mistake." Sakura thought. "That's him. That's Ryu-sensei's son..."

* * *

The restaurant was situated on the hillside. It looked like a daimyo's castle, but inside the staff was serving common people. Sakura looked in awe.

"It's a new restaurant, it opened only last month." Naruto stated matter-of-factly. The couple went in, and they were seated on the balcony. Some gave the two odd looks, and they knew why. But they were not going to let something as petty as that bother them. After Sakura looked at the menu, she ordered things for both herself and Naruto. The blonde decided now would be a good time for a conversation. "So, is this to you're liking?"

"Naruto…it's beautiful out here. I can't imagine the dent this will make on your income."

"Don't worry, I checked the prices before I made reservations." Soon, both of their meals were served. Sakura had a full Sashimi dinner. Naruto got tempura, a salad, and chicken teriyaki simmering on a plate. "Wow. This actually looks pretty good."

"Try it, Naruto."

Naruto was okay with the salad. But the other two dishes were delicious. "Thank you, Sakura-chan!! I actually wouldn't mind trying things like this again!!"

"So, do you have a new favorite food now?"

"Sorry, but no." Naruto grinned.

Sakura sighed. "Well, I didn't expect to change your mind. Tell you what: Next time we go out, I'll let you have ramen in addition to anything else I recommend."

Naruto was taken aback by this. "Y-You mean you want to go out again?"

This time, Sakura looked shocked. "Why not? You're not enjoying this?"

Naruto stretched over the table and touched her hand. "Believe me, this is the best time I've had in years!"

Sakura's skin turned another shade of red when she heard that. Eventually, they got around to talking about other things: Work, upcoming movies, festivals…Sakura even admitted to Naruto she went out on a date with Lee before he came back, but it didn't start off very well and tanked once the taijutsu specialist had some sake. "I don't get him…" Sakura laughed. "He had only one drop by accident, and he would've torn the whole restaurant down had I not knocked him out." Naruto could only laugh hysterically. "Well, I can't exactly say I'm sad he didn't make a good impression on you, Sakura-chan!!" The two stopped laughing when some chanting caught their attention. They saw a family with a small child, and the waiters were singing the traditional Happy Birthday song in Fire country. The kid looked overjoyed. Both Naruto and Sakura smiled and sighed.

"I wish I had a family that would do that for me." Naruto said.

"So do I." Sakura chimed in.

Naruto chuckled. "What are you talking about? Of course you do Sakura-chan." He opened his eyes and noticed Sakura giving a sad, sideways glanced. "You do…don't you?"

Sakura slowly turned to face him. "No." she said. "Not really."

Naruto couldn't believe this. He knew she still lived with her parents, and during her childhood as well. Why wouldn't they throw her a celebration like the family they just saw? "Why not?" Naruto could tell she was slowly becoming upset, though not with him. Naruto cupped Sakura's chin. "Sakura, look at me. A long time ago we promised each other that if there was ever anything that was bothering us, we could rely on each other. I can tell whatever's bothering you needs to come out…you don't have to tell me here. I can pay the bill and we'll go somewhere private."

Sakura smiled slightly. "Yeah…sure."

* * *

After dinner, Naruto and Sakura walked to the park. Neither one said a word, but Sakura did cling to the Jinchuriki's arm.

"So…" Naruto started. "You ready to tell me what's on your mind?"

Sakura looked across the bridge they were on, right into the water. "Remember when I told you that my family never hosted a birthday party like that for me?" Naruto nodded. Sakura began. "My father was the last of his clan, which had a rare but invaluable kekkei genkai. I don't understand what it is or what it does, but all I know is that I did not inherit it."

"What's the big deal about that?"

"He considers me nothing but a waste of space because of that."

Naruto was mad at the thought that someone, much less her own father, could think of her like that. But he held it in and said "If having his ability passed on to the next generation is that important, can't he just have another child?"

Sakura nodded no. "My birth was very difficult on my mom. I had to be delivered by C-section, but at the time, the staff working at the hospital was low and a lot of proper medical equipment couldn't get through. As a result, her uterus was destroyed; she can't have anymore children."

Naruto yelled "But you're his only child!! How can he not love you!?"

A tear dropped from Sakura's face. "I don't know. I really tried to make him proud back at school. But none of it mattered."

"But surely your mom loves you!!" Naruto shouted.

Sakura said "I think so. But she never gets a chance to say so. You see, the marriage between my parents was arranged by their families. So, they had no saying whatsoever, and they're both too conservative to divorce. We pretty much have the traditional family structure: She does all the chores while my father either goes out on missions…or whatever the hell he wants. I'm helping out nowadays when I can, but I've been so busy lately…Not only that, but she has no say whatsoever in the house. Not in my upbringing, fun times…nothing. They never noticed that I was bullied, they were never there to help me get through the traumas of being a ninja…they didn't even realize I had a mild case of anorexia before I began training under Tsunade-shishou." There was silence between the two.

"Sakura…I never knew. I always thought you had the same type of family everyone else did. If I had known…" Naruto wasn't sure how to finish his trail of thought.

Sakura then brought up something else. "Looking back, I guess it's part of the reason why I fell in love with Sasuke. Neither of my parents got to choose who they would spend the rest of their lives with. I wanted to find my love before the same thing could happen to me. But I didn't know where to start, and I looked only into the most superficial qualities. And when I learned about Sasuke, I thought that if I got married to him my dad would think better of me." Sakura looked at Naruto, who seemed to be dumbstruck, and laughed half-heartily. "Pretty dumb, huh?"

Naruto scratched his head and giggled to. "No, not really. Not under those circumstances." Naruto could only sigh internally. "I knew we had more in common than she thought, but after all she's told me…"

"Naruto."

Naruto snapped back to reality and looked at Sakura, who looked at the river with a look of sadness once again. "You said I could trust you with anything that was bothering me, right?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Of course. That's what I'm here for."

Sakura turned toward him with her head bowed down. "Remember when you first got your team and you told me all about them? And I said one of them, Yuji, sounded familiar?" Naruto remembered. At first, he brushed it off as nothing…but then he realized Sakura looked unhappy when they ran into Yuji earlier today. "I knew his father Naruto."

Naruto said "Oh!! So?"

Sakura then grabbed Naruto and embraced him. "His father is dead because of me!!" Sakura sobbed, and all Naruto could do was hug her back.

* * *

Well, that's another chapter done, and you know what Sakura's secret is!! Next chapter will tell us just how this little mess occurred.


	14. The Legend of the Spider

Hello readers! Not much has been going on, just been doing school work and the most ridiculous forms of multitasking. Anyway, this chapter is going to be one huge flashback, and that means pages and pages of italics. If it detracts from the story, let me know and give me a suggestion of what kind of text to use. Also, at one point, while nothing is explicitly stated, certain things are implied that you may find disturbing. So, instead of reporting me, just let me know if you think it was too much and I'll edit it. Enjoy! But first, responding to reviews!

MrFipp: Um, if you need to find out so badly if Sakura's hair is really pink, either ask for some baby pictures or look at her eyebrows. No one I know of dyes their hair when they're not even ten years old, and certainly not their eyebrows. I'm guessing that in spite of these alternatives, you still want to look THERE, huh XD. Chunin exams will start next chapter.

Pirogeth: Thanks for the offer. I'll think about it. And when I said rush through, I meant getting a chapter online without properly spellchecking and the like. I've got the NaruSaku planned out.

Nejizwifey: Sakura stated she doesn't have the kekkei genkai…in fact, I didn't even plan what it was going to be…

HawkofNavarre: I thought the 1st chapter made it clear this was M rated. Naruto and Sakura lusting at each other is in my mind PG-13, unless I had to describe specifics (nipples!) I'm glad you thought that part was well planned.

Bloodshadows: I must use cliffy's! The readers are guaranteed to come back for more! If I don't there's not telling when…or if they ever come back to read more!

Disclaimer: Insert one that's actually funny, so long as it claims I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura continued crying on Naruto's chest. Naruto did the best he could to soothe her, but to no avail. After fifteen minutes, Sakura finally stopped. She was still sniffling, but it looked like she was under control at least.

"Sakura, what do you mean you're responsible for Yuji loosing his dad?"

"We were on a mission together…"

"And you felt too weak to save him?"

"It's more than that…I…I don't know how to tell you!"

Naruto stroked both of Sakura's cheeks. "Try. Please, I know whatever it was that happened, you need to get it off your chest now."

"I don't know, Naruto. I'm scared that you won't even look at me!"

Naruto pulled her in for a hug. "I just know it's not that bad." Naruto picked her up bridal style and tree hopped further into the park, where Naruto laid the both of them down. "Sakura, please tell me what happened between you and Yuji's dad. I admit, I don't know what I'll hear. But you're one of the most important people in the world to me; I'm not going to just leave you like that."

Sakura looked skeptical, but after a few seconds she said "O-okay Naruto. But don't feel obligated to stay if you really do feel disgusted with me after I tell you." And thus, Sakura told Naruto everything about her experience with the Spider of Konoha...

* * *

_Sakura had just became a chunin a week ago. She officially worked at the hospital now, and she was no longer troubled by those unsatisfactory D-rank missions. Today, she made her way to the tower for her first B-ranked mission. Of course, she was going to go with Kakashi…but she missed her other teammates. The oddest thing now…she couldn't decide who she missed more. There was Sasuke, the cute, dark avenger. But his parting words tore a wound that for she wasn't sure would heal. _

"_**After all this time…you're still annoying." **_

_Sakura understood that he was upset about his clan…but did he really have to take it out on her like that? She was only trying to help. "Looking back," she thought, "going with him would have been a terrible mistake. Even if he did take me, Orochimaru would have killed me on the spot. If not…I don't want to know what I would've become." Then her thoughts turned to Naruto. "I knew he had a crush on me…but I had no idea he cared that much about me, even though I treated him like garbage." She looked up to the Hokage tower. "I've come all this way. I will never be useless again! I will help Naruto, and I will bring Sasuke-kun back!" She walked up the stairs, and bowed to her master, who was grumbling over some paperwork. "Tsunade-shishou! I'm ready for the mission!" _

_Tsunade stretched for a minute. "Right. Listen, Sakura: Kakashi just sent Pakkun in, and he seems to have a bad flu. I'll be checking up on him later today, but you'll be going with a different jonin." _

"_Who?" _

_The door opened again, and someone said "Sorry I'm late. But if you're used to Kakashi, I suppose my timing shouldn't bother you that much." _

_Tsunade grinned "On the contrary, you're right on time." _

_Sakura looked to the door. Their stood a very tall man with brown hair. He was built very well, and had the standard jonin attire on. What really caught her attention was the fact that he was wearing a cape, probably one of the worst possible hazards a ninja could put on himself, even if it didn't go to far past his shoulders. _

"_So, this is your famous new apprentice?" the man asked. _

_Sakura snapped to attention. "Haruno Sakura, sir!" She bowed quickly. _

_The man just smirked and replied "Miyamoto Ryu. It'll be a pleasure working with you." Ryu looked at Tsunade, who nodded. "All right." The man said. "It seems the daimyo and his son is ready to be escorted. Are you ready to go?" _

"_Y-yes." Sakura replied. _

"_I'll see you there." The man smiled. _

_He turned around, and on his black cape, Sakura noticed the drawing of a white spider. _

"_That man is known as the Spider of Konoha." Tsunade said. "He's a great ninja, almost on par with Kakashi." _

_Sakura wondered. "How come I never heard of him before?" Sakura asked. _

"_Probably for the same reasons you've never heard of the Copy Ninja OR the Green Beast of Konoha…" _

_Sakura blushed a little bit. No one else in her generation knew what the elder ninja, minus their own parents, were famous for. They were too busy with homework and playing games. _

"_Well, what are you waiting for?" a shout sounded outside. Sakura eeped and ran outside._

* * *

_Ryu seemed to be fastening gauntlets to his wrists. However, there were no guards on his palms or the back of his hands. Just what seemed to be a button on each palm. Sakura looked at them in wonder. "Um, excuse me, Ryu-sensei…" _

"_Yes?" _

"_What are those?" _

_The big ninja smiled. "Hopefully, you won't have to find out. But I need to know what skills you've got." _

_Sakura replied "Well, I've got Tsunade-shishou's strength, and I can heal most anything." _

"_Good, good. By any chance can you summon slugs?" _

"_Well…I can summon tiny ones for spying, but I don't have enough chakra to summon combat slugs." _

"_Okay. Any other jutsus you got that I should be aware of?" _

_Sakura felt embarrassed. It was as if this man expected her to be an Uchiha. "N-No sir." _

"_All right then." Ryu noticed her annoyed look. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to belittle you. Your strength and medical jutsu are probably all we need for this mission." _

_Sakura then asked "Ryu-sensei, if I may ask, what your special skills are?" _

_Ryu stopped for a minute and held his chin as if in deep thought. "Hmm…I'm not telling you." The man smiled, making a peace sign. _

_Sakura tried to keep her calm. "But Ryu-sensei! I probably have to know too!" _

_To this, Ryu chuckled. "Well, do you know ALL of Kakashi's jutsus?" Sakura stood silent. "Didn't think so." The jonin said. "Don't worry; I just need to know your skills, and when the time comes, you'll see some of mine." _

_The two ninjas finally reached the gates, where a carriage was waiting for them. Then a man and a young child came out. The man wore a typical daimyo hat, was skinny and had a mustache that looked more like two claws pointing in opposite directions. The boy was small, had black hair, and traditional clothes on. Quite plain looking, really. "And who might you be?" The daimyo asked in an arrogant, snobbish tone. Sakura struggled to keep herself from pounding the man. Fortunately, Ryu answered for her. _

"_I am Miyamoto Ryu, Jonin of the leaf. This is Haruno Sakura, Chunin of the leaf." Sakura bowed, not facing them so they could not see her grumbling under her breath. _

"_Only two, huh? I knew Konoha had such cheap, affordable ninjas, but only two? My, you must be going through hard times, especially if you have to rely on a woman for help!" The man laughed, only proving to irritate the new chunin even more. _

_Before Sakura could get up and pound the daimyo, she noticed Ryu was gone. She looked around, and saw him sticking his head in the carriage. _

"_My, this sure looks like a cozy ride. Mind if I-"_

_He was cut off when two of the daimyo's soldiers pressed their spears against his throat. "You will step away from Setsuna-samma's personal carriage!" One shouted. _

_Ryu, despite his predicament, smiled, holding up his hands. "Hey, hey. Take it easy." _

"_Anyway," the Daimyo said "you should be thankful I'm willing to pay full price for your services. Now, let's get going!" _

_The daimyo stepped inside, took a seat…and what sounded like an enormous fart erupted from the carriage. The enraged daimyo opened the door and screamed "YOU PUT A WHOOPE-CUSHIN ON MY SEAT, DIDN"T YOU?" _

_The jonin held his nose and replied "To my knowledge, whoope-cushins don't smell, especially not as bad as that." _

_That was certainly true…Sakura worried she would have passed out had she not covered her nose. _

_Ryu, in his muffled voice said "Well, we can either stand here and wait for this to clear out, or we can get moving and air out your carriage. We await your orders, sir."_

* * *

_Things got going smoothly. The smell eventually cleared up, and so far no one was in any danger. Ryu revealed to Sakura that he put a chemical bomb in the cargo; the plastic material surrounding it disintegrated once it went off. Sakura chuckled. "You know, you remind me of someone I know." _

"_You mean the Uzumaki kid?" Sakura looked a bit shocked. "That kid was notorious for pulling all of these pranks back in the day. I was his favorite target." _

_Sakura looked confused. "Why?" _

"_Because I was the one he couldn't get. The first time he tried get me, he launched maple syrup at me through the window, and I countered it with a suiton jutsu. There were several other incidents, but I forgot most of them. The last one, he transformed into a naked woman, calling it the 'sexy' jutsu. I laughed, telling him that it generally doesn't work on married men, and I didn't like blondes that much." Ryu placed his hands behind his back and looked to the sky. "That all stopped when he graduated. I kinda miss him. It was always amusing to see him try and get me. Besides, I felt sorry for him, no family and all. But I was impressed when he defeated Neji, and I hear he's studying under Jiraya-samma now. I'm glad he's becoming the ninja he always wanted to be." Ryu sighed. "Too bad my wife doesn't see it that way." Ryu suddenly whispered a curse. "I've said too much." _

_Sakura was about to say something when the heard a bush crumple. The samurai heard it too, and everyone was on guard. _

_Ryu was relieved internally though. "If this is a major battle, she'll forget I said anything."_

_After a tense minute, a rabbit ran from the bushes. Sakura put her kunai down, and whispered "Phew." _

"_Sakura! Look out!" Ryu yelled. _

_Sakura looked up to see two ninja who were about to pounce upon her. There was no time to react…but before they could do anything, they collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud. Sakura could see two wires imbedded in their chests. The wires retracted, with blood flowing. Sakura followed the wires back to Ryu's wrists. _

"_Spider gauntlets." He said. He turned his head, and aimed his wrist to his left. He tapped the button on his palm, and another wire shot out, impaling another ninja in the eye. "Protect the daimyo, Sakura!" Ryu yelled. _

_Sakura leapt onto the carriage, throwing off any attackers she could. One of them was sent skyward with a powerful round kick. Sakura was feeling proud of herself; back then, she could not even dream of holding off these attackers. She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt a slash across her back. Sakura stumbled over, nearly falling off the carriage. The rouge ninja made another leap. Sakura was in no position to block a stab to the heart, and if she fell, she would be crushed by the carriage. But that all changed when Ryu stood in front of her and grabbed her attacker's elbow, redirecting the attack upward. He crushed the joint, and just as quickly pulled him in and elbowed him in the ribs, sending him off of the carriage and forming a loud crash on impact. Sakura looked at the crater in wonder. "I thought Tsunade-shishou was the only one with super strength." _

"_I hope you liked my style of Taijutsu: Eight extreme fists." Ryu's hand reached out to Sakura, and pulled her towards him. A kunai came just as she was half-way to him, right where she had been. _

"_How did he know? His back was turned!"_

"_My my, I guess I can have some fun after all!" a sinister voice yelled._

_Ryu landed onto the ground and stared at the man. He had blue hair, pale skin, eyes that were pure red, and his grin had serrated teeth. He had on samurai armor with a huge gap in his chest, and spiked gauntlets as well. But his most distinguishing feature was his sword. It was a katana that must have been 3 meters long! "I take it you're one of the seven swordsmen of the mist, no?" Ryu asked. _

"_That's right! I'm Gin Barracuda, and I was hired to kill everyone here!" _

_Ryu smirked. "Then whoever your boss is needs to fire you, because it's not going to happen." _

_Gin screamed "We'll see about that!" The swordsman reared up his sword, but Ryu jumped over him and wrapped his wires around the fish-man's neck. He pulled him into the forest. _

"_I know if you swung that thing over there, you certainly would kill the daimyo. If I was confident that you could simply scare him to the point where he sounded like an old lady, I'd let you, but you're obviously too good with that sword. So, I'm going to have to take it from you." _

_Gin smiled and swung with abandon. Ryu ducked. _

"_He may think the path is obvious." Gin thought. "But!..." _

_The blade turned and curved towards Ryu, but the Konoha ninja dodged it! _

"_What?" Gin screamed internally. "How about this!" The blade curved in all directions, cutting the trees down, but not once did it hit Ryu. Gin ran forward and punched Ryu right in the face. Ryu almost when flying, but then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Suddenly, Gin felt himself on the receiving end of a blood choke. Ryu forced the fish man down, trying to cut his blood flow. Gin bit down on his arm, and Ryu let go, screaming in pain. Gin made hand signs. "Suiton! Geyser Kurassha no Jutsu!" Geysers erupted, surrounding Ryu on all sides, and they closed in on him. The man was shot up into the air, and as he fell, the swordsman pointed his blade towards his opponent's stomach. Ryu, however, launched another wire and pulled him self to the side. However, it was not quick enough; the blade caught his kidney. Gin slammed him to the ground, and retracted his blade. From there, Silver proceeded to kick his fallen foe. After three kicks, he was sent flying. Gin laughed madly. "My my, this was fun. However, I've got a job to do, so this is game over for you!" Gin held his sword straight to the sky, and charged. Just when he was almost there, he ran into something. He couldn't move, and he soon got so tangled up to the point where he dropped his blade. _

_Ryu hobbled up. "Spiders are fascinating creatures. Many of the prey they eat are so much bigger than them, that if they fought them head on, they would loose. But that's where webs come in; it immobilizes them. And then the spider proceeds to make it's meal." Ryu lit a match. "However, I'm more of a beef person, and if I must eat fish, I prefer salmon. So, I'm just going to have to get rid of you here and now." Ryu threw it into the wires, and Gin was overcome by flames. Even if the flames themselves didn't kill him, the wires around his neck would inhibit his oxygen intake, which was deadly if one was right in the middle of a fire. After about 3 minutes, Ryu spat a wave of water from his mouth, extinguishing everything. "There. No forest fire, and no swordsman." Ryu hobbled his way down to the carriage._

* * *

_Sakura panted. Thanks to that swordsman, the trees came rolling down the hill. Sakura had to grab one of the trunks and swing it like a baseball bat so that no one in the daimyo's group got hurt. Just then, Ryu slid down. Sakura immediately noticed the wound on his side, and ran to treat it. Ryu, however, held his hand up, gesturing to her "not now." _

"_It's too quiet." Ryu thought. He bit his thumb, and made the hand signals for a summoning jutsu. When he placed his hand on the ground, a giant spider appeared. Sakura did her best not to freak out; she was quite creped out by spiders, and seeing one as big as a tiger did not help. The thing scurried around, as if it was looking for something. Then it turned around towards Sakura's direction and jumped. _

"_AAAIIIIEEEE!" Sakura screamed, covering herself. However, nothing pounced on her; the arachnid jumped into a tree, and a second later a branch came down with a ninja on it. The spider bit the man, and wrapped him in a cocoon, with only the head sticking out. Sakura nearly jumped when she felt Ryu tap her shoulder. _

"_Wait here." He said. He walked right over to the ninja and looked at his headband. "How odd. You're a missing nin from the grass village. I spotted others with swamp, gorge, even ash in your group. Not to mention a mist swordsman Why would so many ninja from completely different villages be working together? And no, I don't want to hear anything about killing the daimyo; I was able to see that's what you were trying quite clearly." _

"_Hah! Shinobi are bound to oaths of silence. You're wasting your time! Besides…I'd rather die than tell you anything!" _

"_Um…yeah. That's going to happen in about a week. The venom Shippo pumped into you not only paralyzes you, but it also slowly disintegrates your organs, hardens your arteries, and turns your bones into mush. Oh, and you'll have an erection for about three days. Don't ask me how that works, just FYI, you will have an erection for three days." _

_The ninja had a frightful look on his face. After a moment, he sputtered "If I tell you…will you give me the antivenin?" _

"_I'll give you the antivenin, but you won't be going free. You can face judgment by the Hokage or in the underworld. It's your choice." _

_The ninja grumbled. "Very well. We weren't told why, but an odd-looking man ordered us to simply attack the daimyo inside. He was hunched over almost as if he was on all fours, and seemed to have a metallic tail coming out of his back. His hair was in braids, and he has a mask over his mouth." _

"_You better have a name to go with that." Ryu ordered. _

_The ninja said "Sasori. I'm sure that was his name. That's all I know, so give me the damn antidote!" _

_Ryu sighed. Shippo revealed a stinger from his opithosoma (abdomen for spiders), and unraveled the man. The stinger was dripping with fluid, and needless to say, the grass nin looked deathly afraid. "The venom he produces can have potentially permanent damage, even if we do give you the antidote the normal way. So, to keep the damage minimal and reverse any effects it may have, we have to deliver it in the most efficient way possible. All right Shippo; pull down his pants."_

* * *

_At the campfire, Sakura was trying to shake off a traumatic experience she never thought she would witness. _

"_Sorry about that, Sakura" Ryu laughed. "That was honestly the best way to give him the antivenin. It's not like we were trying out material to knock Icha Icha Paradise off the shelves." Ryu was able to laugh just fine, as despite Sakura's shock, she managed to pull herself together and heal his torn side. _

"_I would hope not." Sakura grumbled. "Spider bestiality is not my thing." _

_Ryu had to laugh some more. "My wife had the same reaction when she first saw that. Just think of it as the equivalent of a rectal thermometer in the bug world." _

"_Not helping!" _

_Ryu sighed. _

"_Ryu-sensei." Sakura said. "I've been thinking about the battle earlier, and I just can't shake off two things." _

"_Oh?" _

"_When you got that attacker off of me, you used strength I've seen only in Tsunade-shishou. Then, you got me out of the way from a kunai that neither of us could see, and it was too fast to make a noise until it passed us. How was that possible?" _

_Ryu took a bite of his fruit, then answered. "Ah. Good questions. Well, for the first one, you have to understand that back when Tsunade-samma was a kid, she didn't have super strength. However, several clans had theories about chakra control, and Tsunade-shishou combined them all to develop her super strength. My father actually helped her out some. He used to attract crowds by focusing his chakra and breaking up to 30 slabs of marble. He taught Tsunade-samma how to do it, and then she modified it so it would be practical in battle. You should have seen our faces when we saw a fifteen year old girl smash one boulder after another! Anyway, I pretty much took those same theories and got my own unique strength, although, I'm not quite as strong as either one of you are. The two of you started as teens, and it's something that will stick with you for life. Me, I didn't start until I was thirty, and I'm forty-five now. My chakra control simply isn't quite that good nowadays. " _

_Sakura looked at him in wonder. Even if he couldn't become as strong as either one of them, it was still amazing that he could learn the technique all by himself. _

"_As for how I saw that Kunai coming. Well…I didn't . I just felt it. Time seemed to slow down when it approached, and some feeling in the back of my head told me to move the way I did. That wasn't the first time it happened. I've actually had that ability since puberty, but I didn't notice it until some friends of mine noticed that I passed my dodging exercises one-hundred percent. Tsunade checked on me before she left, and though she didn't have conclusive evidence, she suspects I may have a new kekkei genkai." _

_Sakura was starting to feel a bit depressed. "The Uchiha, the Hyugga, techniques passed down from generation to generation…" _

"_Are you mad, Sakura?" _

_Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts. "N-no! I just…well, my father has a Kekkei Genkai, and I didn't inherit it." _

"_And Shiroarashi is making a big deal out of that?" _

_Sakura's eyes blinked. "You know my father?" _

"_I worked with him a couple of times. I don't mean to be rude, but we didn't get along…he was always so full of himself." Ryu got up and bowed. "Forgive me, Sakura. I didn't mean to speak ill of your father in front of you." _

_Sakura replied "It's okay. My dad…well, he has his flaws." _

_Ryu sat down. "More than flawed. He's selfish, he's stuck in his ways… and when he's not around you and your mother…well, I saw him getting drunk at a bar, and what he said about the two of you was not pretty" Ryu then looked right at Sakura. "Sakura, what you have to understand is that it's not what's in your blood that makes you a great shinobi; it's your heart. I know how cliché that sounds, but I know it works. I've seen too many ninjas rely on their family history to make it, and they have all failed. On the other side of the coin, there are not enough who simply believe in themselves, no matter what their potential." _

_Sakura just looked at the fire. "I guess Naruto would be a shining example of one who believes in himself. He was my teammate. When we first became a team, I thought he was the biggest loser ever. The truth was, I wasn't much better than him. In fact, I was worse in many ways; I didn't have the physical endurance he and Sasuke-kun did. But he didn't let his shortcomings get the best of him ever. He began to improve so much overtime, and I just fell farther and farther behind that soon I really was useless, even though he never told me that. I'm lucky to have become Tsunade-shishou's apprentice, but every time I see her work, I feel like I haven't come far enough." _

_Ryu simply replied "Keep trying, you're getting there. Everyone your age feels that they are underperforming, but the fact is they all have much to learn, and learn it they will. I went through it, you're going through it, and my son will go through it." _

_For some reason, Sakura had to ask him about his son. "You have a son?" _

"_Oh yes. His name is Yuji, and he'll be turning 9 next month." _

"_I'd imagine he's very good, especially with someone like you to teach him." _

_Ryu smiled. "You wanna know the truth?" _

_Sakura nodded. _

"_He's having a lot of trouble at the academy. He's been bullied so much, and he's really shy. On top of it all, he has such a hard time learning new jutsus. He's good at some things; he's taken to wires quite nicely, and not even I had such great chakra control when I was his age. However, he's got so many bad habits in his taijutsu, and he thinks about screwing up too much. But he tries so hard. I don't know when, but someday, I know he'll make it. " Ryu then looked at Sakura. "I believe that more than ever now that I've met you. Tsunade told me how you started; honestly, after looking at your record, I could tell that most genin were already way ahead of you back then. But look at you now! You're a medic-nin, and you've got abilities that would drive most ninja away. No matter what your father says, you should feel proud of yourself." _

_Sakura blushed for a minute. Sure, Tsunade and Kakashi had congratulated her on her progress, and she got praise from her friends as well (even Ino), but to hear it from another jonin was quite another thing. "Thank you, Ryu-sensei."_

* * *

_The next day passed, and this time there were no attacks so far. That was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good since no one, including the two ninja assigned, were in danger. However, it was bad because everyone was bored as hell. _

_So, the daimyo decided to tell stories of his "adventurous" youth, while he sat at the front of the carriage with his son. "And there I was! The giant looked at me hungrily, swinging its spiked club. I had nothing but my sword, so I…" _

_Sakura wanted to stab herself with a kunai right there and then. "I really wish Naruto was here. It might have gotten us in trouble, but at least he would call this guy for the pompous ass that he is." Just then, Sakura felt something on her shoulder. She saw a small spider, with a piece of web on its Opithosoma. "It must have used it to glide to me." After seeing Shippo, the normal size spiders didn't freak her out anymore. She noticed it seemed to have a piece of paper on its back, rolled up. She took it, and read. Obviously by Ryu, it said _

"_By giant, he's referring to his mommy." _

_Sakura had to snicker at this. The spider left and came back with another note. _

"_Translation: He ran off the cliff." _

"_He cut his foot, cried, and sucked his thumb." _

"_By great cost, he's talking about the fact his own penis ran away from him." _

_Sakura did all in her power to keep herself from cracking up. Though she kept herself from rolling over, she still had to haunch over and laugh. _

"_WHAT? WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" The Daimyo demanded. _

_Ryu realized he may have gone too far, and reached for a kunai. He threw it into a tree, but it was the hilt that hit the bark. It bounced off, and landed near the carriage. The daimyo covered his face and screamed. "We're under attack!" Ryu shouted. "We must get the daimyo to his castle, ASAFP!" _

_The samurai readied their weapons. "We will stand and fight!" _

_Ryu shouted "Negative! I sense too many! We have got to get this baby moving now!" Ryu slapped one of the horse's flank, and it reared up. The rest followed, and the carriage took off in a cloud of dust, leaving everyone behind. Ryu could only scratch his head as he heard a faint "Help me!". He turned back to the samurai, and chuckled "And THAT is why we ninja don't use horses." _

_One of the samurai said "What about the attacking ninjas?" _

_Ryu's eyes widened, and said "Oh, right! Run!" He grabbed Sakura by the wrist, and took off._

* * *

"_Because of you, I got carriage sick!" The daimyo shouted. _

_Ryu put his hands up in a gesture to calm the man down. "A kunai almost hit you, and I felt that we should get you out of there anyway we could. For that purpose, the horses were much faster." _

_Sakura was just in shock about how close this jonin would come to getting fired on a mission. But she could tell he's done stuff like that before, so he must have known what he was doing. _

"_Besides, we're finally at your castle, so we won't have to go through that again." Ryu said. _

_The daimyo growled. "Well, I requested the two of you to guard the mansion for two days before you head back, so you two better get your act together! My advisors told me that those ninja could still be after me!" _

_Sakura repressed a groan. "Oh man…I don't think I can take anymore of this." She was brought out of her thoughts when someone tapped her thigh. Normally, she would've instinctively let out a ferocious round kick, but she was behind all of the men. She looked down, and saw the daimyo's son, holding a couple of flowers. _

"_Umm…thank you very protecting me and daddy very much." The kid bowed, pushing the make-shift bouquet to her as far as he could. _

_Sakura smiled slightly. While this kid may have been driven by some crush, he was still much more polite than his father. She took the flowers, and patted the kid on the head. "You're welcome." She said sweetly. _

"_Sakura!" Ryu shouted. "Let's get inside. I hope you packed soldier pills with extra caffeine, because we're going need them!" _

_Sakura jogged inside, feeling a little bit better about doing this._

* * *

_Later that night, the daimyo made his way through the castle. None of his men questioned where he went; that was his business. And if those two Konoha ninja found out, it would be the death of him. He finally arrived at the far end of the castle, and opened a door. _

"_Do you have any subjects for me?" _

"_Yes, yes of course! I kept my end of the bargain. Two konoha ninjas, at your disposal! Now for my reward!" _

_A bag of coins was dropped right in front of the daimyo. "Having a few more human puppets would be nice. For your sake, I hoped you picked good ones." The hunched man made his way forward._

* * *

_Sakura stood outside, her attention alert to anything. Nothing happened so far, and she had pretty much the same thoughts as before. Nothing bad happening was good for the body, bad for the mind. It was almost midnight too. They were expected to guard the courtyard as well as the child all night. When morning came, one would be with the daimyo, so the other could slept for half the day._

"_Sakura!" Ryu's voice called. "It's your turn to stand guard in the kid's room!" _

"_Right." Sakura said. She made her way over there, passing by Ryu, and stood her ground. It wasn't a good idea for a guard's thoughts to wander, she couldn't help it. "The kid is so much different from his father. For his sake, I hope he doesn't grow up to become anything like him." Suddenly, she heard a noise. Sakura moved and was grazed by something sharp. Had she not moved, it would have probably hit her heart. Sakura readied her guard and attempted to call for help, but her jaw went slack. "I…can't…move." She thought. She collapsed, and everything went black._

* * *

_Ryu lit up a cigarette and watched outside. For the most part, he had quit smoking when he found out his wife was pregnant. He still did it during guard missions, but not very often. Fighting the addiction at home was bad enough, and it could jeopardize his concentration here. So far he was doing okay…and at that moment, he was glad that it did not cloud his senses. Everything slowed down, and the tingling was felt. Ryu cart wheeled to his right, dodging several needles. _

"_My my…" a voice said. "I probably need to put more silencers around the gears." _

_Ryu looked to the roof, to see an odd looking man. He then realized this was the man that one ninja was talking about. "You must be Sasori!" _

"_I'm honored that you know my name, but I'd prefer it if you would add 'of the Red Sands' to it." _

_Ryu spat his cigarette and crushed it. "Sorry; but I don't give a damn about formalities when it comes to enemies. Anyways, I suppose you may want to tell me why you're trying to kill the daimyo? Granted, he is a bitch, but protecting him is part of my job unfortunately for the both us." _

_Sasori could only laugh. "He was doing a better job than I thought! He didn't speak of me at all!" _

_Ryu gave him the "Huh?" look, but his eyes widened in realization. "You were working for the daimyo." _

"_It's the other way around, he was working for me!" Sasori jumped down and said "I'll tell you before you die, which I'm sorry to say will have to wait once I get my hands on you: I'm a puppet master. And there are two types of puppets I make: Ones from scratch, and others from humans. The former I do nothing more than control with my chakra, but with humans, I can control weapons that produce their own chakra. Your techniques will be mine!" _

"_Sorry, but I'm not for sale." Ryu replied. "Besides, did I ever tell you of a nightmare I had that involved puppets. It was the scariest-" Ryu was interrupted when Sasori's mouth opened again, launching the needles. Ryu dodged everyone of them, and closed in on the puppet master. He punched the S-class criminal, but noticed a saw coming from the side. He flipped over, and used his spider gauntlet to propel him away from the tail. _

"_Not bad." Sasori commented. "You managed to put a dent in my armor; most kunai can't even scratch it. I'm going to enjoy making you my new weapon!" _

_Out of nowhere, two puppets closed in on the leaf jonin, who simply jumped and launched the wires from his gauntlets. Though they impaled the heads, daggers came out of the puppets chest. Ryu spun around quickly and dodged each one. _

"_How? Only an experienced puppet master could hope to dodge all of my traps!" _

_Ryu landed and smirked. "What can I say? I've just got great instincts." _

_Sasori launched mechanical spiders from his back, and Ryu charged forward. He dodged everyone of the monstrosities, and leapt onto the base of Sasori's tail. He attempted to pull it off, and a crack was heard. Before any more damage could be done, the Spider ninja was thrown off. "I hate waiting, and I just know you're dying to know what I have in store for you!" Sasori launched the tip of his tail towards Ryu, who at the moment was incapacitated. But suddenly, it jammed. "What the?" Sasori screamed. _

_Ryu got up, and smirked yet again. "I wasn't really trying to pull your tail ALL the way off; once the cracks formed, I threw some of my spiders in there. They used their webs to clog your gears, and now you're just a sitting duck!" Ryu got up and walked over to the puppet. "Okay, it's time to take your shell off!" Though he wasn't as strong as Tsunade, after some effort the canopy of the puppet came flying off. Ryu looked inside…and saw nothing but a whole blanket full of explosive notes. "I'm not going to have time to say 'Oh-" _

_They went off, and the section of the castle they were near was destroyed. As the dust cleared, a spider the size of a man held a shield made of webs, with Ryu right behind him. Ryu patted the spider's opithosoma. "Thanks, Kasumi." The summon was dispelled, and Ryu got up to brush himself off. Then something occurred to him: Where was Sakura?_

* * *

_Ryu ran towards the kid's room. The door was open, and the kid was on the floor, unconscious. There was no sign of Sakura. "First thing's first." Ryu thought. He checked the kids pulse and pupils; though he wasn't an official medical ninja, he was good at most first aid stuff. "Poison." He thought. It would take too long to make an antidote using Tsunade's method, which he did not know anyway. Fortunately, he had another way. Tiny spiders came down from his arms and onto the boy. They crawled all over, biting the child. What was happening was only known to Ryu: The spiders were taking a sample of the boy's blood, and analyzing the poison in their bodies. Eventually, they would be able to make an antidote, and they would pump it into the boy's system. It took them twenty minutes, too long for Ryu's liking, but so long as the boy didn't die, it would be alright. _

_After they were finished, the boy shot up with fear. "Sakura-san!" the boy shouted. _

_Ryu steadied the boy. "What happened?" he asked. _

_The boy said "I heard Sakura-san fall to the floor, and I ran outside to see what was wrong. A strange man was right there! I blocked his way, and he told me to move! I refused, and I jumped on to him. But…he…he…" _

_The boy started to sob, and Ryu pulled him in close. "I know how it feels to fail to protect someone you care about." The tall man whispered. Ryu looked the child in the eye. "Listen kiddo, you're going to hate what I'm about to tell you…but I know you're father sold us out." To Ryu's surprise, he gave a look as if he wasn't surprised. _

"_He always does that." The boy said. "He always double-crosses everyone he's ever met." _

_Ryu sighed. "You're a good boy, even though your father…Listen, I don't have time. I have to find out where Sakura is. And for that, I need to find your father."_

* * *

_The daimyo tucked the gold into his safe. "Well, at least that whole ordeal is over with." He sighed. Suddenly, a kunai with an explosive tag hit the safe, and went off. The daimyo was blown away, and skidded across the floor. _

"_On the contrary, it has only just begun." A voice said. The daimyo's vision cleared, and he saw two feet. He looked up, and stared right into the face of Ryu. Ryu lifted the daimyo and threw him into the debris that was once his safe. "I knew you were scum, but just when I thought you couldn't get any lower, someone gives you a jackhammer." Ryu said coldly. The daimyo tried to get away, but he couldn't ignore the pain in his back, and as a result barely managed to crawl. A wire shot out, wrapped around his neck, and pulled him towards his assailant. "I'd love to use you as my punching bag all day, but something important is at stake: Where's the girl?" _

"_Huh?" The daimyo asked. _

_Ryu slammed the coward into the wall, causing him to scream. "I said where's the girl? Your own son nearly died trying to protect her!" _

"_Y-you mean, Sasori…" _

_Ryu slammed him into the wall again. "Where the fuck is she?! I won't kill you, but I promise I'll make you wish I did!" _

_The daimyo mumbled something incoherently. _

_A spider than crawled from Ryu's sleeve. "This spider here is a beauty. It's called the worm spider. It crawls into the mouth of a creature larger than itself, and goes right down the throat. It's impervious to stomach acid, and can survive on little oxygen. It bites into the stomach, and you will be paralyzed for the rest of your life. That's all… of course, that is assuming someone removes it from your body. Otherwise, it will continue to eat your organs until it reaches your heart. And you will feel it until that day." The spider started to make it's way towards the daimyo's mouth. "You don't have much time. And I can always rush towards Konoha with your body and have someone of the Yamanaka clan perform their mind transfer techniques on you to find out." _

_Just when the arachnid's legs reached his mouth, the daimyo sputtered "All right, all right! I'll talk! I'll talk! A long time ago, that puppet freak killed my samurai and ordered me to come with him to his base. He showed me what he planned, gave me an advance payment, and ordered me to hire whatever ninja I could! The base is not far from here; at the mountain where the moon is right now! There's a cave at the top, with many traps! He's been keeping an eye on me from there!" _

_Ryu threw the daimyo away and made his way outside. Just when he reached the door, the daimyo grabbed a katana and charged. Ryu turned around with a kunai, prepared to face him. But what happened next he wasn't prepared for. The daimyo was stabbed in the back by a spear. "A samurai who had a change of heart?" Ryu thought. No. When the daimyo slumped over, it was his own son who held the spear. _

_The kid's eyes watered, and he couldn't contain his tears. "I-I'm sorry daddy! I couldn't…I couldn't let you!" The boy cried uncontrollably. _

_Though Ryu should've gotten going by now, he couldn't leave the boy alone. Even though the man deserved it, no child should have been forced to do that, for better or worse. Ryu hugged the child. "Why'd you do that?" Ryu asked. _

"_He always does bad things! Slave trade, assassinations…all he cares about is money! He never cared about me beyond other than being his heir, and I haven't seen mommy for a whole year now!" _

_Ryu hugged him closer. "I'm sorry you had to do that. You made a very hard choice today, one you shouldn't have had to, but you did the right thing. Listen, kid. What's your name?" _

"_Jin." _

"_Jin, after this is done, I'm going to take you back to your mother, all right? I need you to stay here for now, and I promise it will be all better." With that, Ryu looked up to the mountain, and took off._

* * *

_Sasori laid Sakura down on a table. She was still unconscious. "Hmph. Her chakra is nothing spectacular. But, any human puppet is still better than a normal one. I better hurry. I know that daimyo is going to spill the beans any moment now." Sasori's tail began to tear a hole in Sakura's shirt, intending to dissect her was he was finished removing them. _

_It passed the belly button, and was about to make its way up, when the missing nin felt a kunai pressed against his head. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that; besides, I've got a problem with guys who take advantage of women like that." _

_Sasori chuckled. "Well, I didn't have THAT in mind; her clothes were in the way that's all. On another note, you've impressed me once again.! You dodged every single one of my traps! Just what are you?" _

_Sasori's tail went right for Ryu's heart, but the Spider ninja caught it. "I think you said something earlier about hating to keep people waiting? I'm already getting fed up with you!" Ryu slammed his fists into Sasori's artificial head, landing good dents but failing to shatter it. Ryu continued his onslaught, but then froze with pain. He coughed up blood, and felt himself going numb. He looked down his stomach, and saw a katana sticking right through his chest. He looked behind him, and saw a puppet was the one who impaled him. _

_Sasori turned to face him, his face looking like a crushed soda can. "I knew you would come; the way you dodged my attacks from before, I knew that empty shell wouldn't get you. And I knew you would beat the truth out of the daimyo. So, I just waited for you to come to me, just like any great predator does. I hated doing that, but it proved to be worth it." _

_Ryu struggled to lift his face up. "There…is just…one thing wrong with your plan." _

"_Oh?" _

"_If I dodged every trap thus far…how come not this one?" The ninja disappeared. _

"_A bushin!" Sasori turned to the table where Sakura lay, and saw giant spider legs wrapping themselves around her. The spider brought the whole table beneath the floor. Sasori ran towards the hole, and when he looked down, his prey was out of sight. "Hmph. I'll see to it you won't get away." Sasori growled._

* * *

_The mole spider Ryu summoned dug it's way through until it reached a tunnel. Now, they could run instead of dig. "I've got to get Sakura away from here! There's no telling how long it takes the poison to kill someone!" He ordered his spider to wrap up Sakura from head to toe, and looked around. "Hmm…it's definitely man made. That would mean…" Ryu's eyes widened as he realized the truth. However, it was too late. The shutters, carefully disguised as being part of the walls of the cave, opened, and poisonous needles shot out._

* * *

_Sakura opened her eyes. Her vision was either blurred, or she went blind. No, she was not blind; she was starting to see the moon. Her body shot with pain, but it subsided. She was still sore…and itchy. _

"_Sakura…" _

_Sakura got up. "R-Ryu…What happened?" Her vision completely focused by then, and she covered her mouth as she gasped. Ryu looked terribly pale, and he was shaking all over. _

"_You were poisoned." He said, barely above a whisper. "My spiders have managed to make an antidote for you. However, in getting you out of there, I had to go through all of these traps. You were wrapped up in a cocoon, so you're safe. But the ones I got hit with seem to carry a different poison. They're working on me right now, but it will take a while before I'm back to full strength." _

_Sakura walked over to him and hoisted him on her shoulder. She felt a bit unsteady herself. "Come on…I've got to see what I can do to help you out." _

"_We've got to pick up the little boy first. The daimyo made us walk right into this trap, but his son tried to protect you and me. He even killed him." Sakura eyes widened. "He did that to protect me, it wasn't murder. He's really upset, and he just scared himself for life. Anyway, we have to bring him back to his mother. I promised I would." Sakura nodded, and they made their way back to the castle._

"_How are you feeling, Ryu-sensei?" _

"_I'm a bit better; I think the spiders finally found an antidote. It will be a while before either one of us are 100 percent, though." They finally reached the castle, and searched for the kid. "Aw, damn! I forgot to tell him which room to go to!" Ryu cursed. _

_Sakura looked around the main room. Ryu got up, but at this point, he was fairly sluggish. Suddenly, a whizzing noise was heard. Ryu couldn't dodge the throwing dagger that was aimed at his shoulder, and hissed in pain at it's impact. Sakura ran over to him, and inspected the dagger. After taking a sniff of it, she concluded it wasn't poisonous. She couldn't heal it now, though. Just feeling herself move, she knew she couldn't manage chakra properly at this point. _

"_Someone wants us to follow him." Ryu commented. _

_Sakura looked down the hall. "It's probably a trap." _

"_It is. But we've got no choice. The kid is there." Both ninjas ran down the hall. Just when it seemed they reached another room, they heard the roof give way. A giant slab of what seemed to iron crashed through. Both ninja managed to recover some portion of their super strength, and stopped it from crushing them. However, they found that they could not lift it back up. _

"_Hah, it seems master Sasori was right about your kindness!" a voice said. The two turned to look in front of them. Instead of a samurai, there was a ninja. They couldn't make out the symbol on his band, but they did make note of his black hair and goatee._

"_W-who are you?" Sakura asked. _

"_That's not important; this is!" The ninja threw Jin in front of him, who was bound up and gagged. The ninja walked away, and flipped some sort of switch on the wall. Where Jin lay, a circular platform was raised, and the rest of the floor began to retract away from him. Underneath him was what seemed to be molten steel. The platform began to lower. "I do not need to explain what's going to happen to the brat, but I should inform you about your predicament. The iron roof, so long as you apply constant chakra to it, will stay right where it is. However, that can only last for so long. If one of you lets go, there will be enough time for you to escape, but the roof will come crashing down on your comrade. If the both of you let go, none of you will escape! So what's it going to be: Rescue the child and leave behind a comrade or die with him? The choice is yours!" The ninja placed a lid on the switch, and disappeared from sight, leaving them hanging. _

"_Shit!" Sakura screamed. She tried to think of a way out of here. Steady the roof with her feet and punch a hole in the floor? No, in her current condition she could not transmit chakra through her feet, and the floor was ground level; they'd have to dig through debris of rock before the ceiling came crashing down on them. Try to lasso the kid with a wire? No, if she let one hand go, they would both be crushed, and she could risk dropping the kid into the molten steel. Lasso the switch? The lid made that impossible! What was left then? They couldn't keep this up for much longer! _

"_Sakura." Ryu wheezed. "I'm about to give out. I know this will be the hardest thing for you to do, but if we're going to save Jin's life, we have to." _

_Sakura looked at him, curious. Then it dawned on her what he meant. Her eyes widened, and she yelled "I…I can't do that!" _

"_You must save Jin, and to do that you must leave me behind!" _

"_Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. That is what Kakashi-sensei taught me, and I'm not throwing it away right now!" _

_Ryu grinned. "It's never that simple. True, when a friend is in trouble, you help them any way you can. But there's a child right in front of us who's about to die. Sakura…somewhere out there is his mother. I know what she must be going through, to have her child taken away from her. If we let that happen, four lives will be lost! Save him, and you'll save three lives!" Ryu turned to look at the kunoichi. "Your life is more important than mine." _

_Sakura was in tears now. When she looked at where Jin was held up, she saw only one and a half meters separated him from death. "Ryu-sensei." Sakura said. "Your last words." _

_Ryu looked shocked, but then gave a small smile. "Tell my wife Reiko I love her, and I cannot be grateful enough for her being there for me all these years. To my son, tell him his efforts alone have made me very proud, and that I know he will become a great shinobi." _

_There was silence for one moment between the two. "Ryu-sensei…Thank you for everything!" Sakura let go and rushed towards the pit. Just when the platform caught on fire, Sakura leapt down, picked up the child, and jumped back up to the surface before they were both consumed by flames. Sakura panted, and trembled. She wanted to look back, but she was afraid of what she might see. She finally got the courage to do so, and turned around. The roof came down completely. It must have gone several feet underground too. Sakura couldn't hold back her tears. "There's not even a piece of him to bring back home." She untied the child, who immediately hugged her. He didn't cry; his eyes were so red and dry. "It's all my fault." Jin said. Sakura hugged him back. "No, none of this was your fault. It was mine." Sakura kept her composure, but it was tearing her up inside. "Come on…Ryu-sensei promised you he would bring you back to your mother…now I have to carry on that promise."_

* * *

_Sakura returned Jin to his mother, and headed back for Konoha. There, she broke the news to Tsunade. 3 days later, the funeral for Ryu was held. Sakura watched only from afar. She was too scared to face his family. She made out what seemed to be his wife and his child. This made things worse for her: A wife and a child lost someone precious to them. Why did Ryu make her do that? Had she trained so hard to become a medic nin for nothing?_

* * *

_Sakura hung her legs over the bridge. Nothing could bring her out of this depression. _

"_Yo." A familiar voice said. Sakura didn't turn around; she knew well enough that it was Kakashi. The copy ninja took a seat beside her. "Tsunade told me everything that happened. Sakura…you made the hardest decision one could ever make. But you did the right thing…no one was going to come and save you both. Besides, you did not kill Ryu. No, Ryu sacrificed himself to save you and the child." _

"_Leaving him behind was bad enough…if I didn't allow myself to be captured so easily, he'd be alive. I trained so hard….but nothing's changed!" _

_Kakashi patted the pink-haired girl on the shoulder. "You still have a long way to go, Sakura. I'm sorry I can't help you much more than I am now, but please: Don't let his death ruin everything you worked so hard for. Use it to make you stronger. You'll need that strength if you want to help Naruto and save Sasuke."_

* * *

_Sakura sat at her desk. She still couldn't face the family. But she had to do something. She took a pen, and began writing._

_**What the two of you are going through is something no one should have to experience. I was with Ryu until the end…I had to rescue a child in front of us. I refused at first, but in the end I reluctantly accepted his last orders. I know you must think I'm garbage right now, and I will say nothing to make you change your mind. All I'll tell you is his last words. To Reiko, he loves you so much and he can't thank you enough for staying with him. To Yuji, your father was always very proud of you, and he knows you will be strong. I hope one day, I can atone for letting you all down.**_

_**Haruno Sakura**_

_Sakura felt she couldn't face them on her own; they would have to come to her. She was prepared for either sympathy or to be condemned, but as time went by, nothing happened…_

* * *

It ended there. For a while, the two teammates laid silent.

Naruto was the one to break the ice. "Kakashi-sensei was right Sakura…it wasn't your fault."

"If it was you, you would have either used bushin or went Kyuubi." Sakura added.

Naruto shook his head. "No. If I were to use the Kage Bushin, I'd have taken both of my hands of the surface to make the hand signs, and if I went Kyuubi, there's no telling what I would have done." Naruto gently squeezed the kunoichi's shoulder. "It was a hard decision to make. But that spider guy was right about sending you to get the kid. I know, because…" Naruto rubbed his forehead, like he was having a headache.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Naruto looked her in the eyes. "Back when I was training with Ero-senin, a fire broke out near the hotel we were staying in. Ero-senin was away doing his usual thing, so I was the only one there to help. I created as many clones as I could, and I saved a lot of people. The fire was still raging out of control, and soon neither I nor none of my clones could get in, and I took in too many bad fumes to help. Finally, the old perv came back and used a suiton jutsu to put the fire out. I thought it was one of those 'all in a days work' scenarios, but I was wrong. There was one person I failed to save. A little girl, about three years old I think. Ero-senin carried the girl out of the building, and her mother ran right over to her. She screamed her name several times, shook her, and she broke down crying. Before we left the following week, I stopped by her house where her parents lived. I bowed, I apologized the best I could…I expected that she would throw random sharp objects at me at the worst, but she didn't even respond. I don't think she even noticed that I came in. She seemed dead to the world." Naruto looked at the ground. "I want to go back so badly, and save them both. But coming back to Konoha…and seeing you again…I didn't forget, but it took my mind off the incident."

Sakura placed her hand on the blonde's knee. "You coming back did the same thing to me." She smiled softly, and they just stayed that way. Then, after a few minutes, Naruto turned to Sakura to tell her it was getting late. But he caught her looking right at him. He got lost in her emerald eyes. Time seemed to stand still. Not one thought entered Naruto's mind. He was broken out of his trance when he felt something on his lips. Sakura was kissing him! The kiss was slow, loving. It sent a sensation down Naruto's body that he never felt before. Finally, he managed to move his own lips and return the kiss. He didn't know who started it, but somehow their tongues became part of it. Their senses started going haywire, and the only thing they could make out was each other, moaning in their mouths. They finally separated when they ran out of air.

"Sakura." Naruto panted. The jinchuuriki was at a loss for words. What would he say now? Sakura herself was unsure of what to say.

Finally, she said something. "Was it…good?"

Naruto took a moment to process what she said. "Yeah…more than good."

Sakura and Naruto were about to lean in for more, but Sakura said. "Naruto…what time is it?"

Naruto checked his watch. "Wow…it's almost midnight."

Sakura cursed under her breath. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I promised my parents I would be back 2 hours ago. Besides, I have to be at the hospital by 7, and I may even get another mission."

Naruto stood up, and offered his hand, which the medi-nin accepted. "I understand. But before we part ways, I want to let you know I've had a great time…I…I'd like to spend more time with you, just the two of us! Whenever we've got time to spare."

Sakura smiled softly. "I'd love that, Naruto."

Naruto didn't know whether he had an extra set of hearts like Kakuzu or if he was already dead, because he could've sworn he felt it explode with joy. Neither one said a thing as he walked her home. They stopped a block away from her house. Naruto understood that her being with him was probably something they weren't ready for. Besides, after hearing about her family life, he wasn't sure he even wanted to meet the parents. "You take care of yourself, Sakura-chan." Naruto said. "You too." Sakura replied. They both gave each other a quick peck on the lips before they parted ways.

* * *

Naruto sat on the roof of his apartment building. So many things were running through his head. Now that he had a romantic relationship with Sakura…what now? He was worried he would screw it up, and he couldn't face that. He worked so hard for her affection. "Tomorrow is another day." Naruto finally went back inside, and got himself some rest.

* * *

(Passes out onto the ground) I'm never doing a mondo flashback like that again! Well, hopefully you enjoyed that. Some other notes: Ryu's style is based on Bajiquan, which you will see his son using, and yes, he is essentially a rip off of Spiderman, but I thought Spidey would make a cool ninja. Also, the spiders that I gave names (species names) were made up. However, the erection thing actually is true: In Chile I think, some spiders do produce that effect, and they're being studied to use for Viagra and Spermacide (Note: I don't recommend using spider venom to enhance your performance)

Next Chapter: The Chunin Exams!

Gin-Silver


	15. Grow!

Hi! School's been feeling a little bit overwhelming for me (I never expected the all-nighters to come so soon!) Still, I managed to get this chapter out to you! Hey, I'm really trying to make this multi-tasking work!! I'm sorry to say, but for a few chapters, a bunch of OCs will steal the show, but Naruto and the gang…(looks into the pleading eyes of the audience)… sigh…and NaruSakuness…will be back before you know it! (Everyone cheers). Now for reviewer appreciation!

Uncle Joe: (pokes body with a stick). Steve Irwin must be looking down from heaven thinking "Crikey, what a moron." In addition to the erection, you go through the other complications a spider-bite has to offer. And chances are if you are registered on you shouldn't have the NEED for medication that treats erectile dysfunction.

Mrfipp: Sasori was just there so that in canon, Sakura could get some small piece of revenge. What the hell is ED? As for Deidra and Tobi…they're a ways off. Sorry.

Paveway: Why thank you!

Ichirukipwns: I'm surprised I could make such a long chapter myself.

Pirogeth: If you thought Yuji's dad was unoriginal, wait till you see Rock Lee's team! Can you check to see if the last chapter is really the longest flashback in fanfiction on record?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I got the movie!...The other 2 sucked though…

* * *

Naruto tapped his radio. "Team 12, come in. Have you found the target?" Static was heard on the other side.

"Copy that." Shiguri's voice said. "One problem: Suppose it goes down Iori's pants? We're in a bit of an awkward situation right now."

Naruto's eyebrows twitched at this. "I beg your pardon?"

Yuji said into the radio "He's not joking sensei. She's tried pulling it out, but it digs its claws into her…."

Naruto fell over when he heard what sounded like a punch that rivaled Sakura's on his radio.

"Anyway," Shiguri finished "I think we may need some female-type help with this. I don't think it's going anywhere."

* * *

Eventually, Naruto managed to find Tenten, who happily got the cat off, and helped out Iori with certain things the boys should not have been seeing. They made their way back with it, and delivered it to its owner.

"Oh fluffy! You're such a naughty kitty!! Mummy was worried sick!!" The fat lady squeezed her cat even tighter. The poor thing wanted to get away so bad!

Naruto could only grimace. "When I become Hokage, I am not taking any missions from her…"

The woman paid, and left. Tsunade mumbled "I keep trying to tell her to put a leash on that damn thing, but she's off in her own world…" Tsunade turned around. "All right, you're dismissed." The three genin headed out, but Naruto stayed there. "Naruto…do you think they're really ready?"

Naruto grinned. "Ba-chan, even if they're not this will help them grow." Tsunade got up from her desk. "You still have to be there by 3 to announce it formally."

* * *

Several jonin gathered by the tent where the Hokages by tradition signed up their students. Tsunade spoke up. "Anyone who wishes to sign up their students for the exam, speak up now. Remember: Your team must have completed 8 D-rank missions and at least one C-rank mission."

Kiba stepped forward. "Inuzuka Kiba. I recommend Inuzuka Hige, Shiro Tsume, and Shidan Kagome."

Shikamaru stepped up. "Nara Shikamaru. I recommend Hyugga Hanabi, Kurosaki Uryuu, and Saitou Kenshin."

Then Lee stepped forward. "Rock Lee. I recommend Funny Chan, Crystal Li…no relation…and Tiger Jaa."

More and more Jonin put there teams forward. Finally, Naruto stepped up. "Uzumaki Naruto. I recommend Miyamoto Yuji, Myojin Iori, and Naka Shiguri."

Tsunade written up everything. "Very well. Give your students these slips, and good luck to you all."

* * *

The next day, Naruto's trio was on their way to the exam building. And all three were eager to sign up.

"One more step before I'm right at your heels, dad." Yuji thought. He was brought out of those thoughts when he ran into something. He fell down, and he scowled when he saw the person in front of him. He had yellow eyes, platinum blonde hair that came down to his shoulder, and for a boy his age, was built fairly well. He was also wearing white kung-fu uniform, gloves, and matching pants.

"T-Takeda-kun!" Iori shrieked happily. "Are you participating in the chunin exams?"

The bishonen genin brushed his hair and said "Hmph. I should be promoted to jonin right now. But procedures are procedures, so I suppose I should go through with them. I'd say see you later, but you three losers won't even make it past the first stage. Tata." He waved them off.

Iori hung her head in gloom, while her two teammates flipped him off.

"I swear, I'll kick his ass!!" Yuji shouted.

"Assuming I don't get him first." Shiguri growled.

* * *

Inside, several other genin teams gathered. A brown-haired dog whimpered. "It's alright, Genmai." Hige told him. Though he was part of the Inuzuka clan, Hige looked nothing like his family members. He had brown hair, and chickened out on getting his tattoos. His fangs weren't very prominent either. Another genin with snow white hair and red eyes passed by him. "Tcch. I want to get straight to the fighting part." The boy flexed his fingers, whose nails were filed to look like claws. "But comprehension and survival are two very important aspects of a shinobi, Tsume!!" a high pitched voice said. A girl in a black dress and short hair ran up to them. She was probably no more than 7 years old. "Kagome…" Tsume growled…

* * *

Inside, genin placed themselves against the walls, intimidated by the one team walking down. Well, not the team itself, but its signature member: Hyugga Hanabi. She was cold and ruthless. She never started a fight, but she was more than eager to finish off any challengers. She was also starting to become quite a young woman, and any boys who approached her were dealt with in much the same manner. To both of her sides were her two teammates. One had spiked black hair and glasses, plus a robe that seemed to be in tatters, and two weapons: One was a cross-bow on his right arm, and another was a sword that looked more like a gigantic butcher knife. The other genin had short red hair, with two bangs covering his eyes. The rest of his outfit was quite plain-looking, but if one was to look into his golden eyes, they would see nothing but killer intent.

"Uryuu, Kenshin, I assume you can take care of yourselves during the exam?" Hanabi asked coolly.

"Yes!" They both said in unison.

* * *

A boy with black, unkempt hair and a black uniform with a yin and yang symbol on the back stood with a girl with black hair and green eyes, who was dressed in pure black and had a huge scroll on her back. They were both being pushed around by a bigger genin, who had long brown hair and the build of a boar.

"C'mon!!" their assailant yelled. "Let's go!!"

The boy bowed, but did not take his eye off of the bully. "I'm sorry; but there is no fighting allowed here. If you'd like, we can arrange a-"

The big genin took a couple of swings at the two. None of the shots connected, but the unwillingness of the two genin to fight wasn't helping.

"What's going on!?" a voice shouted.

The bully looked to his right and noticed what seemed to be their third teammate. Unlike most of the other students, this one had dark, tanned skin. He wore a denim jacket with jeans, and had his t-shirt showing. His hands were wrapped up in some kind of rope, and he had a red scarf on his neck. What most people would've taken notice of, though, would be the 2 bones on his back, which were fastened on to him in an X pattern. Both were wider than his arms, and as long as his back.

The fat genin found this amusing. "Hm, since your friends here don't seem too willing, I guess I'll play with you!!" The bully charged…and was knocked to the floor by a push kick to the face. The tan boy backed away in horse stances, with his arms pointing at the other genin, and splintering the wood with each step.

The bully got up, holding his nose. He stared at him for the longest time, and said "At the finals, you're mine." The big one disappeared.

"Chan, Crystal…are you alright?" the tan boy asked.

The girl answered "We're both fine, thanks to you, Jaa."

Chan said "We could have handled it."

Jaa just smiled. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

Finally, every genin who applied made their way to the first test. The illusion joke that the old Team 7 had to get through was pulled, but Yuji figured it out.

"Um, guys, this is the 2nd floor. That is not 301." Of course he had to duck the kunai from the two "guards", but after that everyone went upstairs

Everyone was suspicious as to why they were being separated from their teammates, and Team 12 was no different. Iori was placed in the very front, Shiguri at the side, and Yuji in the back. Suddenly, Konoha's interrogator, Ibuki, teleported into the room. When he explained the rules, many were panicking inside. Iori was one of them. She never did well on written tests, and if she got a zero…well, she didn't care what her teammates thought, but still she knew that it would prove to the higher-ups that she was not ready as a ninja. Shiguri was not at all worried. He did not score well on the written tests too, but it was not because he did not know the answers…he just didn't care to write them down. His grandfather drilled all the rules and regulations in his head, and he got so sick of it all, so he often flunked tests just to spite him. Yuji didn't score well on written exams either, but he realized the strategy.

"So, you WANT us to cheat, just not get caught."

Soon, everyone began.

* * *

The various teams go to work. Most went ahead and tried to do it honestly. Some attempted to cheat, but were caught. Rock Lee's Team 4 did not have any special methods of cheating, but they were well versed in the questions. Genmai alerted Hige what his neighbors were writing. Tsume had a mirror in his hands, but only he could see the reflections. Kagome was considered a genius, as it was very rare to have anyone become a genin less than ten years of age. Hanabi used her byakugan, and it was said that her two teammates had a mind link. Iori couldn't even manage to start her work on the questions; they were much harder than what she was used to.

Shiguri scribbled and put his pencil down. "Harder than I remember." He thought.

* * *

Yuji didn't begin. "Hmm…how do I go about this?" He looked at one of the genins in front of him. He was huge!! He couldn't see past his…"I think I found my target!" Yuji looked around him, and saw the pencil sharpener. "Okay." He broke the tip of his pencil, and flicked it onto the rear of the fat genin. The genin threw his paper up in the air, and Yuji tried to copy all of the answers. However, a kunai pinned it to the wall.

"You fail!!" one of the proctors shouted.

"But I'm supposed to loose only…"

"You practically showed it to everyone in the room, so you loose all your points!! Get out!!"

He and his teammates were kicked out, and the paper was disposed of.

"They were too quick to send it out of the air for me to copy." Yuji thought. "But not for my camera!" Yuji pressed something on the side of his glasses. Thought it made his eyes ache, a holographic image of the paper was displayed in front of him. "All right, I better jot this down quick." Yuji didn't write it just once; he wrote everything twice, one on a small piece of gum wrap. Yuji saw Iori panicking, and knew he had to do something. Yuji pretended he was stretching, but in reality he was making his pencil hollow. Then, he stuffed a small piece of paper that contained the additional answers inside. He aimed for Iori, and blew.

Iori felt it in the back of her head. However, instead of being curious and picking up the small piece of paper, she turned around and screamed "WHAT THE HELL!?"

The proctors held her down, and another said to Yuji "You. You will not harass other participants in this exam. We catch you one more time, and your team is out!! Is that clear!?"

Yuji hung his head down. "Yes sir." Yuji then held his head. "We're doomed."

* * *

Finally, 45 minutes have passed.

"Now for the tenth question!!" Ibuki yelled. "I'm going to give you two choices: You can refuse to answer. If you do, you fail, but you can take the exam again the next time it comes around. Should you accept the question and get it wrong, you will be a genin forever!!"

Everyone panicked and yelled bursts of outrage, but they were all silenced. Yuji knew they had to reject it. "I won't have any chance to cheat again, and judging by the way Shiguri looks, it seems like he's not sure he can answer it either!! There's no way in hell Iori can do it!!" Iori looked back at Yuji, who was about to raise his hand, and stared each other in the eyes. Yuji didn't know why, but Iori seemed to be pleading with him, as if to give her a chance. Reason told him not to, and yet…"All right, Iori. If you think you have the slightest chance of getting it right, I'll give you that chance." Yuji put his hand down, thankful that they did not call upon him.

Soon, everyone who rejected the question left. Iori held both of hands together, anticipating the hardest question of her life.

"To all of those still here…You passed!!"

Everyone in Team 12 fell over their chairs. "What the freak is going on here!?" Shiguri yelled. "Where's the fucking question!?"

Ibuki smiled "Well, I should probably explain the purpose of this part of the exam first. First off, did you ever wonder why we did not fail you automatically for cheating? We wanted you to, but not get caught!!"

Iori thought back. "Was that what Yuji was trying to do?"

"After all," Ibuki continued and lifted his cap "you'll be expected to spy on other people, and getting caught would be a disaster." Ibuki loved this part of the exam. Seeing the kids' faces when they saw his head never got old.

"Now I know I'd rather die than look like that!!" Iori screamed internally

"Ewww." Shiguri whispered

And Yuji was left speechless.

"As for the tenth question…think of it as a mission. In order to live as a ninja and protect our village, you have to accept a mission. And if you fail it, you will most likely die. If you wish to become a chunin, you must face real danger, no matter how slim your chances are for survival."

Shiguri raised his hand. "So…there…is…no…question?"

"Correct."

"And after all of this time, all we had to do to pass was yell 'I accept!'?"

"Correct."

There was a moment of silence. Then, Shiguri leapt on top of the desk and prepared to throw a kunai. "I'll kill you, you bastard!!"

Unfortunately for him, the other ninja tackled him to the ground. They gave him a strict warning, but that was it.

As everyone prepared to leave for the next stage, Ibuki said to Iori "Excuse me? What is your sensei's name?"

Iori turned around confused. "Well, he is a jonin, and even if he does have a grudge against him, he has no right to fail us." Finally she answered "Uzumaki Naruto."

Ibuki's eyes widened, and then he laughed.

"Hey what's so funny!?" Iori shouted.

"Your sensei was the first to pass this part of the exam without writing down a single thing." Ibuki grinned. "I can see his students are taking after him."

* * *

The teams gathered around the edge of a forest. The outside read "Forest of Death".

"Yuji, what do you think the odds are that it's another forest that happens to be harmless and that the others are trying to scare us?" Shiguri asked his friend.

"I'd say zero. I've been near here before, and I've heard screams." This didn't bring comfort to anybody.

Suddenly, an explosion of smoke was in front of everyone. There appeared a woman with short hair and a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Hmm, Ibuki did a SLIGHTLY better job than last time…slightly, but not much." She said. "Hello! The name is Mitarashi Anko, and I'm about to send you into the Forest of Death!"

Some genin laughed. "That's bullshit! You can't have any new chunin if you kill the candidates!"

Suddenly, Anko was upon him. "Oh, if you die, that simply means you don't qualify! Real ninja can survive this no problem!! Genins, not so much, although we get a few lucky ones!! That forest is the real deal! Tigers, centipedes, and…" Snakes shot out of her arms, and wrapped themselves around the boy's neck. They flicked their tongues at him, the boy trembled, and passed out. Anko reached down and touched him. "Oops! He only fainted, but I don't think he'll be up in time to begin!" Anko looked back to two other ninjas. "You two! Take him to the infirmary!"

The two nin did as they were told, and one of his teammates asked "What about us?"

Anko looked perplexed, then smiled. "Oh!! Why, you're disqualified!! You need all three of you to begin!" They were about to protest, when Anko squealed "Oh, I just remembered…my fierce snake just had a batch of babies!! They're adorable!! And they're poisonous already!! Just one drop can kill over a hundred men!!" This time, the two remained silent, and walked away.

Yuji whispered to Shiguri "You think I should've pointed out to that guy that those were garden snakes?"

"Nah. It's less competition for us." That's what they thought. The scrolls were passed out, and the rules were explained. Due to Anko's prank, the number of teams was uneven. That meant that the contest would be short one pair.

"Did you say competition?" Yuji asked. "You should have said prey."

Shiguri hissed "Yeah."

Finally, everyone was allowed to enter, and the second stage began.

* * *

Naruto made his way into the building where the preliminaries, if there were too many genin, would take place. He got to the balcony, and looked around. "It's been ages. I still remember…I still remember how it all happened." Naruto became a chunin by appointment, so he didn't have to go through this forest again. Naruto sighed and went on inside. There was a lounge and beds for all the waiting instructors. And he wasn't the only one there. "Kiba! Shikamaru! Fuzzy Brows!"

Naruto's friends waved hello. "We were just starting to play some cards." Shikamaru said. "Wanna join?"

"I'm in."

No real money was wagered, but still it was fun. After a few rounds, Naruto asked "So, what are your students like?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Oh, man, I got stuck with the worst trio ever. First I've got Hinata's little sister, but she's more like Neji before you kicked his ass. The two boys, Uryuu and Kenshin are like having two Sasukes. No, scratch that. More like two Garaas during our exam." Naruto shuddered.

Kiba was about to say his part, but Lee beat him to it. "The power of youth burns strong within my disciples!! Funny Chan feels can make a weapon out of anything, and most incredible, he is able to perform the drunken fist without the use of sake!! Crystal Li…no relation…is truly the graceful weapon specialist!! But they all pale in comparison to TIGER JAA!! NEVER BEFORE HAVE I SEEN THE POWER OF YOUTH BURN SO BRIGHT, AND IT SHOWS WITH A TAIJUTSU STYLE UNLIKE ANYTHING THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!!" There was a moment of silence between them. Everyone was uttered speechless as they saw Gai's personality being passed on.

Kiba then spoke up. "My cousin is on my team. He's always been timid, and they thought having me as his sensei would be good for him. I've got a troublemaker as well, Tsume. He's a lot like a cat." Kiba stopped to pet Akamaru. "As you can tell, that's a bit of a problem for us. Then there's Kagome. She's only seven years old, but she's so smart and she's not a bad fighter to boot." Kiba then asked Naruto "What about your students?"

Naruto chuckled "Well, I got stuck with the three lowest ranking ones. Yuji is timid and has some problems believing in himself, but he's brilliant. Iori is actually a lot like I was. Then Shiguri…well, he's talented, but he's got a pretty bad attitude. Despite that, I feel I'm not as close to him as I should be, and I want to change that." The other two jonin nodded, and continued with their game.

* * *

Yuji and his teammates made their way through the forest. Soon, Yuji ordered them to stop. "We need the other scroll."

Shiguri nodded. "Right now, the other teams could be anywhere. And they could be looking for us as well. Any ideas?"

Iori yelled "Just find one and beat them all up!! How hard can it be!?"

Her male teammates slapped their heads. "Um, Iori?" Shiguri asked. "You remember what happened when you challenged Naruto-sensei to a fight? We do that, and we're likely to get our asses kicked."

"But we're going up against genin!!"

Yuji placed his hand on Iori's shoulder. "By that logic, the best we can hope for is to kill each other. Even if we win, we're likely to be injured, and once we are, what's going to help us to keep our hard-won scrolls?"

Iori stared blankly, and lowered her head. "I'm such an idiot." Iori whispered to herself.

Yuji said "I've wandered around the edge of this place before. It has a diameter of about 10 km. And no one is going to the end until they get another scroll. So, we'll set some traps. To do that, we'll need to separate, which will be dangerous. One of us alone will be a prime target for stealing the scroll, and at the same time, we cannot risk hiding it in the forest." Yuji looked at Shiguri. "Shiguri, you've got the best match of brawn and brain. We're going to entrust the scroll to you."

* * *

Hanabi activated her Byakugan. She scanned all the trees, and spotted another team. She could see the symbol on her scroll, and that their symbol was the opposite of theirs. She pointed her fingers in the general direction, and her two teammates took off.

* * *

Three days had passed. Yuji looked around the tree tops, searching for any genin that might come by. So far, no one came. They all agreed that if no one fell into the traps, they would move on. A machine on Yuji's belt suddenly vibrated. He checked the front. "We've got something at the web at the east end!!"

Team 12 headed out. "Hey." Iori said. "I saw a bunch of large bugs around here. How do we know it's not one of those?"

"The snares shouldn't be able to hold anything that big. Besides, they only work if something runs right into them."

They got to the trap in no time, and just like Yuji said, three genins were tangled up, and struggling. They weren't leaf ninjas; in fact they didn't recognize the symbol on their headbands.

"Hey!! Cut us down!!"

Shiguri walked over, and patted each and every one of them. Finally, he found the scroll. He looked at it, and gave Yuji the thumbs up.

"All right." Yuji said. "We've got both scrolls. Now we-" Yuji leapt out of the way when shuriken impeded the side of the branch he stood on just a split-second ago. "RUN!!" The three took off, with their new pair of scrolls.

* * *

In another part of the forest, a group of genin from grass village decided to rest. "Yura, you hold onto the scroll." One of the boys said.

"Right."

The brown-haired girl nodded. She took it, and went out to get some firewood. As she gathered the twigs, she thought she heard something. She reacted defensively and pulled out a kunai. However, she lowered it, when it sounded more like whimpering. A small brown dog limped out of the bushes, and looked around nervously. "I didn't know there were dogs in this forest." Yura thought. She put her weapon down, and kneeled. "Hey, little puppy. Are you lost?" The dog looked at her. "Come here. It's okay." Yura held out her arms. The dog hesitated but then slowly made it's way to her. Finally, it leapt right into her arms. The dog then proceeded to lick her face. "Hahahah, that tickles!!" Just as suddenly as it began, the dog jumped out of her arms. Yura looked on in confusion as it ran off, like it had no limp at all. "Huh. That was strange." Yura made her way back to her camp, wondering why a dog would feign injury.

When she finally arrived, her teammates asked "You still got the scroll, right?"

"Of course I do, what do you-" As she reached down for the scroll at the side of her shorts, she couldn't feel it. She panicked, and felt all around her body. "Oh no, where is it!?"

* * *

The brown dog continued running through the forest, with the scroll in it's mouth. It finally reached the campfire, and laid it down. It barked, alerting Hige that he had done his job. Hige picked him up and petted him. "Good boy." He put Genmai down and looked at his two teammates. "We better get going. Whoever Genmai stole this scroll from is going to come back with a vengeance." Team 3 took off into the shadows.

* * *

Team 12 was staring at their scrolls for the longest time. It was almost like they were having a staring contest with the inanimate objects.

"Well…" Shiguri said. "We were told not to open them. But then again, they expected us to cheat when we were told not to."

"We were WARNED not to, Shiguri." Yuji said. "They said we would loose points if we got caught. In this case, they specifically told us NOT to open the scroll, or we would be disqualified."

Iori then said "But what can they do about it? We're out here in the middle of a forest, and with the amount of teams, there's no way they can hope to keep an eye on all of us."

Just when Yuji was about to protest, they heard someone say, "C'mon, open it!"

Yuji signaled for his teammates to follow him. They spread the bushes apart, and found another team holding both scrolls. "I suggest to wait and see what happens instead of trying to look at their scrolls." Yuji whispered. "If nothing does happen, we can always look at our own." The ninja they were watching opened their scrolls…And then more ninjas appeared right out of them, and proceeded to beat the cheaters to unconsciousness.

Team 12 hid behind the trees, scared at what they just saw. As soon as the ninja were gone, they finally breathed.

"They couldn't just disqualify us, they had to kill us too!" Shiguri whispered.

"Okay." Yuji whispered. "NO ONE OPENS THE FUCKING SCROLLS. Got it?" Everyone nodded affirmatively.

* * *

In the canopy, two teams engaged in battle. Three stone ninja vs. three leaf ninjas. The stone ninja tried every ninjutsu and genjutsu they could think of. But none of it stood up to this team's taijutsu.

Li dispelled their latest illusion and made a swiping motion to the other kunoichi's abdomen. The stone kunoichi dodged, but then she looked down to see that she had been cut. She looked, and saw her enemy hold a steel fan.

Another stone ninja tried to knock Chan out, but the smaller leaf genin weaved through his hits and struck all the vital points. Finally, the stone genin managed to land a hit, and sent the leaf ninja flying onto a bed of moss. He followed him, and as they both readied themselves to attack, they could not stabilize their footing, and were unintentionally giving their impressions of a child ice-skating for the first time. The stone genin managed to focus his chakra past the moss, and steady himself. Then he attacked. Chan ducked and managed to land a kick on his opponent's groin. However, the force caused Chan to slide, with his opponent on top of him!! They got down to the bottom, and got into the most compromising position ever. Their lips were essentially locked. They separated almost immediately.

"I'm so sorry!" Chan shouted.

"I've been violated by a man!!" the stone genin yelled. He hit Chan a few times, and sent him flying. The genin charged in for more, but fell back when he received an unusually hard punch from Chan. He saw he had a rock in his fist. The stone genin proceeded to kick him, but Chan picked up a squirrel and made it bite his opponent on the nose.

As the genin held his nose, Chan reached up and brought some vines down on his opponent, and then proceeded to tie him up. "Good to know I didn't get staged by Jaa again."

Suddenly a branch came crashing down, and a stone genin had an elbow where his helmet used to be. Just when they touched down, Jaa wrapped his hands around his opponent's neck, and kneed him sky-high.

"I spoke too soon." Chan thought.

Jaa then yelled "Crystal!! Do you have the scroll!?"

"Yes!! It's a heaven scroll!!"

"Very Well!! Let's move out!!"

Chan lagged behind for a few moments. "I can't win…" Finally, he took off and caught up with his teammates.

* * *

Team 12 rested at their campfire. Sunrise would be the final day. Though they could have made it into the tower if they wanted to, they were constantly being followed, and for a whole day tried to shake them off. Around nightfall, exhausted, they decided to camp out and high-tail it to the tower at morning. Yuji and Shiguri were sound asleep. Iori, however, could not rest. For some reason, it eluded her. "I might as well go take a little walk. I haven't heard a thing walk by here." Iori got up, and stretched a little bit. She didn't get too far, when suddenly she heard a little noise. She readied a kunai…and out came her long-time crush, who was yawning. "T-Takeda-kun?" Iori whispered.

Takeda looked at her lazily, and then his eyes widened. "You!! I'm sorry, you're…"

" Iori. Myojin Iori."

"Right, right. I'm terribly sorry, I'm so bad with names. So, how have you been fairing?"

"Okay. It's so scary out here!! The bugs are enormous, I haven't had a bath in four days…and there's no outhouse out here!! You have no idea how worried I was some pervert would come up on us whenever I…" She twiddled her fingers. "Well…you get the idea."

Takeda laughed, but in a good natured way. "I'm sure. Hey, did I tell you that we killed a tiger here?"

"N-no. You didn't get a chance too!"

Takeda told her, using so many hand exaggerations, on how his team ran into a tiger. "When I saw my teammates in that shape, I knew I had to do something, so I stabbed it in the back of the neck! Of course, it wouldn't go down without a fight!! I rode it like a horse, and directed it over a gorge!!"

"Wow, that's incredible!! I just hope you can get to the tower before time is up!!"

Takeda laughed. "Oh, no problem. We've already got both scrolls!! And you?"

Iori almost shrieked. "That's so cool!! We've got both too!!"

"Nooo." Takeda said in a mock disbelief tone.

"Oh yes! See!" Iori pulled out both of the scrolls. "Isn't it cool!?"

Takeda laughed, but this time, it was…sinister. "Oh yes. Very cool. Thank you, Iori."

Iori just went "Huh?" Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, and then she passed out. Takeda's two teammates chuckled and picked up the Earth Scroll.

"Shall we take the other one, Takeda?" The other boy asked.

Takeda said "But of course. As long as they have one, they still have a chance of making it. Without another, they'll never be able to enter the tower in time for tomorrow!!" The team jumped away, laughing as they left.

* * *

Review please!

Next chapter: See how Team 12 will deal with this predicament!


	16. Fly through Heaven, Run through Earth

Hi! Should be getting ready for a presentation tomorrow, but I found time to do this too! This will be a rather short chapter, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.

I also must say I've been disappointed by the reviews for last chapter. Only 4 of them. I also noticed quite a few of my reviewers have gone missing. If you have seen any of the following ff reviewers:

Rickp2006

Ironic Ending

NaruSakuHasYou

Full-metal-Sousuke

Razgriz05

Tell them to get off their asses and give me those damn reviews!! Okay, I'm not that upset, but I can't imagine what I've done to make them abandon this story (assuming they have stopped reading). However small it might be, reviewer appreciation time!!

Mrfipp: Oh. Well, it is not. If you don't believe me, Uncle Joe tried it, and now he's DEAD!! I'm glad you enjoyed Anko's appearance. And I'm sorry that you're not too happy about when Deidra and Tobi are appearing. You do make a good point about Tobi when he's not Madara though. I'll think of something!!

Pirogeth: Lee imitated Gai so much, it was inevitable. I couldn't tell if the comment about his team was sarcastic or not, since it's him leading Jackie Chan, Jet Li (okay, so I did some gender-bending with him!) and Tony Jaa. As for the homages of other anime characters, in all honesty, I just went to the toilet, dissected my shit, ran all the way to Orange County to borrow my roommate's shotgun and load it with the words I found, and try to re-glue the letters together, and THAT is how I come up with names!!

Disclaimer: I owned Naruto once. He's a slippery little devil! (Sakura stares at author madly) Get your mind out of the gutter!!

* * *

Iori woke up, not feeling too good. "Uh…my neck." She jumped up in panicked realization. "The scrolls!! Who..!" Her mind froze at what happened the other night. "Takeda-kun…no, he couldn't have!!" But no matter how much she played it out in her mind, it kept coming to the same conclusion: Her first love betrayed her. She looked up to the sky, and saw that it was morning. She hesitated. But she knew no matter what she said, her teammates would still blame her. And they would be right too. "I've no choice. If we're to have any hope of recovering the scrolls, I've got to tell them!!" She ran to her teammates, who were still sleeping. "Guys!! Wake up!!" she shouted.

Yuji and Shiguri shot up. "What is it!?" Shiguri said as he reached his kunai.

Iori looked to the ground. "I…I don't know how to tell you this…but I lost the scrolls!"

Shiguri leaped out of his make-shift bed. "Excuse me!?" Shiguri shouted. "I did NOT hear you say 'I lost the scrolls'!"

Iori looked away and said "It's true. Takeda-kun came by, and we talked. Then he said he got both scrolls, and I got excited and said I had both scrolls as well. He seemed amazed that we got them, so I showed him…and then, I guess his teammates knocked me out."

There was a moment of silence between the three. "I can't believe this." Shiguri hissed. He walked over, looking more than pissed, and grabbed Iori by the collar. "Just what the hell were you thinking!? Broadcasting to another team that we've got the scrolls!?"

"I-I thought that since we were from the same village…"

"Like ninety percent of the examinees!? It doesn't matter where we're from, if we got a scroll another team needs, we're targets!! You better have a real reason to go with you giving the scrolls to that asshole!!"

Iori seemed to struggle with an answer, but Yuji cut in. "It's because you liked Takeda. You wanted him to admire you, and you tried your best to impress him. That is correct, yes?"

Iori's eyes widened, and then she hung her head down in shame. "Yes." She whispered.

Yuji sighed. "Well, I hope you've learned from your mistake there, Iori."

Yuji walked away, and Shiguri was just shocked at how easily he let her off the hook. "Watiaminute, Yuji!! You're just going to let it go like that!? We got one more day until time is up!!"

Yuji walked over to his bed, and lifted the leaves. He then pulled at what appeared to be a tarp, and revealed a hole. Yuji reached down…and then held the heaven and earth scrolls in his hand. Shiguri and Iori were just shocked.

"W-Wait!!" Iori screamed, pointing her finger at Yuji. "If you had both scrolls, then what the hell was I guarding!?"

"Forgeries." Yuji stated. "I saw Takeda and his team trailing us. When we finally lost them, I figured they would manage to find us again. And I had a feeling that creep would take advantage of you. So, to insure that our scrolls were not taken, I gave you the ones I made, and hid the real ones away."

Both of his teammates were silent. "But wait." Shiguri said. "If they can't tell the difference between your fakes and the real ones, aren't they going to still make it to the tower?"

"Not necessarily. I left a few lines squiggled on purpose. The average genin isn't likely to spot it, but there's no way a jonin could miss it. And even if they don't spot the difference on the outside, I promise you what is inside is not anything close to the originals!!"

* * *

Takeda and his team made it to the tower. "Finally." He grinned. He hated being treated as an equal to the rest of the genin. He had the highest grades and could perform any jutsu perfectly well…but he had to go through the same rules. But after this exam, that would be different. He would be recognized as a great ninja. "Of course, if the others pass, I will still be just the same as them, in their view." And that was precisely why he and his team decimated any chances of the other teams they encountered passing. They of course took the one scroll they needed, but when they found a team with the same scroll as them, they didn't leave them alone…they burned those scrolls as well. "That way, I alone will be truly seen as great." The three walked up the stairs, and went into a room. They were both curious about the parchment on the wall, and when they read it, they realized a few passages were missing.

"Boss, I think they want us to open the scrolls." His male teammate said.

"Shut it!! I know that!!" Takeda yelled. Takeda opened their new heaven scroll first…and turned pale as he screamed. Inside was a photo of Yuji mooning the camera. Below the photo was written _"If you stole this scroll, congratulations!! You are as intelligent as my ass!!" _Takeda just dropped it, speechless.

Takeda turned to his female partner. "Megumi…how much time do we have left?"

Megumi looked at her watch and shrieked. "20 hours!!" With that announcement, Team 1 headed out.

* * *

Naruto got up off the couch and yawned. He knew he was expecting a little much from his team making it the first day. But some genins have managed it before. Like Gaara. Still, looking back, he probably should have just shown up when either all of the teams made it or when the deadline was up. He decided to take a walk around the compound. Soon, he saw Shikamaru looking into the forest. Naruto couldn't be sure, but Shikamaru did not have his usual bored expression. In fact, he seemed kind of sad.

Naruto was about to ask him, but Kiba's voice interrupted him. "Temari's team became chunin last year. Which means she's not coming up, especially since no sand nin registered."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding. Then, Genma came up to Naruto.

"Uzumaki…someone from the medical corps wants to see you."

Naruto was a bit confused, but then his eyes lit up. He practically ran to the room where the preliminaries would start. As a matter of fact, he did run. Instead of just jumping down, he also yelled "Sakura-chan!!"

For once, he didn't make a fool of himself. His new girlfriend was standing right there, giggling at his antics. "How've you been, Naruto?" she asked. Instead of the white uniforms of the other medi-nins, Sakura was wearing her red shirt and semi-skirt.

"I've been okay. And how about you?"

"Same as ever."

Naruto then asked "So, did Ba-chan demote you or something? Usually standard medic-nins are brought to the chunin exams."

Sakura smacked his head with her fist. Though she put less power into it, it still gave him a good bump. "I'm here because I REQUESTED to be." She hissed dangerously. "It's been quiet at the hospital, and most everyone is back from major missions."

Naruto rubbed his head. "I'm sorry, I was only joking." Naruto smiled. Sakura just couldn't stay angry at him when he smiled. Naruto then said "So…it's likely to be a while before any of the teams show up. You want to play cards or something?"

Sakura wrapped her arm around Naruto's. "I'd rather do something." She said in a seductive tone.

"Um, okay." Naruto said. "I guess we could also watch the view. Or do a staring contest. Or…"

Sakura then pulled in him and gave him a kiss. They separated, and she said "Or we could continue where we left off the other week."

Naruto eyes widened in realization. "Where we left off. Yeah. That sounds good." They walked right to the lounge at a brisk pace.

* * *

Takeda crawled through the pile of kunai. The boy had several scratches on him, and was exhausted. Their team had finally found another that had the scroll they needed. But their opponents were tough. He finally reached the scroll. "G-Got it."

He nearly collapsed when his male teammate came to pick him up. "Easy there." He said.

Takeda pushed him off. "Don't touch me." The pretty boy hissed. "Let's move!!" Finally, they disappeared.

* * *

Team 12 hopped onwards through the woods. Finally, the tower came into view.

"Only ten kilometers." Shiguri mumbled. "It's amazing what such a small forest can hide."

Yuji just said. "We don't have time for that! We've got to make it to the tower…" A shuriken came out of nowhere and grazed Yuji's eye, as well as destroying his glasses. The shock to his concentration caused him to fall below. He managed to throw a wire and save himself from a bad fall. Though his eye was safe, at the moment he couldn't see out of it.

"Yuji!!" his teammates shouted. "Are you all right!?"

Yuji said "I'm alright!!"

A strange voice said "But not for long!" More shuriken came, but Yuji saw these coming and rolled out of the way. His teammates jumped in to join him. Iori and Shiguri both drew their kunai, defending their comrade. Suddenly, the three turned their heads to another noise. Some random rain ninja were flung out of another part of the forest.

Shiguri could faintly see rotating chakra. Three more nin appeared, one of them a young girl with black hair. "That's…" Shiguri said.

"…Hyugga Hanabi." Yuji finished.

Iori faintly remembered them talking about the Hyugga, but other than her unusual eyes, she couldn't see anything special about her. Both teams reacted to each other defensively.

However, both of their attention was turned to the other direction, where some rain nin were pummeled by another 3 genin. "Those are the taijutsu specialists." Hanabi noted. Finally, another team, that included a brown dog, landed in the middle. All the teams pulled out their weapons, fearing they were surrounded by enemies. Hanabi, however, knew better. She activated her byakugan, and looked at every one of them. "We each have a pair of scrolls!" she shouted. "And we're all ninja of Konoha!!" At this point, she had the eyes and ears of every team, despite the shuriken being thrown at them constantly. "What say we all work together?" she asked.

Shiguri stepped forward. "Hmm…" A shuriken flew towards him, but he parried it with his kunai. "Sounds like a plan to me." He said. His teammates came up behind him, and soon the other teams joined them as well.

"Well…" Hanabi said. "Charge!" Every leaf ninja went straight for their opponents.

* * *

Yuji launched some wires to ensnare the enemy ninja. However, it did little more than stall them. While Yuji was proficient in shurikenjutsu, good ninjas could easily avoid them, since the shuriken was made as a distraction as opposed to an actual weapon. Soon he was knocked to the ground by one of the enemies.

Before the foreign genin could land a killer blow, he was kicked several feet away by Iori. Iori helped her teammate up, and beat several more foes away. "Yuji…" she said, slightly annoyed. "I know I probably don't have the smarts to be a ninja, but you don't have the muscle for it either. When we get out of this, we're going to have you pump some iron. Then, maybe you can explain some ninja-type strategies to me."

Yuji backed up against Iori, and pulled out a kunai as the enemy nin surrounded them. "In all honesty, I couldn't agree more." Yuji said.

Just when it seemed they were finished, one by one, the enemy was pulled underground. Shiguri came out and uppercutted another. The enemies threw their shuriken once more, but Shiguri seemingly vomited mud, which raised a wall and stopped the weapons. The genin jumped to the top of the wall, and made hand signs. "Doton! Doryu Renda!!" Several dragons made of mud and earth erupted from the earth, and breathed fire on their targets. For the few that broke the line, the dragons crashed into them. Finally Shiguri jumped down to check up on his teammates.

"I-I never knew he was that good." Iori thought.

Shiguri walked over and said "Come on. While the others distract them, we make a break for it."

Just as he passed him by, Yuji grabbed hold of his sleeve. "What did you say!?"

"I said leave'em. Perfect opportunity to."

Yuji narrowed his eyes. "They're leaf ninjas, like us." "And all ninjas are nothing but tools for war." Just as Shiguri got Yuji's hand off, Yuji turned and walked the opposite direction. Shiguri sighed, and followed him.

* * *

Hanabi used her gentle fist to disable her opponents. The sparring sessions with her father were beginning to pay off. She could see all around her, and reacted to her opponents attacks just as quickly. Suddenly, shuriken made a bee-line for her. She grinned, and went into rotation. The shuriken were reflected back to their former owners, who fell one by one. Hanabi stopped rotating, with a confident smirk on her face. However, once she stopped completely, vines grew and wrapped around her ankles. "Shit!" She couldn't move. The enemy nin were almost upon her…when suddenly, three of them were hit by arrows. By the time they looked up, a figure with a giant sword cut them down. Uryuu ran to his teammate's side and untied her. "Thanks, Uryuu." She said. More enemies were about to surround them, but a red blur took them all down. Even a sharingan user would've had trouble following Kenshin's movements.

* * *

Hige threw a smoke bomb at his opponents. "Genmai! Go!" The brown dog attacked viciously, dragging one opponent towards Hige, who leapt into the air and yelled "Getsuga!!" A tornado blew the one enemy nin away. However, several more shuriken grazed the young Inuzuka.

Just as he was about to collapse, Tsume jumped in and clawed away. He pulled two kunai and brutally made his way through the crowd. One nin snuck up behind him, but the enemy was caught off-guard when a little girl leapt out from behind his jacket and dropped kick the genin. For a little girl of her size, she sure packed power. "Good job, Kagome. Now help that weakling." Kagome ran right over to Hige.

* * *

Li fired a rope dart at her opponent, disabling him. Another kunoichi came towards her, but Li leapt out of the way, and landed behind her opponent. She took out her jian, and stabbed the other girl in the leg. Just then, the tree behind her began to fall.

"Crystal!" Chan yelled. Chan was strong, so he was able to support it on his back before she was crushed. Unfortunately for the two of them, more enemy ninja pounced. Crystal managed to hold her own with her weapons, but Chan was in a predicament. He was forced to hold up the tree and fight at the same time. He took some solid hits to the head, but fortunately, no kunai or blade wounds. He was able to fight back by pushing the tree up, and countering with his drunken fist. This went on and on, until finally, he beat away the last attacker, and gently laid the tree down. However, someone ran by and took his scroll! Chan yelled "Shit!! Jaa!!"

As much as Chan hated to admit it, Jaa was better suited for pursuing people. Jaa shouted back "Right!" and took off. He dropped his bones to give him more agility, and told Chan to watch them. He was catching up to the star nin fast.

"Shit!! All right, how about this!!" The star nin made hand signs, and the branches began closing around his pursuer as soon as the star nin passed them. However, Jaa jumped and weaved through the crevices. The star nin panicked, and picked up the pace. Before he could blink, Jaa stood right in front of him. The star nin was rendered speechless, and the next thing he knew, he was sent flying by a powerful round kick. Jaa hopped over to where he was, and took the scroll back.

* * *

All of the teams gathered at the center. "Is everyone alright?" Yuji asked. Everyone nodded okay.

"All right then." Hanabi said. "Thank you all for your help. Now, I suggest we all get going. We've only a few hours before the deadline." Everyone nodded, and took to the trees.

As Yuji and Iori caught up, they sensed Shiguri leap behind them. "I thought you left." Yuji said.

"You've got both scrolls, remember?" Shiguri commented back.

* * *

Everyone selected a room to enter. Team 12 picked one, and looked around.

"There's nobody here." Iori commented. She then looked up, and noticed the parchment above. "There's words missing there."

"Words missing… That's it! What's inside the scrolls are the missing words!"Shiguri commented. Yuji tossed him the earth scroll, and they read.

"If you lack earth, run through the fields and gain strength. If you lack heaven, turn to the clouds and seek wisdom."

Yuji and Shiguri could only say "WHAT!?"

Suddenly, something erupted from the scrolls. Next thing they knew, a Konoha Chunin appeared before them. He had spikey hair, and a scarf wrapped around his neck. He couldn't be older than 15. "Congratulations." He said. "You made it through the second round."

Yuji thought "He looks familiar. In fact, he looks a lot like the 3rd."

"Who are you?" Shiguri asked.

The Chunin answered "Sarutobi. Sarutobi Konohamaru."

Iori asked "So…are you going to tell us the meaning behind the scrolls, or not?"

Konohamaru's eyes widened. "Oh! Right!" Konohamaru took a moment to clear his throat. " What's written inside the scrolls are essentially pieces of advice. Both of which are things you can improve on. The earth scroll represents strength. The heaven scroll represents knowledge. And if you are lacking in either, it is expected of you to improve upon those if you want to be chunin. The point of the forest of death was for you to experience which qualities you were lacking. While teamwork is by far the most important part of ninjutsu, the fact is there will be situations where you will be on your own. And if you lack strength or smarts, you will die. So, it's all up to you how to improve. As for what would happen if you opened the scrolls while you were still in the forest…" "

We saw a team do that." Yuji said. "You guys could have simply told us 'You're disqualified!'"

Konohamaru scratched the back of his head. "Okay…hehehe…I don't have a very good answer for that honestly. But this was our way of testing you to perform a mission correctly. Anyway, go on ahead to the center. Your sensei will be waiting there. I'm glad I could meet Naruto-ni-chan's team."

The three were confused with his statement, but went on ahead inside.

* * *

The lounge wasn't exactly a very private place. That being said, Naruto and Sakura took advantage of the fact that most of the instructors were eagerly awaiting their students. They weren't doing anything taboo at all…just making out. Sakura lay on top of Naruto, looking like she was trying to suck the air out of him. "MMM…" Sakura mumbled. "How much longer do you think, Naruto?"

Naruto checked his watch. "Um, there's two hours left. I don't think they'll make it until the very last minute."

They continued their session for a couple of seconds, when a voice said "You sure about that?" Naruto and Sakura immediately freaked and got off the couch: Team 12 was staring at them with a look that didn't exactly convey surprise. "Well, what do you think sensei?" Yuji asked, grinning.

Naruto clutched his heart and chuckled. "If you made it this far, I'd say excellent." Both were quite embarrassed, but neither one would deny they were a couple. "Anyway, let's go get this show on the road."

* * *

All of the genin teams gathered in the main hall. Takeda gave Yuji a nasty glare. Yuji, in turn, bent over and smacked his butt. "Come on, admit it…you LOVED what you saw." Takeda looked like he was about to charge him, but everything stopped when Tsunade appeared.

Naruto didn't think he would ever get used to the sight of her wearing the Hokage hat. "Welcome! And congratulations!! I see we have quite a few of you here…and because of that, this will be the preliminaries! The third stage has nothing to do with teamwork, but individual skills! You will be pitted against each other, one on one. Anyone who looses in the preliminaries is disqualified. A month afterwards, we'll have a tournament, where the victor of one match will face the victor of another."

Shiguri yelled "But wait a minute!! By that logic, only one of us can be chunin!!"

Tsunade grinned "We grade you more on performance than victory. You might still become chunin, even if you loose." Tsunade pointed to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru was the first in his class to become a chunin, and he forfeited his match."

Shikamaru mumbled "Troublesome." while the other genin gave him confused looks.

Tsunade continued "And of course, if we feel none of you have what it takes…you will not be promoted." There was silence. "Now, we will begin the preliminaries as you are. If you feel you are not fit to continue, raise your hand. If only one member of a team wants to withdraw, his teammates will not be affected."

One team raised their hands, and were dismissed. A couple of more individuals…soon, sixteen were left. Team 12, 3, 4, 9, and 1 were to be competing. The only other foreign ninja was one grass nin."This is rare…" Tsunade thought. "The final part of the chunin exam will be made up of members almost entirely of members of our own village." Suddenly, another chunin appeared.

He had flat hair, big glasses, and seemed to have a cold. "Hi. My name is Udon. And I'll be the referee for the preliminaries. Everyone, to the top. Those of you competing will be pitted against one another at random. Best of luck to you all."

Yuji in particular was nervous. He was still in a bit of pain from the last attack. He wasn't sure if he could do it. "No. I will not back down." He thought. "Even if I don't win…I'm going to give it my all." All the genins went up the stairs, eager for their matches to begin…

* * *

Next: Let the preliminaries begin!!


	17. Don't Stop Now, Rock N' Roll

Hey. I had a REALLY bad week. I was pretty much a zombie the entire weekend afterwards. Oh well, I think I'm back to normal now. Not much else to say, except review responses. I must say, I'm pretty pleased this time around, although I didn't get many of my old reviewers back. Oh well. Let's try to make at least 10 reviews for this chapter, okay?

Mangalover248: Who doesn't like a mooning scene?

Full-metal-sousuke: Well, every now and then leave one. Please?

Dead Prince: No

Mrfipp: Never thought about that either. I guess just run around and yell like an MMA fighter who just won a fight?

HawkofNavarre: You shall stand whenever you read my fics! (Displays scariest cattle prod ever). Well, unless you've been working a part-time job, you won't know busy until you hit college. But I've been where you are…it never does get any easier.

Pirogeth: Well, I was just trying to point out that the names I pick for characters just come out of nowhere. If you liked what happened between Yuji and Takeda then, you'll love it here!

Doom187: Lee's team is essentially comprised of our other ultimate martial arts stars, and I ripped off other anime characters (those won't last). And you should figure out what Naruto's team will become like.

DanielNieves: It can be frustrating, huh? You'll see a taste of what's to come regarding Sasuke…

And for today's disclaimer, Tony Jaa will say it! Go ahead, Mr. Jaa!

Jaa: (says something in Thai)

So long as that means some variant of 'I don't own Naruto, we're good!

Random Translator: He also said he's going to file a lawsuit for stealing his character as well.

WHAT? YOU AND WHAT ARMY?

(Jaa gets in Muay Boran stance)

….How much?

* * *

Everyone eagerly awaited their match. And everyone was nervous. Naruto was sure his team would be okay. Even if they didn't make it this time, there would be other chances; all that mattered to him was that they came out alive. Sakura was a bit worried though. She wasn't entirely truthful to Naruto; she did request to be there, but not for the other teams. She was worried about his team, especially Yuji.

Finally, the screen began its selection. "So," Shiguri said. "Who wants a go at Takeda?" The entire trio raised their hands. "Well, whoever fights him first better send him home crying!" They turned their heads to the screen. First came Shiguri. "Yes…come on, Takeda, come on…" The second name came up: Saitou Kenshin. "Damn!" Shiguri cursed. "Oh well, guess I gotta."

Further down, Team 9 wished Kenshin luck. He simply nodded. "Uryuu…this is meant to be a one-on-one fight strictly. As much as I would appreciate it otherwise, do not help me." Uryuu nodded in response.

* * *

Shiguri leapt down to the floor, as did Kenshin.

Shiguri stared at his opponent, and regretted that he didn't even watch. "If I knew that I'd have to face everyone taking the test in a battle, I wouldn't have got up and left like that." He thought.

"All right." Udon said. "You are allowed to fight using whatever techniques and tools you deem necessary. While we do want you all to attack with the intent to kill, should it look like any one of you will die, I shall stop the fight." Shiguri and Kenshin indicated they understood. Udon raised his hand, and threw it down. "Begin!"

Shiguri pulled out a kunai and threw it at Kenshin, who vanished. Before Shiguri could react, he saw the red-head boy to his side, who delivered a kick to his kidneys. Shiguri rolled onto the floor. "He's fast…I didn't even see him move!" Shiguri stumbled to his side, narrowly avoiding a straight punch that with its sheer speed would have smashed his head into the wall…which was a good 3 meters on the other side. Shiguri flipped over, and noticed in the nick of time Kenshin was up higher than him, and preparing a drop kick. Shiguri blocked it, but the momentum his opponent had built would've fractured his arms had he not broke the engagement at the last second. Shiguri could not hope to hit this guy. Not under normal tactics.

Just then, Kenshin came upon him again. "Let's finish this!" Just when he executed his first strike, a mud wall rose up. Even with his incredible speed, he could not hope to bring it down. Not only that, but he couldn't stop himself from attacking the wall.

Iori asked "What's he doing?"

Hanabi looked on. "He has practiced that technique so many times he can do it without thinking. However, because of that, the muscle memory is too strong; he can't stop the attack if he wanted to!"

Kenshin finally delivered his last strike. His fist went right through the wall, but stopped midway. "Good." Shiguri whispered. He grabbed hold of the arm and brought Kenshin to him. Shiguri punched him in the face and began to twirl with him. Shiguri finally let him go, hoping to slam his opponent into the wall.

"Shiguri, no!" Naruto shouted.

Kenshin planted his feet into the wall and launched himself spinning back at his opponent. Shiguri was back-handed across the face and fell to the ground. He was up, but he kept taking hits. "You will never land one hit on me. My God-Speed is unbeatable."

Shiguri panted "First of all, I caught you off guard once. Second…"

Suddenly Kenshin stumbled. He regained his footing, but found out he couldn't move. He looked down, and found out that the floor became mud.

"This is it!" Shiguri shouted. Several earth dragons came out of the ground. "Kazudoryu redan!" Shiguri shouted. They went straight for Kenshin.

Kenshin retracted his left fist for a straight punch, and chakra became visible all around his body. Kenshin got into a stance preparing for an upper cut. "Amatsu Garuda Hirameki!" Quicker than the eye could see, a massive chakra blast blew all the dragons away. Everyone shielded themselves from the light. When it died down, Kenshin smiled at the result. Shiguri was stunned, had burns all over his body, and his clothes were in ruins. Just when Kenshin smirked, Shiguri's body cracked and crumpled. "A-a clone?"

Suddenly, Shiguri's voice came from below. "Congratulations! You've just won the grand prize!" Kenshin was pulled under until only his head was above the surface. Shiguri emerged. "That move cost you all of your chakra, right?" Kenshin hung his head down.

Udon held up his hand. "The winner is Naka Shiguri!" Shiguri held both of his hands in his pockets as he made his way back up the stairs. Meanwhile, Sakura went to dig Kenshin out.

* * *

The board began to randomly select again. "Please me vs. Takeda, please me vs. Takeda…" both Yuji and Iori whispered. Finally, the board made its selection: Hyuuga Hanabi vs. Shidan Kagome.

The two contestants stepped down.

"You're either someone very special…or Konoha's standards have dropped." Hanabi teased her, with no hint of emotion. Kagome just stuck her tongue out.

Udon held his hand, and yelled "Begin!"

Naruto looked down from the stands. "There's no way a little girl like that could win!"

"Hey!" Kiba shouted at Naruto. "I thought you of all people would understand not to underestimate the underdog! Kagome is a genius, let me tell you! Just watch!"

Shikamaru cut in. "So is Hanabi. It will take more than intelligence to bring her down."

Hanabi activated her Byakugan, and charged. She struck…and Kagome evaporated into nothing. "What…?" Suddenly, everything was spinning violently. Hanabi felt sick, and held her stomach. "Genjutsu."

Kagome's voice chimed in. "I know hand-to-hand combat with you is suicide. So, I concocted this little illusion."

Hanabi was adept at shuriken throwing while blindfolded, but right now her whole equilibrium was disrupted. Her line of thought was interrupted when she felt the little girl's presence closing in on her. Hanabi rolled away, but still felt a kunai slash her arm. "Damn!"

The jonins, who were not affected by the illusion, were stunned. Naruto shouted "Wow, Kiba! You weren't kidding!"

Kiba said "Yeah, just don't do anything stupid like yell Kagome's position. Otherwise, I'll kill you. Right here, right now." Naruto sweat dropped.

Shikamaru, looking bored as usual, said "No, it's not going to last."

Kagome made a charge for the Hyuuga, and it seemed like this would be it. Suddenly, Hanabi turned to face her and shoved a palm into her chest. Not only did this send the little girl flying, but she felt her tenkatsu close. "H-How…"

Hanabi pulled her sleeve, revealing where the tenkatsu on her own body was struck. "To cancel out your genjutsu, I disrupted the flow of my own chakra. Are there anymore tricks you'd like to throw in?"

Kagome growled, and pulled out a scroll. She threw it in the air, and made her signs. "Ryuuseiu no jutsu!" Kunai with explosive tags came shot out of the scroll. Hanabi leapt out of the way. With her byakugan, she could easily see them all…except for one which landed in her blind spot. It went off, and she tumbled to the ground. "Here's the last of them!" Kagome shouted as the kunai came raining down on her opponent. However, Hanabi stood up and twisted. Chakra surrounded her body and began twisting with her. The rotation technique repelled the kunai…including one that got Kagome's sleeve and pinned her to the wall. She made a motion to throw the kunai away, but by then the fuse reached the end and went off.

"Kagome!" Kiba shouted.

The girl lay unconscious, with a bad burn on the side of her face.

"The winner is Hyuuga Hanabi!" Udon called.

The standard medics took care of Hanabi's scratch, while Sakura got to work on Kagome. When the child came to, Sakura said "Don't worry, you did very well. Most genin would be completely helpless against a Hyugga. I can easily see you appointed chunin within a few months." Though Kagome was still disappointed by the outcome, she still smiled, acknowledging Sakura's words.

* * *

"When are we going to get our turn?" Yuji and Iori shouted.

"Soon enough." Naruto replied. "Man, was I really that eager to fight back then?"

The screen started again, and the results were in: Inuzuka Hige vs. Crystal Li. Hige was nervous; he had been training, but the two C-ranked missions he had did not prepare him for combat with another ninja.

"Go get her, Hige!" Kiba shouted.

The two stood facing each other, and Udon yelled "Begin!"

"Go get her, Genmai!" Hige commanded.

Genmai bore his teeth and charged at Li. Li, however, leapt over it and delivered a side kick to Hige's sternum. Hige fell back, and threw a smoke bomb at Li. Disoriented, Li stumbled back, and Genmai attacked again. Victory seemed promising when Li was heard yelling behind the smoke screen. However, Genmai yelped, and retreated into Hige's arms. Hige felt him, and noticed blood. The wound was superficial, but it still angered him. When he looked up, Li stood there, holding a small knife in her hand.

"It must have been tucked away in her sleeve." Hige thought. Hige and his dog surrounded Li. Genmai went in first, and attacked the same arm he bit. Li beat him away, and anticipated Hige running towards her. She threw a spinning back fist to her other side. However, Hige was just outside of kicking range, and once her fist came to a half circle, he pulled out a kunai and pounced on her. He did not intend to kill her though; just press the weapon at her neck so she would not struggle, and from there, he began to elbow her while she was on the ground. Li then grabbed Genmai, who was guarding her, and rubbed his body against Hige's eyes. Though it did not get him off, the distraction made him loosen his hold, and then she was able to flip him off her body. Hige wiped his mouth. "She's good. " He and Genmai charged again, but retreated once they were almost upon her. At the last second, Li pulled out twin dao. Most standard ninja weapons would not stand up to them, and using Genmai as a shield was out of the question. Hige reached into his pocket and pulled out a soldier pill. "Genmai! Catch!" Genmai swallowed the pill. Though his fur did not change color like Akamaru, it began to display a spiky texture, much like a hedgehog. Hige got on all fours, and his dog jumped on top of him. Genmai transformed into a duplicate of Hige. "Beast Mimicry!" Hige shouted. They both charged at different directions. Both managed to make a few scratches on the girl, but Li forced them away with her swords. "Enough of this!" Hige yelled. Genmai got on top of him. "Getsuga!" Both were spinning in a tornado towards Li.

Li crossed her swords and said " Kiritasen RyuDao!" She too propelled forward, spinning like a buzz saw. The two seemed to pass each other, and both opponents touched down opposite to one another. Li got a wound across her stomach, but it wasn't serious.

Hige actually came out okay. But he looked to his side and saw Genmai collapse in a pool of blood. Hige ran over. "Genmai!" He clutched his dog, trying his best to hold back tears. Though he did not notice, Li was shedding a few tears of her own. Hige brought his face up. "Kiba! Is Cousin Hana around here?"

Hana came up and picked Hige up. "I'll take him to the clinic immediately." Before she left, she said to Hige "The two of you worked great together. I hope you and Genmai can make it next time."

"Who said I was forfeiting?" Hige hissed. Hana looked at him, stunned. "Hige! The Inuzuka clan has always fought with their dogs as one! If you continue…"

Kiba interrupted. "Hold it, sis! Let him fight!"

Hana was about to protest, but once she saw the look in Hige's eyes, she relented. "Okay." She took Genmai away, and let the fight continue.

Li said "I'm sorry about your dog. But without him, you can't win. Please, forfeit." Hige didn't respond. "Very well." Li replied. Li charged, slashing her two dao at Hige. The Inuzuka boy dodged only by a hair, but it was clear that he had the fight under control so far. Hige landed some low kicks to stop Li's momentum, but she managed to land a good slice on Hige's shoulder. Hige yelped, and fell over. "This is it!" Li shouted as she prepared to stab her opponent's foot. Hige reached into his pocket and tossed a smoke bomb. Or at least what appeared to be a smoke bomb. Instead of smoke, a greenish liquid was expelled. "AAAAH!" Li screamed. "My eyes!"

She dropped her weapons to hold her eyes. That would be her fatal mistake. "Getsuga!" Hige shouted. Alone, he became a swirling projectile and rammed into Li dead on. The girl tumbled across the floor, and hit the wall.

Udon looked, and could see she was unconscious. "The winner is Inuzuka Hige!"

* * *

Hige didn't cheer like the others; instead he ran right over to follow Genmai and Hana.

"What was that your cousin threw at her?" Naruto asked Kiba.

"His dog's pee, for lack of a better word. The dogs we raise have urine that is highly acidic, and can be used offensively. Hige must've prepared for an event where Genmai would be out of commission."

Naruto nodded, then asked "So…are you going to check up on them?"

"Soon. Hige is too emotionally distraught to pay attention to his potential opponents. So, I gotta do it for him. I'm sure Genmai is fine; Akamaru took injuries much worse and survived to bark about them."

* * *

The board began its selection once more. "Come on, let this one be me!" Iori and Yuji practically screamed.

Iori's name came up first. "Yes!"

Then another name: Kurohyo Sougen.

"Huh?" Iori yelled.

Naruto said "I think your opponent is the one grass ninja that stayed here."

Iori looked to where Kurohyo was. He was toned fairly well. His hair was brown and spiky, and his eyes were a fierce yellow color. He had combat pants, a wife-beater t-shirt and a pampas grass cape on his back. He also had a nasty look on his face.

Naruto patted her shoulder. "Listen, I don't know why you want to fight your crush so bad, but this is the way it goes. If it's to get him to acknowledge you, you can do that by facing opponents that have been deemed stronger than him. If you want revenge…which I hope is not the case…"

"It is." Yuji told him.

Naruto just continued. "…then beat those same ninjas that beat him and prove you're the better one between the two of you."

Iori sighed. "I guess I can live with that."

* * *

Iori faced off against Kurohyo.

"I guess I don't mind fighting a little girl. Especially not one as pretty as you." The grass nin whispered. Iori just looked at him in disgust.

"Begin!" Udon yelled.

Kurohyo leapt towards Iori, with a straight fist. Iori just calmly waited.

"Iori, look out!" Naruto shouted.

Kurohyo revealed a small dagger in his fist. He struck Iori right in the forehead…or at least tried to. Iori used an outward block to drive his fist away, and countered with a straight punch to the face. Kurohyo's nose was crushed, he stumbled over…and finally collapsed.

"The winner: Myojin Iori!"

Iori just looked at the grass nin in disbelief. "That…was completely unsatisfactory."

* * *

Naruto was relieved that Iori wasn't hurt. Still, he was surprised at how weak the guy was. He turned his attention back to the board. It randomly selected again: Shiro Tsume vs. Tade Megumi.

"You're up, Tsume!" Kiba shouted.

Tsume leapt down to the floor. Meanwhile, the girl from team one gave him a nasty glare. She had bluish hair tied in a bun, silver eyes, and her outfit was a purple fishnet outfit. Tsume could see all the pouches in her legs for kunai.

Just then, Megumi brought her hand to her chin and cackled. "Hahahahaha. You're the cat boy, right? I am going to enjoy taming you! Hahaha…"

Tsume snorted at this. "Calling you a bitch would be nice. Let me tell you something: Cats can learn to like you, but they can never be tamed…" He flexed his fingers. "Especially the big ones."

Udon shook his head. "Why does everyone here have to be more combative than necessary?" He threw his hand down and yelled "Begin!"

Megumi took out her kunai and threw them at random.

Tsume easily dodged them, not even taking his hands out of his pockets. "Surely, there's more to those than meets the eye, right?"

Megumi grinned evilly. "Very intuitive." She pulled her hand, and the kunai turned 180 degrees.

Tsume dodged them all, but one managed to cut his cheek. "So…you attach wire to your kunai so that you can control them in the air." Megumi continued laughing and fired her kunai again. Tsume kept dodging them.

In fact, Naruto noticed that was all he was doing. "He's had several opportunities for counter-attacks. Why didn't he…"

"Oh man, I was worried this would happen if they paired him up with a girl." Kiba groaned.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"Tsume has a thing about hitting women…even when they're trying to kill him."

Tsume kept dodging like there was no tomorrow, but one managed to go right through his leg. Tsume collapsed in pain, and yelled when the kunai was pulled out.

"Hahahaha! I think the little kitty needs to be put out of his misery!" Megumi cried. She spun her kunai right above her, and the wind got stronger. Suddenly, it was tearing the place apart. Even Udon had to duck. "Prepare to die!" Megumi yelled.

Tsume sighed. "It goes against my ethics to hit a girl. So does this…" He stood up. "But it's the lesser of two evils." He crouched on all fours, and seemed to be sucking air in.

Kiba whispered "This is…Gouzen Konpaku. He's gathering chakra in his body, and release it like a lion would roar."

Suddenly Tsume roared, stopping EVERYONE from moving. His body glowed yellow, and he spun like a wheel. The floor was torn apart underneath him, and he charged at Megumi. Instead of colliding with her, he flew past her.

When he came to a stop, Megumi cackled again. "Hahahaha! You're all bark and no bite…even more insulting when considering what you're supposed to be like!"

Tsume got up and brushed himself off. "Oh, I didn't miss a thing. You'll be missing something important though." He didn't even turn around to face her.

"Like what?" Megumi asked. Suddenly, something exploded. Not an organ. Megumi's clothes. Every male in the vicinity immediately turned their backs.

Except Shiguri. "Don't worry, she doesn't have much to hide." he said in a bored tone. Megumi clutched whatever rags she could hold onto and screamed out of the arena.

Udon was a bit stunned at the tactics used, but decided it was best to get on with the competition. "The winner by forfeit: Shiro Tsume!"

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kiba yelled at Tsume.

"Hey, I didn't like doing it either, but I refuse to hit a girl."

"And what you just did is better?"

"I think so. Better for them to be humiliated than bruised."

The two continued their arguing while the board ticked away once more. The two names were selected, and someone cheered: Miyamoto Yuji vs. Takeda Nishiwaki. While Yuji screamed yes, Sakura got worried. She heard about Takeda from Iruka; like Sasuke back in the day, he made the highest grades in the class.

Naruto patted Yuji on his shoulder. "Be careful. And do your best."

"Right!" Just when he was about to go down, he stopped. Then he turned around and said "Shiguri!" Yuji whispered into his friend's ear, who was slowly grinning from ear to ear.

"No way." he snickered.

"How much you wanna bet?" Yuji replied.

"20 ryo."

Yuji whistled in response. "Then I'm about to be a rich man." Yuji jumped into the stage, while Takeda just snickered.

"That was quite a clever prank you pulled, I must admit. But your dry humor will do you little good here."

"With what I'm about to do, it won't seem the slightest bit funny to you."

"The next match…" Udon began. "Miyamoto Yuji vs. Takeda Nishiwaki: Begin!"

Yuji jumped back and threw his shuriken. Takeda dodged, and countered with his own. He then grabbed a kunai and charged. Yuji dodged each by a hair's width, and began to run away. But every so often he would come back to counter attack. They dueled with kunai for a while. Yuji dodged a slash meant for his carotid arteries, only to get a deep gash on the shoulder. Takeda smirked…and then received an air kick right under the chin as Yuji went down.

"Yes!" Naruto hissed, raising his fist. "The taijutsu lessons are finally beginning to pay off!"

Takeda got up, and made more attacks. Yuji latched himself onto the wall and smacked his hands over his opponent's ears, disrupting his equilibrium. Takeda regained his balance, and took out a scroll. He smirked, and pulled out a katana.

"Okay." Yuji thought. "It's deadly if it hits, but my wires can block it!" Takeda channeled his chakra through the sword, and it begun to vibrate. Very rapidly. Probably enough to cut through steel wires."Plan B! Panic!" Yuji screamed. He ran along the side of the wall while Takeda demolished it.

The bishonen managed to scrape Yuji's calf, causing him to fall off. "Now to finish off the little bug!" He thrust down, but Yuji shot 2 wires across the room. He practically flew to the other side, but Takeda followed right after him. Takeda gripped the hilt in his mouth and made some hand signs. "Tsuyayaka Hi no jutsu!" Suddenly, a bright light shot from his eyes, and went straight into Yuji's. "AAAHH!" Yuji let go and gripped his eyes.

"Oh no, Yuji!" Naruto shouted. Takeda gripped his sword. He rushed forward, but suddenly tripped. He didn't fall over, but his movement slowed dramatically. Yuji had shot his wires all around to give him the crucial second he needed to get away and recover.

Takeda leapt across, charging once more. "This is where you die, scum!" he shouted.

"You first!" Yuji shouted back. The boy threw a shuriken, which missed. Or so everyone thought. Yuji jerked his hand back. "Sorry, but I copied this off of your girlfriend!" The shuriken came back, and Takeda almost didn't notice. He dodged, but his surprise caused him to drop his weapon. Yuji wrapped more wires around the hilt, and pulled. The sword went straight up to the ceiling and stopped vibrating, due to lack of contact with its master. Before Takeda could jump up to retrieve it, Yuji tackled him to the ground. They wrestled for a bit, and Yuji dug his heel into Takeda's chin. Yuji then did something unexpected: He bit his opponent's crotch. Of course Takeda screamed in pain.

No one knew exactly what to make of this though, other than to be grossed out. "To think they called me a freak for biting you." Naruto muttered to Kiba.

Just when in seemed that Takeda would surrender, he flipped his opponent over. Takeda screamed and grabbed Yuji by the hair. Takeda proceeded to beat him senseless. After 3 punches to the face, a tiger claw across the ribs, and two knees, Yuji looked like he was run over by a bull. Takeda took out his kunai, and yelled "I'll kill you!"

Just when Naruto was about to leap over the rail, something unexpected happened: Yuji smiled. Yuji then kicked his feet upwards. The sound of wires retracting was heard. Takeda checked his surroundings to see where the attack would come from. Suddenly, he was hoisted up into the air by a snare, screaming. His voice was unusually high pitched, and if one looked closely, he would see why: The snare that Yuji sneakily wrapped around Takeda was not on his ankle!

"He hung him up by his WHAT?" Naruto yelled.

Iori turned around in shock. "Oh God, I was head over heels in love with him and all he had to offer was THAT? I can't even see it with binoculars from here!" she thought.

Shiguri just looked passively and muttered "I knew it."

Udon was stunned even more than the last match, if that was possible. And so was Tsunade. "It looks like 'unpredictable' is going to become the new mantra for this team." She thought. "Udon!"

Udon snapped out of his trance. "Oh, right! The winner: Miyamoto Yuji!"

"WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GET THIS THING OFF MY BALLS!!"

* * *

Yuji headed up the stairs, feeling quite happy. Sakura rushed up to heal him earlier, and not a trace of the beating he took was found. "She seemed very concerned about my well being…more than most of the other contestants. Neither of our lives was in danger; normally I would have just been given some ice. Oh well, I can't complain." Yuji finally made it up to the podium. He looked straight at Shiguri, held out his hand and yelled "CACHING!"

Shiguri sighed, and gave him the money.

"Just what did you two bet on?" Naruto asked.

"Whether or not Yuji could hang that bitch by the-"

"SHANNARO!"

Everyone turned in the direction where Sakura screamed just in time to see her punch Takeda into the floor from his stretcher. The other jonin looked on in shock.

"Well, that kid deserved it." Shikamaru said. Lee and Kiba couldn't agree with him more.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked.

"That Takeda kid coped a feel on her." Kiba answered for him.

"He did WHAT?" Naruto yelled.

"Well, I don't think coming to her rescue is necessary right now."

Naruto was still pissed. And he had to agree with the other jonin: Although Sakura was in ANBU, she was still well known as the Hogake's apprentice; itwas common sense to assumeshe had her super strength.

"Well…" Tsunade began. "…despite all that's occurred, shall we move on?"

* * *

The next match began: Funny Chan vs. Kurosaki Uryuu. Uryuu swung his giant sword, which Chan dodged quite easily. The Zui Quan fighter then countered with drunken punches to his opponent's stomach and flipped kicked him. As Uryuu fell, he shot his crossbow. Chan ducked, but he was still grazed across the shoulder quite badly. Uryuu came back and kicked the boy. Following with a bunt from the hilt, Chan was smashed into the wall. He was back on his feet, but Uryuu's giant blade keep coming at him. Chan bent over and dodged each swing as he came. Though Chan did counter-attack, each one was blocked by the massive blade. Uryuu elbowed Chan away, and fired his bow. Though the arrows did not hit flesh, the two of them that were fired managed to snag onto the poor boy's pants, pinning him to the ground. "Checkmate." Uryuu said.

He fired his arrow, aiming for his opponent's stomach. He could have just as easily aimed for the heart, but given that it was a Konoha ninja he was fighting, he thought it dishonorable to strike a potential comrade down. However, he was met with surprise; his final arrow was blocked. Blocked by the very first arrow he fired. Chan quickly freed himself, tore off some cloth from his pants, and tied the ends of the arrows together into what seemed to be a make-shift shuriken. Chan began twirling it, and charged. Uryuu brought down his sword, believing it would crush the other boy's weapon. But simple blocking was not what it was designed for. Chan caught the blade between the two arrows and directed it to the floor. The giant blade was lodged to the floor, and Chan kicked the back of Uryuu's head, sending him sliding across the arena. "Give up." Chan said in an unusually cold tone. "You can't win."

Uryuu was across the other side of the room due to the kick he received. His sword was on the floor. "It's not over yet!" he shouted. He made one hand sign and stretched out his hand. The hilt of the sword glowed, and it flew back to its master. However, it looked like a completely different sword: Black and serrated. Confused, Chan looked at where the blade used to be, and saw the original form still stuck in the floor.

"That blade…the giant form was just a shell!"

"Yes." Uryuu confirmed. "That giant sword is just for training. With its true, lightweight form…" Uryuu rushed up to Chan, quicker than the eye could see. "…you've no chance for victory."

Chan jumped out of the way, but Uryuu swung his sword and still left a nasty cut on his chest. Chan clutched it, and continued to dodge as his opponent attacked. "I can't dodge once he's begun his attack! I can only dodge effectively before he moves, and that's proving to be difficult!" Chan still got many cuts and gashes. He could not counterattack: if he did, he would loose a hand. Another just missed piercing his skull, and Chan was sent to the floor. His back was in pain too, and when he looked, he found out why: He landed on his arrow shuriken. It didn't pierce deeply, but it was another annoyance on top of the one he was dealing with. When he looked up, he noticed a crack in the roof. Then he looked back at Uryuu, who was lunging at him. What was about to happen next looked like a well-thought out plan. But there was no time for that. It was purely dumb luck. Chan rolled over, and threw the make-shift shuriken up into the crack. Uryuu lodged his sword right where Chan was once lying. Then, a big block from the ceiling came down and landed right on Uryuu's head. It was a big one, as evidenced by the genin's bleeding head. He was still standing, but he was clearly quite wobbly. He readied his next attack…and took a blow to the throat from Chan. Uryuu went down, and everyone knew it was over; after all, almost nobody gets back up to fight after being hit in the windpipe.

"The winner: Funny Chan!"

* * *

"Well done Chan! The power of youth is shining bright within you!" Lee yelled, with fire in his eyes (literally).

Chan just scratched the back of his head. "Um…thanks." Chan always wanted Lee to praise him, but now that he got it, he wasn't sure it was what he wanted.

"Welcome to my world." Jaa said as he patted his teammate's shoulder. The board did not begin it's usual routine; there were only 2 contestants left.

"The final preliminary match: Oogata Kuma vs. Tiger Jaa!"

Oogata Kuma smirked. "I got lucky; I'll get to make YOU kiss dirt."

Jaa looked at Kuma, and realized that this was the bully that was harassing his teammates earlier. Jaa said nothing, except put up his unusual guard. Kuma jumped up despite his apparent bulk, bringing down a powerful kick. However, Jaa evaded it and double uppercutted his foe. "Hanuman!" Kuma went down hard, but he wasn't out. He swung a right hook, but Jaa ducked and landed an elbow to Kuma's forehead as he did. "Sanjuurokkei!" Kuma charged again, only to be halted by low round kicks. Jaa jumped back, and ran forward. "Hanuman Ukagu Lanka!" He jumped and landed on Kuma's face with a flying knee, sending the bi g genin into the wall.

"I've never seen a taijutsu style like that before." Naruto said in wonder. "Lee, that style…"

"Ah, yes. Jaa is a refugee from Elephant country. They already had a form of taijutsu that focuses on using the elbows and knees, as well as the legs and fists. It is called the Science of Eight Limbs. And with my training, it's nearly invincible."

The battle continued, and it became clear that in terms of taijutsu skill, Kuma had nothing on Jaa. "How could this be?" he thought. "I got an A in taijutsu every year. It was the only subject I was good at!" When he hit the floor face first again, he noticed some debris gathering. "Hmm…well, we're ninja after all." He gathered the dust up and threw it into Jaa's eyes, who doubled back. Kuma picked Jaa up, and threw him onto the ground. Jaa was back on his feet, but his sight wasn't back to normal. He blocked Kuma's onslaught with his elbows, but it would mean nothing if he couldn't counterattack. Kuma finally managed to land an uppercut and sent Jaa to the ground once again. However, despite the dizziness he was feeling, Jaa got back on his feet and push kicked Kuma away. Kuma just looked at him. Every time he hit the tanned boy, it felt like he was punching a tree without chakra. He was very tough skinned. "Okay, enough of this hand-to-hand crap." He threw two kunai, both of which Jaa easily dodged. However, he didn't see the wire that connected them and got tied up. It was only then that he noticed the explosive tags. A second later, Jaa was engulfed in flames.

Kuma held out his middle finger and yelled "Fuck Taijutsu!" He regretted those words in an instant when Jaa came out of the fire with a flying knee to Kuma's nose. His legs still on fire, Jaa landed a spinning kick on Kuma's shoulder. Combined with the force and the fire to burn his skin, Kuma was fairing even worse. Jaa landed a round kick across Big Bear's sternum, and jumped into the air. He took the two bones strapped across his back and as he landed on Kuma's shoulders, smashed them over his head.

Kuma was not quite down yet, so Jaa yelled "This is it!" He grabbed Kuma's arm and broke it over his shoulder. Kuma screamed in pain, and struggled to rise. He obviously couldn't.

"The winner: Tiger Jaa!"

Naruto's team looked at Jaa in fear. "Oh man…I hope none of us have to fight him…" Yuji said.

"The only way that's happening is that we face someone who's better than him!" Shiguri yelled.

* * *

"All right, excellent job!" Tsunade shouted. " This concludes the preliminaries! And I want to congratulate all of our leaf genin: For the first time, the final part of the exam will consist entirely of genin from Konoha!" Tsunade shouted.

Everyone nodded in acknowledgement. Then, Moegi came forward. "Everyone please pick a number from the slot." she instructed. Every genin did so, and looked at their numbers. "Now, you will be paired with whoever holds the number closest to yours. For example, number 1 will face off against number two, and so on. Number 1!"

"Miyamoto Yuji!" His name was written down.

"Number 2!"

"Tiger Jaa!"

Yuji turned so pale that it would have made Orochimaru looked like he got a tan, and simultaneously his jaw would have dropped to the floor if he had no bones. Yuji pictured the likely scenarios…none of them turned out good. "Fuck me sideways…" he muttered.

"Number 3!"

"Myojin Iori!"

"Number 4!"

"Hyuuga Hanabi!"

Iori turned to face the Hyuuga. "So, what's so special about their clan again? They're blind?"

Hanabi rightfully got mad, and charged. Before she was upon her opponent, however, she stopped.

"Not now." Shikamaru said. "You'll get your chance soon enough." The jonin used his Kage Mane to stop her.

The drawing continued. "Number 5!"

"Shiro Tsume!"

"Number 6!"

"Funny Chan!"

"Number 7!"

"Naka Shiguri!"

"…And that means Number 8 will be Inuzuka Hige." Tsunade finished. "You have one month to prepare. You've seen the techniques of everyone inside here. I suggest you make use of it. Dismissed, and good luck!"

* * *

The proctors vanished, while the students who would participate met with their teachers. Shikamaru congratulated Hanabi the best he could; he didn't really know how enthused he should be, since it was really no surprise. Kiba muttered "Good job" to Tsume and went off to find Hige. Lee hugged both Jaa and Chan, saying something about the springtime of youth while his pupils were struggling to get out of his grasp.

Naruto smiled and patted each of his students. "I'm real proud of you, you know? It's almost unheard of for an entire team to make it into the finals. " The three smiled a little.

"I'm very impressed…Naruto." Sakura said his name seductively.

Naruto pretended to be modest and scratched his head. "Well, what did you expect, Sakura-chan? After all, I made it to the finals after I kicked Kiba's ass…"

"Naruto, you farted in his face." Sakura corrected him, in a teasing manner of course. Team 12 slowly started to giggle at him.

"Sakura-chan!"

Yuji then said "Well, I'm glad we've made you proud, and kudos to you for using your team to score points with the ladies…but the fact is I've got one month to live if you don't do something about it!"

Naruto sighed. "I have to admit, that Jaa guy is quite scary. I'll get you ready the best I can." Naruto looked at them all seriously. "And to do that, I think we'll need to go on a trip."

* * *

Back in Otogakure, 3 mercenaries gathered, each one of them carrying unusual swords.

"This is them?" Sasuke asked. "The last of the Mist Swordsman? Zabuza and Kisame are dead, and reports have stated that Gin should be disposed of as well. We should have four."

One of the swordsmen answered "The last one of us would never have agreed to go along with this, that bitch."

Sasuke turned around. "I suppose the three of you are enough. Kabuto! How's Orochimaru doing?"

"His new body has managed to circulate chakra normally now."

"Excellent. Send him now. When the opportunity comes, he will send us the signal. Oh, and please remind him that he's not allowed to summon Manda."

He turned back to the Mist Swordsman. "You're only job is to protect him until he kills the Hokage. Then you shall help him exterminate the council and anyone else who would want a government position. Finally, you will destroy the treasury. Is that clear?" He only got a few grunts, but that was enough for him. He walked down the hall, into the 'throne room' and slept. "Soon Naruto…everything you have ever lived for will be erased…just like you have erased what I have lived for…"

* * *

Next chapter: Naruto and his team leave for a training trip. And back in Konoha, someone dies! Will it be Sakura? (Sakura Gasps) Will it be Kakashi? (Kakashi gasps) Or will it be one of these bajillion costars? (Displays all Naruto characters at hyper speed)

Sakura and Kakashi: Woo-hoo!

Also, for whoever may be a Heaven and Earth member and read in the fanfiction section that I would have voting for which fights the viewers wanted to se first…I apologize. It's hard enough balancing the pleasure of writing with the pressure of school, and I was not patient enough to wait. So, no voting. In this fic…I AM GOD.

Well, you get the idea.

Amatsu Garuda Hirameki-Heavenly Garuda Flash

Kazudoryu redan-Nine Earth Dragons Barrage

Ryuuseiu-Meteor Shower

Kiritasen RyuDao-Truthfully, I forgot. The last part is supposed to be "Dragon Dao".

Sougen Kurohyo-Plain Panther

Gouzen Konpaku-Roaring Soul

Tsuyayaka Hi-Beautiful Sun

Sanjuurokkei-Avoiding Danger

Oogata Kuma-Big Bear (remind you of anyone?)

Hanuman Ukagu Lanka-Hanuman Visits Lanka


	18. In This World

Hi. Sorry for the long wait, but this is my longest chapter yet, and I've been quite busy on top of it all. I'd like to take the time to say that I've been reviewing my previous chapters, and while I'm mostly satisfied with them, there are still quite a few errors, whether it's grammar, technique names (in English or I don't give a translation for it), or the realism of certain situations (as far as the Narutoverse goes). Since I've got a lot of ground to cover in that regard, I'm going to slowly be replacing the chapters over the week. The overall story will not change, and if there is something significant I think you should re-read, I'll let you know when I put up the next chapter.

Now I'd like to say something about reviews. Over 60 of you have put this under your favorites, and 100 of you put this on your story alert list. Why is it I get an average of only 6 reviews? It just annoys me when people hold this story in high regard and don't even bother to let me know how I'm doing. If it's because you don't want to log in to sign a review, it's not hard at all: You click submit a review at the bottom. At the top of the window, it has the log-in option. Just type your e-mail and password, and it becomes a signed review with your user-name. It doesn't take you to your homepage, and you don't have to back track to get to my story. IT'S NOT THAT HARD. Anyway, time for reviewer appreciation!

Evryluvsmisty: They're really just parodies, and they will not be playing any significant role in the story from this point on.

Mrfipp: I try to find some innovative ways to end a fight other than knockouts. As for that swordsman, he was a filler character, so I'm not counting him. You'll enjoy my mist swordsmen.

Pirogeth: Your reaction was my goal. I thought it would draw in more reviews but oh well…

Illjwamh: I normally ignore reviews on a chapter long done (meaning I don't respond, though I do read it), but since yours was a lot more helpful and worth reading than usual, I'll make an exception! I'm glad the story is easy to visualize, but I really can't figure out what people mean when they say I have to work on pacing. I guess you're going to have to copy some part of it, e-mail it to me, and explain what was wrong with that particular part of the story. I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on the flashback though. Anyway, I hope to hear from you again soon! And I will try to catch up on Koorikage (if you guys haven't read it, do it! His story is really good so far! And when you're done, check out Shinobi Wars).

For today's disclaimer, instead of getting my ass handed to me by an insane Thai guy like last time, I'll have none other than Naruto Uzumaki do the disclaimer for me! Take it away, Naruto!

Naruto: Yes. Kodachi Claws does not own me. That would be really creepy if he did…

KC:…That's not what I meant by owned…but I guess that works good enough.

* * *

_30 days until the finals_

"Did you pack enough clothes?!" Mrs. Miyamoto shouted from upstairs.

"Yes mom!" Yuji shouted back.

"And your toothpaste!?"

"Yes!"

"And your books?! I don't want you getting…"

"Mom, I'm going to be training, not go on some stupid day camp!!" Yuji sighed in irritation. "Besides, they all suck." He thought. He ran out the door with his duffle bag. "Bye mom!"

* * *

Iori gathered her things. Then, she heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

Naruto walked inside. "So, are you ready to go?"

Iori huffed up her back-pack and said "Ready Steady Go as they say."

Naruto smiled and said "Well, let's meet with the others."

* * *

Shiguri walked down the stairs, looking forward to his trip with his teammates and his sensei. Not for the same reasons as the others though; he was already good at just about everything, and wasn't too worried about his fights. He just wanted to get away from his grandfather.

"Shiguri."

The genin cringed at his name being called. "Speak of the Devil." He thought. "Yes?"

"I do not wish for you to go." The man said. While he made no direct threats, Shiguri knew from experience just how wrathful his grandfather could be.

"Any reason in particular?" he asked. "You seem to have it in for sensei."

Danzo said nothing at first. Then, he whispered "You are far greater than either of those two insects. This 'training' your sensei speaks of will only hold you back."

"That may be true…but I'm not too worried. The guy I have to fight first is nothing to be concerned of, and for those I am scared of, I think I found a few tricks to deal with them."

"YOU STOP RIGHT THERE YOU INSOLENT-"

"My my, all of the old geezers in the world and I get stuck with you. There's really nothing much you can threaten me with now; you've cut my allowance to nothing, you've forced me to live an almost Spartan-like lifestyle despite our wealth, and your underground Root organization can't control me." Shiguri looked at his grandfather with hate. "There is nothing more you can do

other than kick me out. And that would make you look bad, won't it?" Shiguri just gave a smirk while his grandfather scowled. "By the way, I signed the wasp contract. I'd have asked permission first, but quite frankly, the strings attached aren't worth it." With that Shiguri lifted his bag and left.

Danzo clutched his cane in rage. He controlled much more dangerous shinobi under him before; yet his own flesh and blood dared to defy him. If he were apart of Root or one of his subordinates, he could have simply had someone kill him. But Tsunade would find out for sure, and once she did, it would be all over for him. The few allies he gained among the council would never vouch for the killing of a child due to any disagreement, let alone if it was his grandson. "Besides," he thought. "with the current alliance I have, I'm taking enough risks as it is." This couldn't be said any better when he felt a familiar presence in the room. "Kizu-sama…what brings you here?"

The Akatsuki leader lifted his hood. "Business, as usual to discuss. Before we begin, do you have any sake?"

* * *

Shiguri ran into Yuji on his way to the gates. "So, where did sensei say we were going again?" Shiguri asked.

"He just said we'd be within fire country." Yuji replied. "If it's as tough as he says it will be, hopefully it will at least be scenic."

Soon, the two boys found Naruto and Iori waiting for them. "So, are you two ready to go?" the jinchuriki asked.

"If we weren't, we wouldn't have bothered showing up." Yuji replied.

Naruto chuckled at this. "Fair enough. Alright, I want to make it to our training spot within two days, so let's move it!!" Team 12 took off into the forest.

* * *

"So, how is Madara-sensei fairing?" Danzo asked.

"As bad as ever." Kizu replied. "I'm surprised that someone like you would even care about him, since even he disagreed with your ideals as you got older. At least, before the First killed that Hyuuga he wanted for himself." Danzo said nothing as he handed the Akatsuki leader a cup of sake. "Anyway, I've come to ask you a couple of things." Kizu said.

"I have questions of my own." Danzo replied. "You just missed the Kyuubi brat. In fact, you had several opportunities to kidnap him. Why wait, especially when considering how badly Madara wants it?!"

"An excellent question. Well, for one he has gotten much stronger. Kakuzu was one of our most powerful subordinates, virtually immortal; from what your reports have told me, the Kyuubi jinchuriki defeated him in one move. As it is now, we've lost too many members, and attacking Uzumaki could prove disastrous unless we know exactly what we're facing off against. Second, his seal is different from the others. Our beast master has been able to extract the other biju with little difficulty so far, but Namikaze's methods are different from the other seals."

Danzo almost yelled "It's weakening you fool!"

"It's weakening in the sense that the Kyuubi's chakra becomes easier to access. That, and he will slowly absorb all of it's chakra overtime and make it his own. Granted, it could escape, but Minato has made it almost impossible. The seal, however, will keep the fox from being forced out completely. I've found a way to shatter it…but it will take time, depending on how I play my cards."

Danzo nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

"Finally…jinchuriki throughout history have been looked down upon as weapons of war. Normally, kidnapping them is not a problem, as their home villages are more than happy to have them taken away. But lately, there's been a change. Some are looked at as heroes. When we found out that the container of Shukaku was the Kazekage, our plans were set off by months. If it weren't for the information Sasori's underling provided, he and Deidra would have had all of Sunagakure on their heels. Not even we are invincible. Taking a hero from his village will only ensure pursuit. Add that to the fact that we have fewer members and the power needed to extract a biju varies. With the Kyuubi's chakra, and the number of members we have now, it will take a very long time to extract it. Even if we completed extraction, by then we will have been drained of energy, and once his allies find us, we will be finished."

"The brat has no friends here."

"Not from what I hear. All of the ninja of his generation look up to him, he is favored by Tsunade. Even the arrogant Hyuuga have begun to respect him. And I nearly forgot to mention that his bond with the Kazekage, according to Deidra, seemed to be like that of brothers." Danzo downed his sake in annoyance. "Now, I have two questions to ask you, one of them concerning Uzumaki's allies." Kizu said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some strands of pink hair. "My subordinate found this in the cave that should have allowed us to capture Uzumaki without worry. At the time, we felt we should have held him prisoner while our true base was undiscovered. That way, we would be able to take the time we needed. However, someone destroyed the trap. Zetsu thinks whoever this hair belonged to did it."

Danzo looked at it, and his eye widened. "Haruno."

"Who is this 'Haruno'?"

"She is the apprentice of Tsunade. She's becoming insanely powerful; within a few years she could surpass her."

Kizu swirled his finger around his cup. "I see." He finally drank his sake. "Does this Haruno have any relationship with Uzumaki?"

Danzo replied "As far as I know, she is his teammate and nothing more."

Kizu's scorn started to turn into a grin. "My gut instinct tells me differently. The apprentice of the most beautiful woman in Fire Country teamed up with the apprentice of Jiraiya….I suspect something more." Kizu got up from the chair. "Now for my second question: Where are the bodies of Kakuzu and Itachi? I must also know where Hidan's head is located."

Danzo replied "Their bodies are kept in the labs for study. And they know that Itachi was forced into joining your organization, and that Madara is your boss." Kizu's eyes widened. "Itachi left a scroll. He didn't tell anyone where your base is located or your identity, but they know you forced him to destroy the Uchiha clan."

Kizu growled. "The mind-scan seal wasn't perfect. I know he experimented with it a few times, but I didn't think it would amount to anything."

"Tsunade is trying to convince the council to bury him alongside with his family, but because they want to keep their discovery a secret, it has not been going well." Danzo informed him. "Itachi is in the morgue until further notice. I have the report of where Hidan is imprisoned. But what use do you have for two dead bodies and a head that won't die?"

Kizu got up from his chair. "I've done some more research. There are some jutsus I must try; they could come in handy. And I must have the rings of those three as well."

* * *

_28 days until the finals_

Team 12 finally reached their destination. "Wow." Iori said in awe. The kids stood atop a cliff, looking over a forest, a lake, a valley, and a mountain. It was virtually paradise.

Naruto smiled and said "Yeah, it's certainly a nice place. I found this place when I was preparing for my jonin exam. It has the perfect conditions for training. Fresh water, plenty of food, and natural, aesthetically pleasing areas such as this are great for training. You'd be too distracted back in Konoha. "

* * *

Eventually they set up their tents. Naruto went around evaluating the best places for sparring, shurikenjutsu, chakra training, and where to get their meals. Of course, there would be no training for today; his team was exhausted by the time they got there. They camped around a fire later that night.

Naruto said "I'm going to work your butts off throughout the month, and two of you in particular have one thing going for yourselves, but lack something else." Naruto turned towards Yuji. "Yuji, you have a great mind, and you've gotten a lot braver. However, physically, you're still weak. The guy you're going up against is a powerhouse. While your mind will be your greatest asset in the battle, you cannot go in without getting as strong as you possibly can, regardless of how little time we have. Not only do you have to get strong, you need to realize that taijutsu is not always a matter of being stronger than the other guy."

Naruto then turned to Iori. "Iori, you are a great fighter, but you're not the brightest of the bunch I must say. Against your opponent, your strength will count for nothing. You need to learn how to develop good strategies and tactics. While we train, I want you to think of how you're going to fight Hanabi. Then, think of something else if something goes wrong." Iori nodded, a bit embarrassed at her sensei's comment.

Naruto finally turned to Shiguri. "I've got to be honest with you, Shiguri. I don't know HOW I can help you. You seem to be good at everything. However, I'm still going to push you to your limits. Not only that, but I expect you to help your teammates as well." Shiguri nodded in understanding.

Naruto stretched and checked his watch. "It's late, and I want us up by dawn." The entire team groaned, but went ahead into the tents after saying good night.

* * *

_27 days until the finals_

The alarm in Naruto's tent went off. He looked at it groggily. "I need to dip my face in the lake." He thought. No matter how much stronger and mature (which really wasn't by much) he became, he would never be a morning person. He splashed water across his face, but it took forever for him just to look refreshed. He then peaked into the other tent. He summoned a small Hahonryuu, and splashed it across everyone's faces.

Iori and Shiguri yelled "Hey, what the-?!"

"Come on, rise and shine!! We're going to have-" Naruto stopped in shock when he looked at Yuji. The boy was still asleep! "Hahonryuu!!" Nothing. "I knew he said he enjoyed sleeping, but this is ridiculous."

So, Naruto decided to pick the boy up himself. With Yuji, he went outside…and tossed him into the lake.

Finally the boy came to. "What the hell was that for!?" he yelled as he used his chakra to stand on the surface.

Naruto smiled wickedly. "If you woke up earlier, you wouldn't be as wet as you are now. Get a dry thing of clothes on. We're beginning today."

* * *

The first thing Naruto did was teach them water-walking. Two of them anyway.

"Focus!!" Naruto yelled.

Shiguri and Iori managed to keep themselves from sinking, but their feet often went past the surface. Yuji, on the other hand, was trying something new: Water skating. He just slid his foot forward, and pushed off with his chakra, and he took off. It didn't take much, just a little pulse.

While Naruto did think it was a neat skill, seeing him do it was becoming annoying. Naruto sighed and said "Yuji, you're being distracting. " Yuji just stopped and said "Sensei! I already helped them the best I could! Besides, if I can master this technique, it would be a more efficient way of traveling across bodies of water!"

Naruto said "That could be true, but that won't come into play during your fight! Now get over there!"

Yuji groaned, but did what his sensei ordered. Just to get one last thrill in, the boy skated over to his friends. However, when he stopped, he splashed Iori and Shiguri. As a result, they were now soaking wet.

"YUJIIIII!!" they growled.

"S-Sorry!! I just-"

He did not get a chance to finish. His teammates grabbed his legs, and stopped the flow of chakra to their feet. They sunk, and he went down with them.

Naruto just clasped his head. "This is going to be a long month."

* * *

Next up was sparring. Naruto created three bushin, and had the team fight them one on one. Of course, the clones held back. That being said, the three still tired quite quickly. Two of them, however, managed to hold their own.

Shiguri managed to hold off his opponent, clearly well-versed in everything that was ninjutsu. He knew all the right blocks, he had good tactics, and his strikes were deadly accurate when they connected.

Iori was doing pretty well herself. Her taijutsu style, however, was more direct. She would cock her fist to her body, and twist it as soon as she released it. She also used some powerful blocks with her forearms to stop the bushin's strikes dead. And her kicks were sneaky; if she had nailed the bushin in the groin it would be over. It was more direct and power oriented, but it did include some chops and knees to differentiate from a mere brawling style.

Yuji on the other hand, was getting his ass handed to him. He didn't manage to land one strike on the bushin, and he couldn't react in time. That was to be expected; Naruto wanted the fights to be purely hand to hand. No weapons, no summoning (not that he was aware they could do that or not), no genjutsu or ninjutsu. Granted, for a ninja that would be the worst case scenario, but it helped improve speed and reaction time. It also taught them how to keep fighting when their best techniques were countered. Once Yuji was taken to the ground with a sweep kick, Naruto dispelled his bushin.

"He just doesn't seem to take to Taijutsu naturally. Or at least, OUR taijutsu." Naruto mumbled. "Well, I think that's enough of that. You've done basic sparring. Now on to the next part."

"Do not make me say it!!" Naruto yelled from atop the mountain. Not getting the result he wanted, he did. "Pick up the pace!!"

The three adolescents had one hand tied behind their backs, and had to climb up. And they were not allowed to use chakra. Iori was ahead of her teammates, Yuji was dead last. However, Shiguri was catching up to Iori fast. After about twenty minutes, she finally made it to the top, Shiguri reaching it almost immediately after she got her water.

Naruto looked down to see Yuji. He was way behind. "Yuji, come on! This isn't just about you! This is about your team too!! If you don't make it, your team may die, and there will be nothing you can do about it!! That's what being a chunin is all about!! To protect everything you hold dear!! GET UP HERE!!"

Yuji panted. He tried to reach for the crevice closest to him, but it was no use. He was too tired. "I can't make it…"

* * *

"_I can't make it!!" a seven year old Yuji screamed. _

"_Do it! You said you wanted to be a ninja!? You're going to face worse things than this, I promise you!!" His father yelled. "Let's go!!" _

_Yuji had to tree hop and beat his father in a race. His stamina was sub-par, and he hadn't quite mastered his chakra control yet. He managed to make a few more strides, and nearly caught up with Ryu…and finally collapsed. He prepared to kiss dirt, but a wire snagged his legs. _

_Ryu jumped down from the trees and untied his son. "Yuji…you really don't know what you're getting into. This isn't a game. If you choose to follow my way of life, there will be a great possibility of you getting killed. It would kill me as much as it would your mother if something happened to you. What's worse, there's no guarantee I'll be there to save you. All we can do is make you as strong, clever and determined as possible. To do that, you've got to toughen up, wise up, and learn to never give up. And it won't be just your life on the line when you're out there doing missions; your comrades lives will be in danger as well. When you're a ninja, it's never about you." Ryu helped his son up. "Let's start over. No matter what you tell yourself, you ALWAYS can do it…"_

* * *

Yuji's eyes snapped open. "I CAN do it!!" Still following the rules given to him by his sensei, Yuji catapulted himself to the crevice. From there, he practically jumped from one to another.

"He was worn out before we began!!" Iori said. "Where is that strength coming from!?"

Naruto smiled. "That is the power of the desire to protect what is dear to you."

Yuji felt his lungs and muscles burn. A few minutes ago, he would have given up. But no, not this time. His pain and weakness would not hold him back!! He kept reaching and reaching…until finally his hand touched the top. It took him a minute, but with some struggling, he made it.

"Great job, Yuji!" Naruto said as he patted the kid on the back. "If you used that energy before, you would have beaten your teammates here. But still, you did great!" Yuji panted like crazy but still managed to smile. "You think you can do it again with that same energy tomorrow?" the jinchuriki asked.

"Yeah." Yuji replied. "When I've done something once, I can always do it again."

Iori didn't realize it, but she was beginning to blush."You like him, don't you?" Shiguri whispered to her in a teasing manner.

Iori stammered "Wh-WHAT!?"

"Come on, I saw your face turn the same color as your hair!!" Shiguri laughed like crazy. "Iori and Y-"

His song was immediately halted by a well placed kick to the groin.

Naruto looked at the exchange and sighed. "I guess girls are always like that at that age…"

* * *

_26 days until the finals_

Tsunade finally made it to her desk. She woke up an hour later than she intended. She hoped it would be one of those few days where she hardly had any work and could go back to bed. No such luck; if anything her mountain of paperwork doubled. "Why did I take this job again?" she groaned. She was about to sit down and get it, when suddenly her guards ran into her office. "Idiots!! Knock before you enter my office!!" the Hokage screamed.

The guard bowed "Forgive us, Hokage-samma. But there's been a disturbance in the labs!!"

This got the Godainme's attention. "What?"

"The bodies of Kakuzu and Itachi…they're gone!!" She ran out with the guards to the labs in the basement. The jonin who was standing guard there was dead. Tsunade kneeled down to inspect his body; there were what seemed to be claw marks on his back. But not by some animal; the claw marks looked more like burns. Chakra burns. Tsunade flipped him over so she could inspect his front. Her eyes widened in horror.

"What is it, Hokage-samma?"

"This wound…only one technique is capable of producing a wound like this!" On his chest was a spiral scar…

* * *

_22 days until the finals_

Naruto had Iori and Shiguri spar with two bushins, while he worked on Yuji himself.

"Sensei." Yuji said, as they were walking out of sight.

"Yeah?"

Yuji fumbled with words for a bit, before he finally spoke up. "Listen, I know this idea is probably worse than hoping to condition me to fighting that Jaa guy in time…but I have a favor to ask." Yuji pulled out a scroll. "This belonged to my dad. It's a catalogue of all the moves he used for his taijutsu. He called it Eight Extreme Fists."

Naruto blinked before remembering what Sakura told him, although she saw only one move. Naruto took a look at the scroll. A lot of it looked…quite interesting, really. "Well…this actually does look like something worth learning." He said. He folded up the scroll and said "However, to hope to learn all of these moves within a month is impossible." Yuji gave a sullen look. "However, there are some concepts that you can use here that I think will be great against your opponent. We'll start with the simple things. Sometimes they are the best. First I want you to block my attack." Naruto could have struck faster, but the goal was to learn. Yuji parried the strike at Naruto's wrist. "Now, that's how we normally block. However, if you make a mistake, the strike could still connect. Now, attack me the same way." Yuji did so, and found his own strike blocked quite easily. However, the strike was stopped at his elbow joint. "This way, you can halt the attack altogether. The perfect counter attack, according to this scroll, calls for an elbow to the sternum." Naruto demonstrated it. "Are you getting it?"

"Yeah. I saw my dad practice these katas all the time. This is just the first time I'm beginning to learn the application of it all."

Naruto nodded. "Let's continue."

They practiced for a few more minutes. Yuji had to learn how to hold his hands in a rake-like shape instead of fists. There was also the matter of stepping to the outside of his opponent as well; the taijutsu taught at the academy was meant to kill an opponent by getting inside, but this style was more defensive. But if used correctly, it would put an attacker down, and Yuji understood perfectly to use a kunai whenever he could. After about an hour of sparring, Naruto decided to move with other forms of training and called the session to a stop."The simple techniques are the only ones we will have any hope of mastering. To beat that guy, you're going to have to use your wits and wires as well. Next time we spar, try to use these moves." Yuji nodded, and the two headed back to their teammates.

* * *

"Come on Jaa, push!!"

Lee's star pupil could only grunt in response. One of his own elephants was pushing down on him with his tusks. Jaa had to push him back up. Despite his great strength, that was a tall order. But still, he managed to do 39 and was on his fortieth. "AAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!" That was the last one he could muster, and the boy collapsed. The elephant knew it's master was exhausted, and got up.

Lee pulled Jaa up and handed him some water. "Well done, Jaa. You will be youthful for a long time!" Lee made sure to end that sentence with a thumbs up.

Jaa just blushed. "Uh…thanks." While his sensei was certainly an odd one, he couldn't be more grateful to have a teacher like him. He and the rest of his teammates had extreme difficulty performing genjutsu and ninjutsu, which was why Lee was selected to teach them. He was disappointed that he did not allow them to take the exams last year, but so far the extra year of training he and his teammates received proved worthwhile.

"That's all for today, I've got to go train Chan-kun now. See you tomorrow." Lee said as he jogged away. Truthfully, the lesson Lee planned with Chan was not for another two hours. But he could tell that Jaa was spent completely at the end of the lesson. No surprise really; his training was tough enough as it was, and it would be twice as hard this month, if anything. Lee thought he would give him a break for now, and let him adjust to it the first week. He would show him no mercy after that though…Just then, he spotted someone familiar down the street, at the Yamanaka flower shop. "Tenten?"

His former teammate turned her head around. "Oh, Lee-kun! How have you been?"

Lee blushed slightly. He didn't know why. "Oh, I've been fine. Just getting my students ready for the exam. How have you been?"

"Not much has been happening." The weapon mistress replied.

Lee took a minute to look at Tenten. She was actually quite…pretty. She always had been, but during their early years together, Lee was obsessed with beating Neji, that he didn't notice. By the time he did, she seemed to take more of a liking to Neji. It depressed him slightly, but he put it in the back of his mind when he met Sakura. That didn't work out, and even he had to admit, the one date he finally did score with her did go horribly wrong. At least she was nice about it and was more than happy to be friends…

"Hey, I was about to visit Neji; would you like to come?"

Lee snapped back to attention. "Oh, of course! Helping Neji to feel the springtime of youth once more should be my duty, so therefore I shall go with you."

Tenten could only let out a sigh, but Lee's concern was genuine. Besides, Neji enjoyed their company, especially now since he was forced to retire. "All right, let's go."

"Shall we get there by sprinting?" Lee asked. "While this month belongs to our youthful rookies, we can't let ourselves go to waste either." Lee gave his thumbs up and trade-mark grin.

"Lee!! I'm carrying flowers!!" Tenten yelled. "Maybe a light jog. So long as the petals don't fall off."

"Very well! A light jog it is!!" Unfortunately for Tenten, a sprint for her WAS a light jog for Lee. But at least he was nice enough to wait for her when they reached the Hyuuga compound.

* * *

Tenten knocked on the gates. The door creaked open, revealing Hinata. "Oh, Tenten-san! Lee-kun! Please come in!" Hinata bowed and opened the door.

"Hi, Hinata. How are things at the academy?"

"Things are going okay. I-I don't want to give you the wrong idea or anything…b-but, it seems they get rowdier every year."

Of the rookie nine from their generation, Hinata was the only one who did not become a jonin. It was sad, as everyone wanted her to be promoted with them, but they had to agree with Tsunade; she still had a huge issue with her confidence. Her friends also noticed that it seemed to depress her greatly when Naruto finally became a jonin himself.

They walked through the courtyard, where they caught a glimpse of Hiashi sparring with Hanabi. Though in theory Shikamaru should have been training her, she was already a prodigy, and the only one who could improve her signature abilities was her own father.

Finally, they reached Neji's room. "Neji-nisan! Your teammates are here!" Hinata called from the door.

"Yes. Please, come in."

Hinata opened the door and excused herself. "I still have homework to grade."

Tenten came up to Neji , who was lying on his futon reading a book. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Neji hugged her and said "As good as I ever will be nowadays."

Lee couldn't help but feel bad for Neji. It seemed like only yesterday he himself was forced to retire after fighting Gaara. He held Tsunade to be the greatest Hokage of all ever since he recovered. He pleaded with her to help Neji the best he could when he heard of his injuries. Tsunade did her best, but she explained that toying with the nervous system was one of the most dangerous things a medic nin could do. That, and she simply did not have the time to research a new surgery to use. Lee was broken out of his thoughts when Neji started convulsing.

"Oh no, Neji!! Lee, get his medication! Hurry!!"

Lee hopped over to the shelf closest to Neji , and fumbled with the various medicines until he found the correct one. Lee got a pill and handed it to Tenten, who administered it.

Neji relaxed immediately. "Thank you." He said in between breaths. Eventually, Neji got his teammates to talk about other things; he didn't like it when the attention was focused solely on his condition. He enjoyed hearing about Lee's students, and he himself wished that he could have a team of his own to train. Tenten's missions were nothing remarkable. She improved greatly over the years, and there hasn't really been an incident where she was completely outclassed lately.

It seemed like forever when the alarm on Lee's watch went off. He bowed and said "My apologies, Neji!! I must attend to Chan's lessons right now!"

"Just don't have any sake on your way there!" Tenten shouted in a teasing manner. Lee could only give her the thumbs up as he was racing out of the compound. Neji sighed again. "What's wrong?" Tenten asked.

"I was just remembering what happened to Lee after his fight with Gaara. I really know how he felt now."

"Neji…"

"I'm not one to believe in fate. Not anymore. But after my fight with the Raikage, I felt it was my attitude towards Lee that may have led to this."

There was nothing Tenten could really say. Neji had been greatly depressed since his return from Monsoon country. His whole life he devoted himself to ninjutsu; there really weren't any other areas of interest he explored. All and all, it was very unsettling. Tenten stayed as long as she could, but soon she said all she could."I'll be going now. Bye Neji." Tenten smiled sadly and slid the door close.

Neji just hung his head low, missing the days of old.

* * *

_21 days until the finals_

Today, Naruto decided to have an audience with Iori, and left Yuji and Shiguri to spar with his bushin. "Okay, Iori, I need to talk to you about your fight. And I don't think it's a good idea to talk to you about it in front of them right now." Iori didn't quite catch what he meant, but nodded. "I need to explain to you how the Hyuuga fight. Their eyes, when activated, allow them to see through everything…"

"WHAT!? You mean she's going to try to see me naked!?"

Naruto's eye twitched at this. "No…I really hope that's not the case at least. Anyway, the Byakugan is a Kekkei Genkai that allows them to see the internal organs. More precisely, the chakra tenketsu. Unlike most ninja, who fight hand-to-hand with the intent of causing their opponents pain and breaking their bones, the Hyuuga use a taijutsu style that looks like they're barely touching you. What they're really doing is pushing their chakra into your tenketsu, causing them to burst. They can completely close off access to your chakra, and in the right places, kill you. You understand what I'm saying?" Naruto asked.

Iori stared blankly at him, clearly confused.

"I think I'm starting to sympathize with Kakashi-sensei and Ero-senin." Naruto thought. "Anyway, the point is that you can't let Hanabi even touch you, all right?"

Iori said "Yeah, and I'll knock her down before she gets a chance!!"

Naruto sighed. "Iori, that brings me to the second technique the Hyuuga are known for: Rotation."

"You mean they're good at turning?"

Naruto held up his fist and yelled "Will you at least let me explain everything before you ask a question!?"

Iori backed away a couple of centimeters, and nodded.

Naruto sighed "I really was an idiot back then." He coughed and got back to explaining everything. "Anyway, the Hyuuga expel chakra through their bodies to form a shield, and then rotate quickly, deflecting any attacks. Your weapons will be hurled back at you, and if you attack them with your fist, you'll be sent flying."

Iori didn't get how it worked, but she understood the results. "So…how can I win?"

Naruto replied "It's hard for most standard fighters to beat a Hyuuga, but in your case, there is one way. Remember when we figured out your father contained a demon, and that we suspected you had some of the demon's power?"

Iori got nervous now. "Y-yeah." She really did not like to talk about it, but she suspected this was the reason Naruto separated her from the rest of her teammates.

"Well, the biju he contained had an enormous amount of chakra, and he had access to that chakra. We saw the same thing with you. Not only will your second source of chakra replace that which you will have lost…it will make you even stronger. So, we need you to draw out that power at will."

The young girl began to concentrate. For a good five minutes, she grunted, furrowed her eyebrows, but nothing. Naruto thought about his past experience with the Kyuubi and what Tsunade had told him about her powers.

"_Her powers seem come to her when she is enraged. Although she doesn't grow chakra tails like you do, she looses her mind to some degree as well. She doesn't have a demon inside, but the chakra still regresses it back to a more primitive state. I suggest you either train her to use it when she is emotionally calm." _

Naruto didn't want her to call upon that power like he normally did with Kyuubi. Emotionally, it would be damaging to her in the long run if she got addicted to the power, and even if she won her fight, going out of control could possibly prevent her from reaching chunin.

"Why don't we take a break for now, Iori. I don't think we're going to get anywhere with-" He was suddenly cut off. His face looked shocked, then annoyed, and then mad. "Damn it, Shiguri!!" Naruto ran towards the spot where his other students trained.

Iori followed behind him, but suddenly fell through some kind of hole.

* * *

"Shiguri, sensei is going to be pissed at us!!" Yuji yelled.

Shiguri shrugged "I doubt it. Those were just bushins, nothing more. We'll just tell him we beat them fair and square. That way, we can finally get a rest. I really need a break."

Just then there sensei jumped right in front of them, yelling "WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY ABOUT USING TECHNIQUES OUTSIDE OF TAIJUTSU!?"

Shiguri nearly panicked when he yelled. "How could he know!? I'll just play along and claim I don't know what he's talking about." Shiguri put on the best innocent looking face he could. "I don't know what you're talking about sensei. We beat them fair and square…"

"FAIR AND SQUARE MY ASS!! I KNOW YOU SUMMONED BEES OR SOMETHING TO PARALYZE MY BUSHINS!!"

Shiguri's mouth hung open. There was no way in hell he could have known that unless he was watching them, and he knew he was speaking to Iori in private. Speaking of which…

"Hey, where's Iori?" Yuji asked.

Naruto immediately snapped out of his mood and looked around. "I know she was following me…"

* * *

Iori drifted in and out of consciousness. When her vision finally focused, she saw light. Light from the hole which she fell through. "Must've been a sink hole." She thought. She struggled to get up, but shehad difficulty maintainingher balance. "I hit my head pretty hard." She put her hand on a stalagmite…and withdrew from it screaming. It felt like it was alive! Her vision was starting to clear, and she could see it was orange and black. "O-orange?" Once her vision fully returned, she could see that the surface of the rock was moving. She walked up to it, and saw butterflies all around it. She looked around the cave walls. Every square inch was covered with butterflies!! "Wow." She then noticed there was a stone staircase. Curious, she walked up, taking not of the altar in front. She reached it, and saw the chest. "Should I open it? It might be cursed or something!!" She thought about it, and laughed at herself. "Please!! Such things exist only in the movies! Besides, if it was cursed, whoever hid this would have gotten better security than butterflies." She used all of her strength to open it, only to find out that she didn't need it. It opened like no one bothered to lock it. She looked inside, hoping to find some kind of buried

treasure. There was nothing inside but a small scroll. Her face scrunched. "Given my karma, I'm not surprised." For some reason, she was compelled to take it anyway.

"Iori! Iori!"

The kunoichi turned to the hole to hear her sensei calling her. "Sensei!!" She ran to the light, where the hole formed.

Naruto looked down. "Are you alright!?"

"I have a slight headache, but yeah, I'm fine. You should see this place, it's covered in…"

"That'll have to wait. Yuji!"

Her underdog teammate soon lowered himself inside using his wires, and looked around. "A cave full of butterflies? That's interesting."

Iori replied "Yeah, I think it has something to do with this."

She showed Yuji the scroll. "I think that's a…summoning contract. Let's have sensei look at it."

* * *

"Hmmm…." Naruto looked at the contents of the scroll. "I never heard of a contract like this. However, it looks legit, and safe to use."

Iori asked "So, it's a summoning contract, right? What DOES it summon?"

"Judging by the cave, I'd say butterflies." Naruto answered. "According to this, the only one who can use this is the one who finds it. That would be you."

Iori groaned and asked "What good is summoning a couple of bugs?"

Naruto answered "Ba-chan and Ero-senin summon garden animals, and they are pretty formidable. While I can't say what the butterflies will demand in return, it shouldn't be anything to worry about, unless you try to summon one of a higher level. They can be very demanding. Anyway, this just might be your trump card against Hanabi."

Now Iori was interested.

"You just need to sign your name by cutting your thumb and smearing it with your blood." Iori did as she was told. "Now use the following signs." Iori repeated the signs, put her chakra into it, and summoned…a caterpillar. Naruto's face went sour. "Ugh, I know exactly how you felt, Ero-senin. I guess only the demon's chakra can summon something worthwhile right now."

* * *

In Soragakure, Madara paced impatiently. Kizu had been gone for days! Sure, Konoha was far away, but even he should have managed to return quickly. Finally, he sensed his most trusted subordinate inside. "Well? I suppose you've done something productive?"

Kizu replied "It will be of great service in the long run. I think I may have figured out how to break the Yodaime's seal, and I've brought an old friend back…I'm hoping to bring it up to two."

A new voice yelled. "You better give me what you promised!! I will make that boy pay for going up against the will of Jashin!!"

Kizu could barely stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Hidan...if you don't shut up, I just may have to reconsider my generous offer." He plopped the head of Hidan onto the floor much to its annoyance.

"What are you up to, Kizu!? Immortal though he may be, that freak is of no use to us without a body!! And I don't know why you bothered bringing back the bodies of our deceased!! If you're planning to resurrect them, don't bother; those who die are failures."

"Well, I'm not planning on LITERALLY bringing them back to life, but a variant I'm sure you will find interesting. But more importantly, we need to discuss the seal on Uzumaki." He had Madara's full attention now. "As you know, Uzumaki is slowly absorbing the Kyuubi. Some day, it will disappear altogether."

"How much time do we have!?" Madara shouted, frightened by the prospect.

"It's a gradual process; it should not be completed until he's well into his thirties. The Yodaime wished for his boy to become one with the fox. As you know, there have been periods when the Kyuubi has been able to take control of him. However, while taking over Uzumaki has become easier, it will never truly break free. Think of the seal as a chain-link leash; the fox can obtain some freedom, but he cannot be taken from his host body. The Kyuubi cannot truly break free no matter how hard he tries, and without the proper tools, we cannot free him. However, I think I found it; hate."

"Hate?"

"Yes, hate. Your Kyuubi is a being of pure evil. When Uzumaki becomes enraged, the Kyuubi gains back some of its power. We need it to grow eight tails. Not only will Uzumaki's body be severely damaged, we will have created a weak link in the chain. Our beast master should be able to extract it like any other biju" Madara said nothing, but the plan seemed sound enough. "According to Danzo," Kizu continued, " despite his upbringing, Uzumaki has always had a positive outlook on life. This will not be as easy as it seems. However, I have a hunch how to make this work for us."

"Oh?"

"Just give me some time. As soon as Deidra and Tobi acquire the Hachibi, I shall send them to Konohagakure."

* * *

_17 days until the finals_

Tonight, Naruto decided that he should speak with Shiguri in private. "Shiguri. I need to apologize to you. I've been focusing so much on Yuji and Iori that I've been neglecting you."

Shiguri looked away. "No big deal."

"You…you understand why, right?"

Shiguri replied "There's nothing that I'm bad at?"

"Nothing that I've seen so far. That's why if there is some area in your ninjutsu you're lacking, now ' s the time to tell me. I really want to help you, Shiguri. I know what it's like to be neglected…"

"No, you don't!!" Shiguri yelled. An uncomfortable moment of silence passed between the two. Shiguri sighed. "I'm sorry. I…I'm just not used to this."

Naruto didn't understand what he meant, but decided to let it go. At least he was trying to open up.

"I really don't think there's anything you can help me with…not in ninjutsu anyway."

Naruto was a bit disappointed; he not only wanted to train with Shiguri, but bond with him as well.

"You said you knew it was like to be neglected?" Shiguri asked.

"Yeah." Naruto replied. "I do. I've been an orphan as long as I can remember. Most of my teachers refused to help me, and I had no friends. It was…a hard time for me."

"What about when you got your teammates?"

"Things improved drastically! In fact, I'd say it was one of the happiest moments of my life. But…"

"But?"

"But there were still some of the same problems I had before. My sensei taught Sasuke more than me, although he had his reasons. And Sakura-chan…she loved Sasuke. By most standards, it was no big deal, but I guess I took it pretty hard since I really never had anyone to look out for me."

"So, you bothered her all the time for dates?"

Naruto chuckled this time. "Yeah, it went on for a while, even after he left."

"What? Your teammate left?"

"It's a long story. I don't think you're ready to know. Anyway, that all changed. I just don't want you to have to go through any of the same struggles I did."

Shiguri looked up into the sky. "Well, I'd say having no family would be better than the one I got."

Naruto nearly answered yes, but held his tongue. "I'm sure your grandfather loves you."

"He loves nothing but power. I really don't remember who my parents are; a DNA test that I requested confirmed we were related by blood. I've seen him go on in the council how he wants Konoha to be; but the reality is he cares nothing about the village. Just his wealth and power. He tried to make me a part of Root, but the trainers couldn't handle me. He's tried everything he could to make me into another one of his little soldiers. I've gotten used to it, but I haven't become the ninja he wants me to. I refuse to."

Naruto didn't know whether he should act surprised or not.

"You two have a history, don't you?" Shiguri asked.

Naruto sighed. "Remember when I said my teammate Sasuke left us? He became a missing nin, but we've been determined to get him back. Danzo had us team up with Sai, and tried to get him to kill Sasuke."

"Oh, him. Grandpa has been just as pissed at him as he was with me lately. Something about him forming new bonds."

Naruto couldn't help but smile. "You really are different from your grandfather. If all goes well, you will get higher paying missions and you'll no longer have to live with him. That is, if you figure you can't patch up things between the two of you."

Shiguri, since Naruto knew him, for the first time formed a genuine smile.

"Let's go back and join your teammates. Remember, anything you're not getting, just ask."

* * *

The team reunited, and Naruto prepared dinner.

"Ramen again?" Yuji groaned.

"Come on, this stuff is great!!" Naruto replied.

"For the past five days, we have had nothing but ramen. Ramen in the morning, ramen in the evening, ramen at fucking supper-time!!"

"Whoa , it's not-"

Yuji, in a monotone, almost feral voice muttered "All carbs…no meat…makes me a dull boy…" Just then, a deer came into view. For one second, the team passively observed it. Then, Yuji fired his wires around its neck! The deer panicked, and dragged Yuji along with it into the forest.

"Damn it, Yuji!!" Naruto and the team ran as fast as they could. When they finally reached them, they froze in horror: Yuji pinned the deer down, strangling it to the point where had it been daylight they would've been able to see the whites of its eyes. Shiguri took out a kunai and threw it into the animal's neck. Naruto looked at him incredulously.

"My method was more humane!" Shiguri turned back to the carcass, and his eyes widened in horror again. "Oh my god, Yuji!! You're supposed to cook it first!!"

* * *

_16 days until the finals_

Shikamaru decided to take a walk downtown. As usual, he was bored out of his mind. Hanabi was training with her father, and the fact was that he was a better teacher for her than him. He could train Uryuu and Kenshin, but they were not competing in the finals. Besides, he saw them

the other day; they were doing just fine on their own. And for some reason, he couldn't get Temari out of his mind.

"Shikamaru!"

The shadow ninja turned around to see his two former teammates. "Ino, Chouji. It's been a while." Chouji was as big as ever, but he managed to change much of his fat into muscle. His appetite never changed either.

"What are you doing here?" Ino asked. "Shouldn't you be working with your students?"

"Nah. Hanabi's dad wanted to train her, and the other two seem to do fine on their own. "

"You're as lazy as ever." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Don't be like that, Ino." Chouji said. "We haven't seen much of each other for a while now. If Shikamaru's not busy, that works better for us."

"Oh, yeah." Ino confirmed. "We were going to the Korean restaurant. Wanna come? It will be like old times."

"Who's paying?"

"All of us." Chouji answered, smiling.

Shikamaru was not amused. "That is still going to leave a huge dent in my wallet."

"Well, you'd have a bigger wallet if you weren't so lazy and took more missions." Ino retorted.

Shikamaru responded by scratching his head. "Alright, alright. Let's go. I'm a bit famished myself."

* * *

They ordered their meals almost immediately when they were seated. They were having a decent conversation at first, but that all changed when their meal arrived. From there, it was a race against Chouji to see who could eat the meat.

"For the love of God, Chouji!! We're here too!! And paying for our share too!!"

"Don't make such a big deal about it!! Neither of you could ever eat as much as I could!!"

"There's no limit to what you can eat, Chouji!!" Ino yelled.

Eventually, everyone got their fair share. Shikamaru was right about one thing though: This did put a dent in his income. Then, they laughed. "It really is just like old times, isn't it?" Shikamaru asked, smiling.

"Yeah!!" Chouji shouted.

"Almost." Ino whispered sadly. Her two friends knew what she meant.

"I really wish Asuma-sensei was still here." Chouji whispered.

"Hey, hey!" Shikamaru shouted. "I know, things haven't been the same since he died. But he was not the kind of shinobi who would want us to sulk over him forever!" Shikamaru looked at each of them. "I know he would be proud of each of you."

"He'd be especially proud of you, Shika." Ino sighed.

Shikamaru didn't know why, but he was blushing. "You made it into ANBU, Ino."

"Oh, it's not that great. The missions are really dangerous, and the only thing that makes it worthwhile is the higher pay. What Itachi put me through was not the best time of my life."

"Yamanaka Ino. As vain as usual!" Chouji teased.

"Shut up!!" Ino shouted, playfully elbowing Chouji. "Let's see how you react when you wake up one morning to find out you've turned ninety!!"

Shikamaru had to laugh some more. "This really is like old times." He thought back to conversation he had with Asuma, several months after Sasuke defected…

* * *

"_I don't know why you bother playing with me, sensei. I've beaten you every time, and I can tell by the way you're moving your pieces, that is not going to change today." _

"_Hey!" Asuma yelled. "It's embarrassing for a man my age to loose to someone as young as you!!" Of course, his tone was playful. "How about a bet? If I win, you volunteer for more B-ranked missions. If I loose, you'll get a week off from training." _

_Shikamaru sighed. "You're so troublesome, sensei. I haven't been chunin for very long. Besides…" _

"_What?" _

_Shikamaru gathered his thoughts. "It hasn't been the same for me ever since Chouji and Ino were left behind me. I hate to admit it, but I miss them." _

"_You still see them everyday while you're here." _

"_That's not what I mean. I'm talking about when I have missions that are higher ranked than C." Shikamaru stopped to look outside. "There were times when it was a pain, but we worked well together with Ino. And I feel terrified whenever I go out on a mission without Chouji. I have no idea if they'll ever get promoted again, and I know not everyone makes Jonin. I'd like to think we would be Team 10 forever." _

"_It never works that way. Teams always break up." Asuma lighted a cigarette. "When you become Jonin, you get missions that are very specific to your own strengths. Not only that, but it's likely that you will be given your own students." Neither one spoke a word for a good minute. "However, if you make the effort, even if we go our separate ways, we will always be together. You just have to make the time for it, and never forget us." _

_Shikamaru cracked a small smile. "By the way, checkmate." Asuma nearly swallowed his tobacco. "Hey, what the-!? You distracted me!!"_

* * *

Shikamaru chuckled remembering that day. "He was right. I haven't been able to see my old friends as much as I would have liked to. But just this one get-together makes up for it…." His attention returned to Ino and Chouji ,dueling with their chop sticks for the last piece of beef. Their strikes became faster and faster…until Shikamaru took it with his own.

"SHIKAMARU!!" Ino and Chouji yelled together.

"Hey, that's exactly what I'm here for." The unmotivated ninja said with a smirk. "The tie breaker." Shikamaru had to laugh at his last comment before he woofed down the beef.

* * *

_14 days until the finals_

Tsunade couldn't focus on her paperwork. Though days had passed, she couldn't get the security breach out of her mind. "Who would want anything with the bodies of two Akatsuki members?" The only thing she could think of was the rest of Akatsuki themselves. But how could they get into Konoha? "There must be a spy among us." That brought up another problem entirely. The one she wanted to charge was Danzo, but as of now, she had no proof. What bothered her even more was how the guard died. She had perhaps the most ridiculous theory of who killed him when she saw the wound on his chest. She looked into the records, and confirmed that the Yodaime was cremated. All of the council members ha d witnessed it. "I'm at a dead end here."

Her door burst open just when she was about to topple her desk over. "Tsunade-samma!!" Shizune yelled.

"What is it this time?" Tsunade asked in a bored tone.

Shizune seemed at a loss for words. "Some…something's happened."

"So far it doesn't sound like anything worth disturbing me over."

"It's Tonton."

Now this caught Tsunade's attention. "What about Tonton?" Shizune's face looked very disturbed. "You need to see him."

Tsunade got up from her desk and followed Shizune. They walked into the living room, and that was when Tsunade put her hands over her mouth in shock…

* * *

_12 days until the finals_

Yuji peaked out his tent. It was midnight, and he wanted to make sure Naruto was still sleeping. "No sign of him." He dashed out of the tent, and into the fields. From there, he took a match and set a small campfire. This had been going on for a while now.

With less than 2 weeks away before the final rounds, he was anxious. Naruto was a great help to him in learning his father's taijutsu, but learning the basics wasn't enough. "I have to get some actual techniques done." He started off slow. The illustrations were quite detailed, something he would expect from his father. When doing it slow at least, he could figure out what he was doing wrong and focus on that. Even if his execution was still sub-par, he felt that he would still do some damage to the opponent and be able to get away. His watch gave a faint beep. 2 hours. "Time for my next project."

He pulled out a bag and some tools, but before he could get to work, a sound caught his attention. It wasn't an animal. It sounded like someone was smashing something. He put his tools down to find out what it was. After he pushed some bushes out of the way, he saw Iori! "I didn't notice she wasn't inside the tent!" He looked closer, and his eyes widened in horror: she was banging her fists against a boulder!! "Iori!! What the hell are you doing!?"

Iori got into a defensive stance, but relaxed when she realized it was only Yuji. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, but you're doing something that's not too good for your health."

Iori gave a sarcastic laugh. "Sensei told me the same thing. He doesn't know how we vine ninja trained."

"Vine ninja? You mean…you're not from Konoha?"

Iori's eyes widened, and then she looked away slightly. "Yeah. I'm from Beach Country, but…there were complications back home."

Yuji seemed to be understanding. "That partially explains why you've been an orphan ever since I've known you. But how come no one was willing to take you in back at your home country?"

Iori seemed to fall silent for a minute before turning around.

"Okay, okay! I won't ask…not now. But I want to help you any way I can…even if it's not worth much."

Iori slowly turned to face him, showing a small smile on her face. "Maybe later."

Yuji smiled back, then frowned. "Now, back to the matter at hand…"

"Oh. The rock. Yeah, the ninja back at my home country often faced opponents with thick steel armor. To prepare for an incident where we're forced to resort to taijutsu, we train our hands against solid rock. The object is not to break the rock; we simply bang our fists against it hard enough so that they feel the pain and toughen up. We simply condition them, that's all."

Yuji nodded in understanding. "That still sounds pretty bad for your hands." Yuji sighed. "Well, since we're both up, and if you're done, would you mine helping me out with something?"

Iori thought for a minute. "Mmm…I guess…"

* * *

Yuji unfolded the bag, and pieces of metal fell out. The genin took out another set and revealed some tools.

Iori was stumped. "Just what are those?"

"They belonged to my dad…or at least they're going to be customized versions of weapons my dad used to own."

Iori just said "Oh."

"I need you to hold some pieces while I screw them in." Iori did as she was told.

"So…your dad was a ninja, right?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have considered using these otherwise." Yuji put the first screw in. "He was called The Spider of Konoha."

"Why?"

"For lack of a better term, he was like a spider. The wires I use are meant to mimic the webs of a spider, and we both had exceptional chakra control…made us climb like spiders. He could summon them too. I've yet to do so. And don't tell Haruno-san, but he had strength that could rival hers." He stopped for a minute. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to brag. I…I guess I'm both proud and ashamed to be his son."

Iori's eyes widened. "How could you say such a thing? He sounds like a great guy!!"

"He is, but…" Yuji looked to his side, then the stars. "I sometimes wonder if I really am the son he wanted. I'm weak, I get scared, and…I'm just not the prodigy I felt that I should have been. I feel like I've failed him."

Iori looked down, trying to think of something to say. "You know…Haruno-san did mention that Naruto-sensei flunked the academy three times. And he's damn good now, I know that much. I'm sure despite your shortcomings, you can become great too." Iori got back to the task at hand. "So, what exactly do these things do?"

Yuji smiled. "Hmm….I'm not telling you!"

Iori gave her companion a good whack on the head.

"Well, we're going to be fighting!! If we both win our first matches, you'll be my second opponent!!"

Iori was about to shout, but held her tongue. "He's right." The red-head thought. "I can't blame him." Then Iori remembered something. While they would have to fight to win, that alone would not determine whether they became chunin or not. After all, if that was the only way to become chunin, the village would be in serious trouble if they went to war."Hey…let's make a promise." The girl offered her pinky finger.

"What?" Yuji asked.

Iori smiled and said "Let's make a promise to become chunin together!" Yuji thought about it a minute.

"Hmm…I'd like to, but our opponents-"

"YUJIII!!"

Yuji held up his hands defensively and said "Okay, Okay!" They both calmed down, and smiled . Yuji attached his pinky to Iori's. "I promise. To become Chunin together!!"

"A promise!"

Yuji then said "Do you think that maybe we could extend it to Shiguri?"

"Of course!! Sensei said it's rare for an entire team to make it past the preliminaries of the final exam!! Let's see his face when all three of us make it!!"

"Sounds good to me!!"

The two genin lifted their hands into the air and separated. They both laughed for a bit. "So, you want to help me get back to work? We've only go half an hour left. After that, I need to back to sleep. Otherwise, I'll be too tired to train."

Right!" Iori held up the object, and Yuji got back to work.

* * *

_6 days until the final exam_

Three familiar figures ran through the forest. One looked like a giant dog. The other two looked human, one with silver hair, and another with pink hair.

"Pakkun, how much further?" Kakashi asked.

"His scent got a whole lot stronger; it shouldn't be too far."

Finally the three came to a clearing. "Wow." Sakura said.

Pakkun continued sniffing. "Southeast, about a mile from here."

"All right." The copy ninja thought. He dispelled Pakkun, and the remaining two took off in the direction he indicated. Soon, Sakura and Kakashi found them.

"Come on, let's do this!!" Naruto, or a Naruto, shouted. Six bushins were created, and each of the blonde's students had to take on two at once. The other two members of the former Team 7 just sat down to watch. Though to the untrained eye Naruto gave no indication that he knew of their presence, they knew that he sensed him. It was probably best to let him finish up with his students; with what they had to tell him, they knew they would muck up the rest of his schedule for today. As soon as the three genin collapsed, Naruto dispelled his bushin. "I'd normally be very happy to see you Sakura-chan, but if you and Kakashi-sensei are here, I'm guessing it's something serious." He did smile at Sakura, but it was the kind that had a serious expression to it as well.

"Indeed." Kakashi confirmed. The copy ninja turned to Sakura. "Shall I tell him or you?"

"Maybe-"

"Hey, if the two of you know the exact same thing, I'd much rather hear it from Sakura-chan then you sensei! No offense."

Though Kakashi said nothing, he did frown under his mask. "He's grown up in all the wrong areas." Kakashi thought.

"Oh, Sensei! While me and Sakura-chan are away, you think you could take over for me?" Naruto's team was a bit curious about Kakashi.

"Yeah, sure." Kakashi said, although there wasn't any enthusiasm in his voice.

"Great!" Naruto shouted. He jumped up the hill towards Sakura, and circled his arm around her hip. "Now, let's go somewhere a bit more private and-" The next thing he knew, he was face down on the floor.

"Baka!! Now's not the time to-" She stopped when she heard both Naruto's team and Kakashi snickering. You knew it was embarrassing when even Kakashi would laugh. Sakura lifted Naruto back up. "Let's just go. And I hope you understand it really is important." Sakura emphasized the last word in particular.

"Right, right." Naruto answered, still smiling.

The two took off, leaving Kakashi with the kids. They stared at each other for the longest time, until Kakashi went over to draw targeting circles on a few trees. "Okay, get three bulls eyes in a row." Kakashi walked away and plopped down, reading the newest Icha Icha book.

"I think I know what Naruto-sensei meant about being neglected." Shiguri mumbled.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were in the forest on the other side of the valley. Naruto asked "So, what is it that you need to tell me that my team can't know?"

Sakura replied "There's been an incident. The bodies of Itachi and Kakuzu are gone."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Why? They're both dead!"

"I don't know. Tsunade-shishou can't come up with anything either. But what's even stranger is the wounds the guard had."

Naruto, for once, said nothing.

"On his back, he had chakra burns that took the form of claws. And then there's the wound on his front."

"What about his front?"

Sakura hesitated at telling him this. "Naruto…the wound on his chest is almost the same kind the rasengan could inflict." Naruto's pupils contracted in shock upon hearing that. "There is a difference in wounds between the one he received and the one yours leaves. If what he was attacked with was a rasengan, it managed to pierce through the guard's skin into his heart. To do that would take chakra control even better than mine and Tsunade-shishou's; the swirling chakra is hard enough to stabilize as a ball."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "I see…" The prospect frightened Naruto.

Sakura then said "We would have told you sooner, but we were both away when it happened, and Shishou kept it a secret from Kakashi as well, until she found it fit to let the other jonin know. I felt you should know as well, and we got permission to tell you." Naruto still remained silent. "That's not a good sign." Sakura thought.

"I have a hunch who it might be." Naruto answered. "Someone from Akatsuki."

"Maybe, but what good are two dead bodies that we've had long enough to learn what we needed to?"

"I don't know. But I can't think of anything else. That still doesn't explain how they know the rasengan."

After a moment of silence, Sakura got up. She forced a smile and said "Well, let's see how sensei is doing with your students." Naruto nodded in agreement, and they walked out of the forest together. Holding hands of course.

* * *

"Oh come on!! Three bulls eyes, just like you said!!" Shiguri yelled at the copy ninja.

Kakashi took a peek away from his book. "Mmmm…no. Your last one was just slightly off the mark again."

"You lazy bastard!!"

"Now now, it's not polite to be speaking like that to the sensei of your sensei." His head suddenly bent down due to the force of two kicks to his head. Kakashi was especially grateful that one in particular did not land at full force.

"You haven't changed a bit!" the two members of the former Team 7 yelled.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and said "Well, there's really nothing new I could show them and have them master in a minute. Besides, you know them better than I do. It would be more effective to take a break reviewing the basics rather than have me teach them something new within fifteen minutes."

Both Naruto and Sakura sighed. Yuji then stepped forward and raised his hand. "Um, there is something I'd like to learn from you…if you've got the time."

Sakura noticed he was pointing at her. She blinked at that sudden realization. "What?"

"That super-strength you have. I know you didn't get it by pumping iron alone. I'd hate to think what you'd look like if you did."

Naruto formed such an image in his mind with Sakura possessing arms as big as his body, and with her abs being bigger than her breasts. "Oh, I think I've been scared for life yet again."

Sakura sighed. "Yuji…it takes a long time to learn it."

"Just tell me how it works." The genin put on his best pleading face "PLEASE?"

Sakura gave him an annoyed look, but decided that it would be best to give in to his demand and end it. "Okay. What I do is use my chakra control to gather a high amount of it in one spot, and upon impact, release it all at once. It took me almost two years to master it so…" Before she could finish, Yuji was already at a boulder. "Yuji! Don't you-"

"Relax! I got it!" Yuji seemed to concentrate, and then smashed his hand against the rock. Nothing happened, except that the boy's face contorted in obvious pain. "Um, I need to pee." He walked calmly into the forest. Once that happened, Naruto and Sakura lost track of the explicatives that resounded through the valley.

"Serves him right." Sakura mumbled as she went over to inspect the rock. When she got close however, the rock cracked in two! Sakura jumped back in surprise, and looked back in the way Yuji walked.

Naruto was stunned too. "Yuji…you have no idea just how good you can be if you tried…" the jinchuriki thought.

* * *

_2 days until the finals_

Just two days left until the final exam. Naruto and Team 12, along with Sakura and Kakashi, made it to the gates of Konoha. Naruto taught them everything he could, and decided that they were due for a break before the tournament. "Well, just relax for now. I wish you all the best of luck." Team 12 nodded together, and waved bye as they each headed to their respected homes.

Just as the three jonin were about to part ways, a familiar figure came into view. "Shizune-sempai?" Sakura asked.

Shizune was running towards them. "Sakura! I'm glad you're here! Listen, something bad has happened!"

"What!?" Team 7 asked.

"It's Tonton…he was killed! He was gutted right inside the tower!!" The news did not have the same impact on Naruto and Kakashi that it did Sakura.

"W-why?" the medic nin asked.

"I don't know. Tsunade's been a wreck these past few days. She's still doing her job, and we've got some chunin doing an investigation, but so far nothing has turned up."

"She's not…"

"At night. I see to it she doesn't have too much. What do you expect me to do? I can't stop her from drowning out her anxieties, especially when she has every right to feel sad…"

Sakura grabbed Naruto by the sleeve. "We'll be going to see her now."

Naruto opened his mouth to say "But Sa-"

"Naruto! Just why don't you want to go!?"

Naruto hung his head down. "Because I don't know what it's like to loose a pet." The blonde took a moment to choose his words. "Back at the Valley of the End, Sasuke wouldn't listen to me when I demanded him to go back. He said I know nothing about loosing parents or family because I never had any. I'm worried that Ba-chan will not accept any condolence I have on those grounds."

This scored him another good whack on the head. "Baka!! What do you take shishou for!? You're coming with me!!" Sakura grabbed his hand and nearly dragged him into the tower.

* * *

Tsunade signed another document, and put it in her pile of completed work. For once, that stack was higher than the ones waiting to be done. It wasn't the way she wanted it though; it was what kept her mind off of Tonton when Shizune wouldn't allow her to have any sake. Though it wasn't their concern, the council could have at least gave her their condolences. She snapped out her thoughts when she heard a light knock on the door. "Enter." Tsunade said. Naruto and Sakura stepped inside. Tsunade had a feeling about what they really came in for, but decided to get down to business first. "I trust you told Naruto everything?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, Shishou." A very uncomfortable moment of silence hung in the air. Then they both bowed. "I'm so sorry, shishou…I know how much you loved Tonton."

Naruto took his turn to speak up. "I don't know what it's like to have a pet…but if it's a bond you treasured, I'm sorry he's gone, Ba-chan."

The two of them brought a small smile to Tsunade's lips. Naruto took a moment to look at her. He never seen her eyes so red and dry before. Despite that, she still managed to shed a tear as well. "Thank you both…it means a lot to me." The Godaime got up and stretched. " Anyway, Sakura, since you spent a good portion of your time outside of Konoha, get some rest. I need you in the hospital tomorrow. And I expect you to be there for the Chunin exams." Sakura nodded in response.

* * *

Later, Naruto and Sakura decided to have dinner together. Since there was no time to dress up, nor were they in the mood, they just went for Ichiraku.

"I have to admit, I didn't like Tonton much when I first became Tsunade-shishou's apprentice." Sakura said. "I had to take him on walks sometimes, and that would be a pain. However, sometimes, at night, I would see her playing with him. She'd baby talk him, make him do tricks in exchange for treats, and when she was feeling down she would often pet him out of habit. I asked her what it was like to have a pet. She said it was much like having a child that will never grow up. What she liked best about Tonton was that when there was no one else to turn to, she could just talk to him without a care in the world, without having to worry about being judged."

Naruto nodded. "I think I understand. I guess if I had such a pet, I'd be upset to see it die, let alone be murdered." Naruto normally would not use such terms for animals, but to Tsunade it was murder.

"Here ya go, Naruto!" Tenchu said as he handed him his barbeque pork ramen.

"Ikematsu!" Naruto, as usual, devoured his ramen like a pig. "Aww, man!! The ramen I packed with me was good, but it can't even compare with this!!" Naruto picked up his bowl and slurped up the broth.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. "This may not be an official date, but that doesn't give you an excuse to act like a pig in front of me!!"

Naruto put his bowl down and wiped his mouth with his arm. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I-"

"EWW, Naruto!! Did you listen to a word I just said!?" Sakura got a napkin, and began to wipe his mouth. When Naruto giggled slightly, Sakura realized something. "You did that on purpose." Sakura mumbled. Naruto grinned even wider and leaned in to capture her lips. Sakura didn't refuse him; nowadays she couldn't.

"You're beautiful, you know that?" Naruto asked.

Sakura blushed a bit, and looked away modestly. "Not really…but thanks for thinking so." The kunoichi answered.

"But you are."

"My pink hair stands out."

"That's what I love about it."

"My forehead is too big."

"I think it's cute."

"I'm not as filled out as Ino or Hinata."

Naruto took a moment before answering. It was, after all, somewhat forbidden territory. "Your perfect the way you are."

"You said I haven't changed a bit when you came back from training." Sakura mumbled a bit grouchily

"Huh?" Naruto asked. Then he said "Ooooh, that! Well, you have always been the most beautiful thing in the world to me, and I don't think any number of years can change that!"

Sakura blushed slightly. "Thank you." She whispered. "Listen, I've got to get home before my parents get suspicious. I promise you, one day I'll get them to accept you."

Naruto cupped Sakura's chin. "So long as you accept me."

Sakura smiled, and planted a kiss on Naruto's cheek. "I'll watching the matches. Good luck, Naruto!" Sakura got up and walked away.

"Well, it looks like our little Naruto is growing up finally!" Tenchu bellowed with laughter

Naruto turned around to face the ramen chef. "Yeah, uh, well…" Naruto really did not know what to say.

"I still remember the time you treated Haruno-chan here years ago. The two of you looked cute together, but I still can't believe you're now a couple!!" The ramen chef only continued to laugh some more.

"Father, behave." Ayame chimed in. "If you continue to belittle Naruto-kun, then you must accept me and Iruka as a couple."

Tenchu clamped shut at hearing that. Now, that got Naruto's attention. "You and Iruka-sensei are going out?"

"Yes! He's one of the sweetest men I have ever met! Unfortunately, father is not quite ready for me to grow up."

Tenchu grumbled something incoherent. Naruto decided to let it go. He paid, and went home.

* * *

_Day of the finals_

It was the morning of the chunin exams. Yuji's alarm blared with its annoying noise. Unfortunately, it didn't come close to waking him up. After about ten minutes, someone came in with a bucket of boiling water and poured it on top of him. Soon, Yuji's eyes shot open as he screamed. "Damn it, Shiguri!! What was that for!?"

Shiguri asked to spend the night at Yuji's house. He really had to get away from his grandfather. "In all honesty, you're odds of beating that Jaa guy are pretty low. But I doubt you want to loose by forfeit."

Yuji looked at his clock. "Shit!!" Yuji anticipated this, which was why he chose to sleep in his clothes. The two chunin hopefuls ran downstairs.

In the kitchen, Mrs. Miyamoto was preparing breakfast. "Morning, sweetie! I baked you some-"

"Grab whatever fruit you can!!" Yuji shouted to Shiguri. "See you there mom!!"

Mrs. Miyamoto sweat dropped. "All that hard work for nothing…"

* * *

Jaa lit some incense near a Buddha, and held his hands in prayer position with his eyes closed. "Please, grant me victory. My family came here to escape the poverty of our home. I wish to use my new strength to ensure they can live happily, even if I must put my life on the line!" Jaa's attention was brought back to the real world when he heard someone walk towards him. Chan.

"Ready?" his fellow taijutsu specialist asked.

"Yes." The two teammates walked together down to the stadium. They weren't exactly rivals, but Jaa knew that Chan has always been jealous of him. "Chan…" the foreigner said. "I want to wish you the best of luck. You are a great fighter, and I hope we can face off in the final round."

Chan looked at Jaa, a bit shocked, and smiled back. "So do I." The two entered the stadium.

* * *

Shikamaru stood around, looking bored as usual. Kenshin and Uryuu were with him, but they weren't here to fight. They were there to cheer someone on…in their own, silent creepy way. That said person came into view. "Hanabi." Shikamaru greeted her. "I take it your training with your father went well?"

"Yes." Hanabi replied, not even bowing to her supposed sensei.

"I'd watch out for your opponent if I were you." Shikamaru cautioned."Naruto has a knack for being completely unpredictable. I wouldn't be surprised if his students carried on that tradition."

Hanabi said nothing in return as she entered the stadium.

"Good luck to both of you." Kiba said to Hige and Tsume. "You've both come a long way. I want each of you to keep something in mind. Hige, you're stronger than you think. Don't be afraid. I promise you will make it work out." The dog ninja turned to Tsume. "Tsume, you're strong and you've got good morals. But if you want to win this, you will need to break them to some extent. I showed you that taijutsu so you wouldn't have to worry about it. Besides, in the real world, you will have to kill some kunoichi." Tsume said nothing, but nodded. Kiba patted them both on the backs. "Now, get out there and make me look good."

* * *

Tsunade sat in the Hokage chair to view the chunin exams. To her right, Shizune stood. Tsunade looked at her and quickly looked away. Normally, her assistant would be cradling Tonton. She still couldn't get used to the fact that her pet pig was gone. "You're taking it rather well, Shizune." Tsunade commented.

"Forgive me, Tsunade-samma. There are just so many other things going on. But I do miss him as much as you." The younger medic-nin said, smiling slightly.

"One more thing." Tsunade said.

"Yes, Tsunade-samma?"

"Could you get me some sake? I need a drink really bad."

There was a moment of silence between the two until Shizune finally said "Yes, Tsunade-samma." She ran off to get some sake. In the middle of the day.

"That's odd." Tsunade thought. "She would never let me have a drink at this time, even now." Tsunade simply shrugged it off, and turned her attention to the arena.

* * *

"You ready?" Naruto asked Iori.

The girl didn't answer at first. "I'm scared."

Naruto smiled and said "No matter how tough a front we put up, we're always scared before a fight. Just do your best." Naruto turned his attention to the entrance, where his other two pupils ran in. "I hope your ready to go through the gauntlet." Naruto commented.

"We're going to kick some ass!" Shiguri yelled, thrusting his fist forward.

"Easy for you guys to say." Yuji mumbled.

"Hey, don't you dare give up!" Naruto shouted sternly. "No matter what someone else tells you, you always have a chance!" Naruto held out his hand. The three caught on, and each placed their hands on top of his. "Do your best!" The genin made their way down to the arena floor.

* * *

Naruto made his way into the spectator seats. As he seated himself, he felt a familiar presence, taking the seat next to him. "Kakashi-sensei…what brings you here?"

Kakashi got himself comfortable and sighed. "Not much. I don't have a mission, and I've read all my books several times over. So, I figured I'd come here and see how your students will fare."

Naruto smiled. "I'm nervous for them. I tried my best to get them ready, but I'm worried it's not enough."

Kakashi put a hand on the jinchuriki's shoulder. "I know you did your best. You always have." Kakashi laid his hand on his lap. "I know it is several years late, but I think I owe you an apology for training only Sasuke, and not you during the exams. I want to let you know it's not because I thought you would be a waste of time; it's just that at the time Sasuke needed me more than ever. He was being tempted by Orochimaru, and he was facing a psychotic killer. I knew you would be alright; it was him I wasn't so sure about."

Naruto grinned back at him. "Don't worry about it, Kakashi-sensei. I thought about it for years, and I do understand why you did what you did." Kakashi smiled underneath his mask, and turned his attention to the stadium. "It would have been nice though if you watched me in time to beat the crap out of Neji." Naruto told his teacher, sticking out his tongue.

Kakashi could only frown at that.

* * *

Gendou was once again the referee. Though he always had a bored expression on his face, the truth was he loved this job. "Will the first contestants please remain in the arena? Everyone else, to the waiting room." Yuji and Jaa remained. "There are no rules in this match. Take advantage of the environment, and attack with the intent to kill. With that said, keep in mind that I'll do my best to make sure no one dies!!" The two faced each other. They both got into a fighting stance. "The first match: Miyamoto Yuji vs. Tiger Jaa! Begin!!"

* * *

I've had a brilliant idea on how to title my chapters: I'll just take some random lyrics from various Sonic the Hedgehog songs, provided they match with the plot of the chapter! I've already done so with chapters 10, 17, and this one, all from His World! Silly, I know, but I think it's fun to try. I'll see you all next chapter!!


	19. Tower, Power, Admit no Shame

Hi! I hope you all have been having an excellent Spring Break! Preferably, I'd rather be in Cancun checking out wet t-shirt contests...but I'm not cool enough. Oh, and I don't have the money.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Before I go on, I should add one thing regarding the story: The Akatsuki leader is NOT the fourth. He's connected to him, but he's not him. No one in particular guessed that, but I thought I should get it out of the way, just in case.

Now in regards to reviews: Make no mistake, I'm grateful that so many of you are reading this story, and I truly appreciate the reviews I do get. However, if I get around 6 or 7 reviews most of the time, and then one chapter gets only 4, particularly when I expected more, I get a bit disappointed. So, I'm sorry if my attempts to be funny at requesting reviews made me look like a complete douche bag instead. I truly appreciate you all just reading my story, but I would like to hear from you how I'm doing and what I may need work on. So, if there are, say, 5 or less reviews for a chapter (the latest ones, don't worry about the ones in the past) then please leave a review (of course if there are 6 anyway, another is appreciated).

I should also add that I've been going back through the story and fine-tuning everything. Most is just modified dialouge. However, I have either added or changed a few scenes:

1) Some extra scenes with the cloud nins that were under Kenji's control, plus what happened right after the battle between Naruto and Kenji.

2) I changed how Sakura healed Kakashi after he was poisoned by Sasuke, because I misread how she healed Kankuro.

3) I changed how Sai saved Naruto from Amateratsu(I'm sorry for ignoring your comment like that Infernal Malestorm)

4) Itachi did not use Tsukiyomi on Iori when they first kidnapped her, he just hypnotized her. It contradicted how she responded later in the earlier version

5) Kuma, Jaa's opponent in the preliminaries, used explosive tags and not the fireball technique. Kuma was supposed to be a bully, not a prodigy. I thought having him learn the fireball technique was unrealistic for him when any genin able to do what Sasuke did was considered unrealistic.

Also, I changed any previous technique names to Japanese(they're probably very inaccurate though), and I've given a list of what means what.

Now HOLY SHIT!! TEN REVIEWS!? AWESOME!!

Wruth: I'm working on the descriptions part, and please, let me know how I'm doing! I can't tell you what I'm planning with Team Naruto, but don't worry, they won't blow everyone away..

JDay:...Japanese is the dumbest language ever, so sue me!(I'm kidding) Something SHOCKING will happen once I'm through with the chunin exams.

Mrfipp: Sorry dude. Next chapter. Anyway, I'll have some plans for Neji later. If you hate me for killing Tonton, you're really going to hate me later on for the other things I plan to do in this story (but with the exception of maybe two, each incident will have a happy ending.) Just remember: Kizu is not the fourth, and he sure as hell ain't any of those other characters you listed. I can't tell you what I plan with Hidan, but rest assured: Shikamaru's got nothing to worry about.

HawkofNavarre: You'll see soon enough. As for the length, I don't know why, but every time I put in just a FEW extra words in a chapter, the word count SKYROCKETS. I think should have focused more on that instead of what scene breaks we used (I feel sorry for those who've had much longer works than me).

Kyuubi93: Um, you do know I'm a greenbelt in karate? And done Muay Thai?

KingTW: Yes, I get annoyed when Naruto gets a trio of students who are gifted. I wanted them to be much more human and realistic. Like I've said in PM, them resembling Team 7 was intentional, although they will still have their differences from one another.

Pirogeth: Which guy? Illjwamh? Well, I guess he'll have to send me a polished draft of one of the chapters, but I'm glad you think my descriptions are good.

Doom187: Well, as the main character of The Kite Runner said: Cliches are right on. So, certain events and how they end may be a bit predictable, but it's the process that matters.

Now let's get on with the story!

* * *

Two Daimyos sat in the arena. One was from Tea Country, the other from Wind Country.

"Hmm…" the Tea Daimyo said. "His Genjutsu and Ninjutsu are pretty bad according to these stats, but his taijutsu is off the charts! He should be strong enough to beat that runt! I'll bet a thousand on him!"

The Wind Daimyo, seemingly uninterested, said "Very well. I shall bet on the Miyamoto boy."

"Oh, and why would you?"

"Let's just say…it's a hunch."

"I'll be honest. His stats are pretty bad! How about 10 to 1?"

The Wind Daimyo at first said nothing. Then finally, he breathed and said "If you must."

* * *

Yuji put his hands into his pockets as Jaa squared off against him. From the stands, Naruto sweated with anticipation.

"So," Kakashi began, "do you think he can win? Yuji, I mean?"

"I'm not sure." Naruto answered. "His taijutsu has improved, but not enough to beat this guy. Not alone. His other skills need work to…but they just might give him the edge he needs in this fight!"

Sakura peered through the window of the medical corps, thinking about Yuji and her past with his father. "Should I have taken responsibility before? Helped to take care of him? If so, how come his mother didn't come to me?" Once Naruto returned, she put it in the back of her mind and became obsessed with trying to help him and Sasuke anyway she could. As of now, her busy career made it nearly impossible to take an apprentice, or at least care for a child beyond work in the hospital. That was irrelevant right now. Yuji stood before a powerful opponent. He had one chance of winning…but as great as his potential was with Tsunade's strength, there was no telling how far he came with that one fluke during his training. And against a taijutsu specialist such as Jaa, if he missed, he lost. "All I can do is watch." Sakura thought. "No matter how badly either one of them are hurt, I'll do my job and make sure they are back on their feet in no time."

* * *

In another part of the stands, Team Gai, along with Hiashi and Hinata, sat together. Neji was curious to see Lee's two pupils fight, but at the same time, he was obligated to be there to observe Hanabi's match.

"So, Lee…" Neji asked. "…how good is Jaa?"

Lee shot up from his seat and clenched his fist."Jaa-kun is one of the most gifted taijutsu specialist EVER!! THE POWER OF Y-"

"Okay, okay, I get!" the Hyuga yelled. He then sighed in annoyance. "Some things will never change." Neji then focused his attention on the other boy."What about the other one? I heard he was Naruto's student."

Lee kept himself silent for a minute. "Miyamoto has…unusual tactics."

"Define unusual."Lee tapped his finger nervously, and whispered into Neji's ear. His passive look turned into one of shock. "I'm sorry I asked." Neji turned back to Jaa. "Even so, the odds look in Jaa's favor. Then again, when I fought Naruto, it was the same situation."

* * *

Yuji took his hands out his pockets and threw some shuriken. It was probably the most predictable trick in the book, but it was a good way to start things off. Jaa blocked them all with his muay kaad chuek, where the weapons became stuck. Jaa ran forward and performed a simultaneious elbow and knee attack, but Yuji leapt to the side. "I can't beat him in close range!" Yuji thought. The young genin shot a wire and wrapped it around Jaa's leg, and pulled. However, instead of falling over, Jaa launched off with his free leg using the force of his opponent's pull and aimed a round kick to his kidney. Yuji barely managed to block with both of his palms, but the force of the kick sent him flying. Yuji jumped back up, paying no heed to his hands; the palms were already bruised. Jaa was upon him in an instant, and despite the initial shock, Yuji tried to jump away. Jaa, however, landed some solid punches to his solar plexus.

Holding his stomach, Yuji tried to back away again, but a long knee sent him flying. "Zou Seppun!" Yuji rolled on the ground at an incredible speed.

The student of Konoha's hyperactive ninja panted heavily, staring at the sky. "He's far above me…I don't have his training…there's no way I can…" His thoughts of despair stopped there. He clenched the dirt and struggled back up. "No…There may still be a way…I still have lots of tricks up my sleeve that I haven't tried…" He faced Jaa, and reached back into his pockets once more…

* * *

Iori gripped the rails nervously. "He's good…" The red-head then felt a hand on her shoulder. "Shiguri?"

Shiguri didn't look at her, but stared straight ahead in the arena. He then said "I'm not counting him out just yet. Yuji's been waiting for a chance just like this. As a little kid, he was hoping his dad would watch him when his time would come. However, now that his dad's not with him, he's driven more than ever to win. There's no one back at home telling him it's okay he lost. Not even Naruto-sensei can fill that void. So, to prove to his father he's become strong, he's determined to win this battle by himself. This is the only way he can prove to his deceased father that he is strong. And to himself that he's worth something."

Iori didn't respond, even though she heard every word he said. She only continued to look on…

* * *

Yuji showed his hands again, but this time did not throw shuriken. No, he brandished a new set of weapons. His dad's spider gauntlets, customized to fit him. "I haven't had much practice with these. But there's no time like now to see how they will work out." Yuji crossed his arms over his face and smirked. "Now the real fun begins."

Yuji rushed forward, and Jaa came straight at him. "Hanuman Ukagu Lanka!" Jaa leapt into the air, anticipating that his enemy would do the same. However, he guessed wrong. Though Yuji made it seem like he would jump, at the last second he shot his leg out and slid on the ground. He aimed his gauntlet, and fired. The wire hit Jaa right in his calf muscle. When Jaa cried out in pain, Yuji pulled his wire and slammed him to the ground. His control would not last, as Jaa pulled it out and was back on his feet.

Jaa then leapt into the air, preparing a double elbow strike. "Aikyou no Kamigami!" His elbows caused the ground beneath him to shatter…but it counted for nothing. Yuji used his spider gauntlets to pull himself away, and onto the arena wall.

Once he stabilized himself on the wall, looked at his gauntlets with awe. "These work better than I ever imagined they could have!" Yuji formed another cocky grin on his mouth and fired another wire. Though he was eager to use them some more, he knew by now there had to be more innovative ways to use them. "This calls for a diversion. I've brought a few spare wires on me."

Yuji threw more shuriken, most of which Jaa easily dodged. However, what he didn't know was that the shuriken was attached by wires. Controlling them like a wire, Yuji dragged them around the ground and caused the dust to rise. Yuji then aimed the gauntlet. Though he couldn't be seen, Yuji couldn't see Jaa either. Tapping on the button several consecutive times, wires from each hole at the edge shot out towards the dust cloud. Though most indeed did miss, he heard a satisfying yell. About three wires had pierced Jaa: One in the shoulder, another in the foot, and another in the leg. However, instead of agonizing in pain, Jaa pulled the wires. Yuji couldn't resist Jaa's strength, and was not only pulled off; his wrist nearly broke as well. Yuji slammed his palm onto the other side, and the wires released him. Before he hit the ground, he shot his weapon at the arena wall, and brought himself back up to the wall. Yuji clutched his wrist in pain. "I can't let him get hold of ANY part of me!!"

Jaa dropped the discarded wires and ran forward. "I've got to fight up close! That's his weakness!" Halfway to the wall, he leapt into the air. "Konoha Su-pa Gufuu Isshuu!" Another wire was fired directly at him, but it missed the foreigner by a hair. However, due to his twisting motion, he couldn't see what was coming next; the wire was snagged by another, which happened to pass over him parallel to the previous wire. Yuji then pulled the two wires and caught the older boy, immediately ruining his technique. "What the-?" Yuji launched himself off the wall and planted a double kick into Jaa's face. Jaa fell face first onto the arena floor, whereas Yuji landed on his feet right ahead of him.

* * *

Naruto grinned with excitement. "Where did he come up with those!?"

"His father, probably." Kakashi replied. "I worked with his father a couple of times. And as I'm sure you know, the comrade on his final mission was Sakura." Naruto looked at the copy ninja, and nodded solemnly. "Those weapons are his father's. But if you didn't teach him how to use them during your training period, it means one thing."

"What?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi looked at him, closing his one eye indicating he was smiling. "You've got a genius in the making."

* * *

Jaa ran forward, charging. He dodged more wires, and took special care to look out for any surprises from behind. Yuji kept firing and retracting the wires. He didn't get another hit in, but so far, he was keeping the powerhouse at bay. When Jaa was nearly upon him, he shot a wire to the left and avoided having his stomach impounded by a push kick. Before he had time to counterattack, something moved at him with great speed. He blocked with his guanlet…and realized his mistake too late. Jaa threw one of his bones at him instead of a fist. It landed with such great force, and shattered the metal contraption, spraining his wrist even more as well. "Shit!"

Yuji was on the other side of the arena by now, but Jaa wouldn't let him escape. "Prepare yourself!" he yelled. He brought his remaining bone down on the ground, Yuji dodging only by a hair. Yuji shot a wire from the gauntlet once more….but Jaa was one step ahead of him and flipped over. He landed behind Yuji and swung a backfist. Instinctively, Yuji blocked it. "Hebi Dappi Gaihi!" Jaa thrust his other fist across Yuji's side. The muay kaad chuek cut through the skin and caused Yuji severe pain. Though he only let out a gasp, he still faltered back and turned his back on him. Jaa leapt into the air, and aimed for the one remaining gauntlet. "Hisan Musutangu!" His foot, with precise accuracy, landed on the remaining spider gauntlet and shattered it…

* * *

"Hahaha!" The Daimyo of Tea country laughed. "I can't believe how easily I'm going to win this!! You've seen the stats themselves…why didn't you bet on him first?"

The Daimyo of Wind Country replied "I've checked who their teachers are…the Kazekage held Miyamoto's instructor with the utmost respect. So, naturally I trust him."

"Well, maybe it's time to invest in another village! I was the one who should have made you bet 10 to 1! But with the sum of money we betted, I suppose I can be perfectly happy with that!"

* * *

Yuji tried all the standard blocks he could, but against Jaa's roundkicks, they only served to damage his arms. Yuji tried some counterattacks with some basic punches, but Jaa blocked them all with his elbows. Jaa countered with elbows, but Yuji was able to get away in time. However, he didn't see Jaa slip his hands behind his neck and grab him. Jaa clenched Yuji and sent a knee to his stomach. If he had eaten a more filling breakfast, Yuji would have lost it by now. He was thrown back tumbling. Yuji got up, holding his stomach, but Jaa showed him no mercy. A push kick to the face, and a left hook to the jaw later, Yuji was spinning out of control. Somehow, he managed to stabilize himself and put up a proper guard. Jaa's look changed from one of killer intent…to one of concern. Yuji noticed this too, even though he was seeing double.

Jaa got out of his stance, put his hands together in praying fashion, and bowed, never taking his eye off Yuji. "Please, accept your defeat. You have fought bravely, and I do not wish to cause further harm to a comrade. You cannot win."

Yuji looked at the boy in shock. What kind of shock, no one could really tell. Then, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He wiped the blood of his cheek and thrust his fist forward. "You insult me. I've been told to give up all my life, and everyone who told me so did it with my safety in mind. But the fact is, I'm sick of that attitude. I've made my choice the day I graduated from the academy. And I'm going to accept everything that comes with it! If you are really concerned with showing me respect, then come at me with everything you've got! I promise I'll be the one to make you give up!"

Jaa actually kind of liked this guy. He understood where he was coming from, and regretted suggesting he forfeit. Not because he was afraid, but Yuji did make a point: many people took that as an insult. Jaa got into his trade-mark fighting stance and smiled. Not a cocky smile, but a genuine one of admiration. "Very well. I apologize. I felt I had to offer."

Yuji got into his own fighting stance as well. The two stood still for a good minute. Yuji was expressionless, but the sweat trickling down his brow was a good indicator he was nervous. "I don't have enough wires on me. And my taijutsu can't…" Yuji's eyes widened in a sudden realization. "THEIR taijutsu can't beat this guy. But what about yours…father?" Yuji then put his hands into a rake-like shape…

* * *

Naruto stood up from his seat. "What is it?" Kakashi asked, not taking his eye off the two combatants.

"Eight Extreme Fists." Naruto mumbled. "He's going to try it."

Kakashi looked at Yuji down in the arena. "Eight Extreme Fists…yeah, I remember Ryu-san practicing it. Efficient, but difficult to master. Did he-?"

Naruto shook his head. "He's learning the basics. But he's far from mastering it. I don't think it will be enough, especially against a taijutsu specialist."Naruto relaxed somewhat, and sat back down. "Besides, a lot of this he seems to be doing more for becoming like his father than a chunin in general. That's what worries me."

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. "True. But I can tell from up here his guard for that style is perfect. You never know…"

* * *

Jaa took note of the change in guard. It was unusual…but definitely not for show. Jaa yelled, and charged. Just as he was practically on top of Yuji, Jaa used his back leg to deliver a fearsome, super-powered round kick. However, Yuji saw it coming. He ducked, grabbed the leg at the ankle, pulled it in…and slammed his elbow forward into Jaa's groin. The tan boy didn't cry out in pain; more like sputtered as he was flown back. Everyone in the stadium stood up in shock. Most of them couldn't see it, but the execution wasn't flawless; a new bruise began to form on Yuji's side. "As soon as I let go, he was able to follow through and catch me there." Yuji was careful not to clutch his side. He could not afford to give any weakness. "This style is softer then his. I've got to remember that."

Eventually, Jaa was up. Though he was still in pain, he ignored it and ran forward. He threw various kicks, punches, knees and elbows…but Yuji made sure to back away. "Okay. I need to find openings…" He saw Jaa come in with a right hook…"There!" Yuji stepped forward and struck the attacking arm's joint. Though its force still sent a shockwave through Yuji's arm, he ignored it and sent an elbow to his opponent's sternum. Jaa doubled back, his breath cut off by only a second. Jaa went got into the position for another round kick and fired. Yuji dodged it, but Jaa twisted and leapt into a flying knee to Yuji's left shoulder. It made Yuji loose feeling in his arm, but had he not jumped back in time, it would have been dislocated completely.

Yuji threw a smoke bomb to buy himself a second, and moved his arm to get it working again. He barely saw Jaa jump through the smoke in time to duck. Jaa touched down, and turned around to face Yuji.

"That's an unusual style. What do you call it?" Jaa asked.

Yuji adjusted his glasses and breathed. "Eight Extreme Fists. I'm still learning it."

Jaa then replied. "Interesting. Mine is called the Science of Eight Limbs."

They began sizing each other up, and then a multitude of blows followed. Jaa blocked all of Yuji's blows with his elbows and knees. He countered with his hard strikes, and though it still caused some damage to Yuji, he parried each of Jaa's blows. Jaa attempted another push kick, but Yuji dodged. It still managed to cut open his shirt and give him a few good scratches over his abdomen. But Yuji pushed on and grabbed the leg. Yuji put his leg behind Jaa's, positioned his head against the foreigner's body, and used it and a foot sweep to throw Jaa headfirst into the ground. Yuji stumbled backwards a couple of steps, slightly shocked at what he had just accomplished. His sparring sessions with Naruto helped tremendously. That being said, he didn't have the conditioning Jaa did. The few blows that Jaa landed on him did incredible damage, and Yuji did everything he could to ignore the pain and keep up with Jaa's pace. He was exhausted by now; he wasn't sure if he could afford to fight any longer. "I really hope that did it…"

* * *

_"Here, Korn!" an eight year old Jaa called. "Here boy!" The elephant, while a juvenile, was still very big, over 2 meters in height. Korn walked through the mud and wrapped its trunk around Jaa,. It still had some of its nose free, and used it to noggie the little boy. "HAHAHA! Korn! Stop it!" The boy was about to hug the big animal's giant leg until they heard a scream. Instinctively, the elephant grabbed its young master and threw him on his back. The elephant ran through the battlefield of exploding kunai. Jaa, realizing the danger, lay down on the creature's back. He heard that flytrap ninja were planning to attack them, but why now? Jaa glanced a look to his left where he saw a farm worker drop dead from a kunai to the back of his head. The rice paddies had weapons sticking out instead of reeds. The thing that got to Jaa the most was that the water was beginning to turn red. Jaa closed his eyes, trying to block out the horrifying images. Korn got hit by some kunai, but he was strong and thick-skinned enough to stand it. "Mom! Dad!" Jaa cried, afraid to look. But he knew to find them, he would have to.  
_

_Soon, he saw his parents, grabbing what little belongings they could "Tiger! Thanks goodness you're safe!" his father shouted. They brought with them Korn's parents, who circled around the calf. Jaa, despite the carnage surrounding them, smiled as he saw the two elephants touch and reassure their offspring. "Our soldiers are not prepared!" Jaa's father shouted. "This battle will go to Panther country. We must leave." The man said with a tone of sadness…_

* * *

_"For the last time, you cannot bring those animals in here, sir!"_

_Jaa's family had travelled for over a year, and finally made it to Konohagakure. While no ninja village was entirely safe, it was said to be the most powerful and the kindest of all the main villages among the five great nations. Jaa's family needed that protection._

_Jaa stood behind the elephants while his parents bowed down to the ground. "We're begging you sir." his father said. "Our home was destroyed, and we have no place else to go. These elephants are family to us. We can't abandon them."_

_"Get o-"_

_"What is the meaning of this!?" a new voice bellowed. It wasn't particularly intimidating. In fact, it was a woman's voice. A tall, beautiful blond woman._

_The guard ran over and bowed to her. "Hokage-sama! I apologize for the commotion!" Jaa's eyes widened. THIS was the famous Hokage? "The papers are all clear Hokage-sama." the guard continued. "But they refuse to leave behind these animals. I told them to turn them loose, but-"_

_The Hokage at this point wasn't listening. She instead walked over to the animals. Jaa couldn't tell directly, but the small growls his elephants made indicated that this woman was a force to be reckoned with. However, cautious though they may be, his elephants were very good with people unless provoked. The Hokage came up and petted one on the trunk. The elephant in turn touched her with his trunk, gently of course. "Are they good with people?" she asked._

_Jaa's father bowed and said "Yes!"_

_"How much do they have to eat?"_

_"Lots, but we'll work very hard to keep them healthy!"_

_Tsunade sighed. "Even if you were to start some kind of business involving these three, you'd barely get by." Tsunade then noticed Jaa next to Korn. She turned around to face his parents. "Tell me, do you intend to sign up your son for the academy?" Jaa's parents struggled to find the right words. "I can tell you all come from a war-torn nation. I understand the concern you have for your son. But right now, the best chance you have of living happily is for him to become a ninja. Don't worry; it will be a while before he truly gets thrown into the battle field. And he will not be a tool for conquest as long as I'm around. You have my word on that." Tsunade then turned around and headed for the gates. "Give me one day. I need to make some land for your pets." She turned to the guard. "Ichikata! Make a tent for them until tomorrow!"_

_The guard was stunned at first, but bowed hastily. "Y-Yes Hokage-sama! But I'll need help!"_

_"I'm looking for some chunin right now to help you with that."_

* * *

_"Thank you! Stop by again sometime soon!" Jaa's family used the elephants to make a good business; riding, tug-of-war, water fighting…in terms of gross margin, they were doing great. Net profit, not so much. Their elephants required a lot of food, and most of the money they made went into that. It was hard for them. But it was better than the condition their home-country was in. At least here, they were safe, and getting some meals in was better than none._

_Soon, Jaa came into view. His father smiled and was about to say hi, until he noticed his son's melancholy look. He walked over and placed his hands on Jaa's shoulders. "What's wrong, son?" Jaa was crying, and he suddenly ran away and threw something onto the ground. The crouched and picked it up. It was his son's report card. And the only subject he got a passing grade in was Taijutsu…_

* * *

_Jaa spent his day off kicking a giant log. His shin was getting battered and bruised, but he paid the pain no heed. It was standard training where he came from. Besides, it was a good way to blow off some steam. "I signed up for ninja training to help my family! But I'm not good at anything! How-"_

_"Jaa!" Jaa stopped what he was doing and looked at his father. "Ah, you've been practicing some boxing. That's good, that's good." Jaa's father walked right up to him and gave him a pat on the back. "Listen. I know you've been having trouble back at the academy. So, I went to the Hokage to ask if there's anything she could recommend. When I explained what you were having trouble with, she came up with a plan that will allow you to graduate." Jaa's face lit up almost immediately. "First, pass your academics, obviously. Then, you need to get A's in teamwork, shurikenjutsu, and taijutsu. If you can do that, she says she'll give you an instructor who will be perfect for you."_

_From that day on, Jaa went back to the academy with a new sense of hope. He accepted his faults, and would put everything into the subjects he could do…_

* * *

_After about three years, Jaa had finally graduated. He felt both proud and ashamed. It was only because the Hokage dismissed genjutsu and ninjutsu from his curriculum that he passed. "Will it really help in the long-run? Genjutsu and ninjutsu are essential skills. How can I hope to help the others?" He was in a room with one boy and one girl, both a part of his new team. He was still shy and withdrawn, so he hadn't really talked to them…_

_"Welcome, my new pupils!!" The three genin turned in shock to see a young man with the most bizarre green outfit they have ever seen. "Today is the beginning of Team Lee!"_

* * *

Jaa's eyes shot open. "I cannot loose here! Everything I ever fought for is right there! I must take it!" Jaa shot back to his feet like a rocket and stared Yuji down. "I can't loose here!" Jaa ran forward, and cocked his fist back. Yuji stepped in to prepare to block the fist, but he miscalculated: it wasn't a fist Jaa would attack with, but his elbow. The elbow grazed across Yuji's ribs, causing him to twist around. When Yuji managed to use the momentum to face Jaa again, his jaw instead met with his Hanuman technique and was sent flying into the ground.

* * *

Naruto sighed in disappointment. He wasn't angry at Yuji. On the contrary, he did much better then he could have hoped. But after seeing him on a winning streak and then back to square one, he felt kind of bummed out.

"Anything else he's got?" Kakashi asked.

"Well…not that I can think of."

"What about the super-strength?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the thought, then he shook his head. "That was a fluke. He wasn't properly trained in it. Sakura-chan agreed that maybe someday either she or Ba-chan may train him, but it would have been a waste of time to focus on that at the last minute."

Kakashi looked away, smiling. "If only he knew…" He saw the young genin train at night. He practiced the super strength for hours until he was almost out of chakra. "It's still unlikely he can win, but he grasped the basics...you still got a chance, kid."

* * *

Another knee met Yuji's stomach, who was struggling to stand up. Yuji pulled out a kunai in an attempt to slash at Jaa. Jaa ducked out of the way, twisted three times and landed an elbow on Yuji's side. "Demukaeru Chijin!"

The impact threw Yuji right into the tree, causing the bark to crack and peel. "Oh man. This isn't looking so good for me." Yuji thought. Despite the incredible pain, he managed to stand. Jaa ran forward again. "I don't know if I can win…if…."

Jaa was running at an incredibly fast speed this time around, faster than before. The weights behind him showed why. He was almost upon Yuji, and prepared a devastating knee…which Yuji placed his hand on. Yuji used the momentum to launch himself up and delivered a double kick to Jaa's face once more. When they both landed, one on his feet, the other on his back, Yuji yelled "Why'd you do that!? Why did you stop your attack!? If you're that hesitant to hurt me, you might as well forfeit right now!!"

Jaa hoisted himself back up. "What is he talking about? He shouldn't have been able to see it coming, not in his state! Could it be…could it be for him, that time had stopped?" Jaa got into another fighting stance, his knee raised high, ready to leg-check. He threw a volley of punches, all of which Yuji dodged easily. Yuji shot back some quick jabs. Though they made Jaa stagger, they weren't enough to do any real damage.

Jaa continued his barrage, but Yuji dodged each strike and countered. Yuji slammed his opened hand against Jaa's fist, pulling it down. Then he sent an eye rake against Jaa's eyes, blinding him. Before he had a chance to clutch them, Yuji sent a spear-hand into his throat. The red-scarf protected him from being knocked unconscious, but it still hurt like hell, and it left him open for more attacks…

* * *

Sakura looked from the windows in awe. "What was that? He shouldn't…" Then it occurred to her. "That's what Ryu-sensei had back in the day! That was the possible Kekkei Genkai he was talking about!" Sakura couldn't help but smile…

* * *

Yuji's mother did not take a seat in the arena. She was too nervous as it was. She had to stand. She chewed at her fingertips, her mind not focused on the battle. "How could I? How could I let him convince me to allow Yuji to be a ninja!?" She was, of course, referring to Naruto. She didn't know why, but something about the way he spoke got to her. Something in the back of her head told them to give them both another chance. Another chance despite the fact her only child came so close to death. Another chance despite the fact she hoped Yuji would take a non-violent job. But then, she actually shot a glance at the battle and looked. She couldn't believe it! Yuji was winning! He dodged every blow that just a minute ago he couldn't hope to avoid. And he was doing some damage to his opponent as well. Mrs. Miyamoto couldn't comprehend it…

* * *

Jaa was thrown back into the wall. He was much faster without his weights on, and he landed many solid blows on his opponent before with them. Why was he failing to connect now? Yuji came forward with a side kick, but Jaa rolled away in time. He then flipped over Yuji and landed behind him. He cocked his fist, and let a spinning backfist fly. However, even with his back turned, Yuji ducked at the right second and leg sweeped Jaa. The taijutsu specialist landed on his back again, but rolled and put some distance between them.

Jaa panted, and looked around. "I can't hit him. There must be someway to numb his senses. But what?" Jaa shot a glance to his discarded elephant bones. "That's it!" Jaa dashed for it, Yuji following him closely. Jaa retrieved it and leapt out of the way just as a kunai came sailing past. He tucked it in behind his back. "Maybe he can see attacks coming, but I doubt he knows what I'm getting ready for." He threw some kind of oil on it. "Now for the next one!" He ran, easily dodging the shuriken coming his way. Once he reached his second bone, he repeated the same process. "All right!" He picked up the bones as though they were swords, and got into a fighting position. "Let's do this!"

Jaa charged, swinging his bones wildly. Yuji still dodged easily. He jumped onto one of the bones and prepared to attack. However, grinded the two together, causing some kind of smell to invade his nostrils. Yuji jumped back, hacking for a few minutes.

Yuji wrinkled his nose before he turned to fight again. "Whoa, those things reek!" he thought. As he closed in, he realized that he was beginning to feel weak in the joints. His kunai felt like a huge grocery bag, and he was having trouble standing straight. Jaa swung again. Yuji ducked, and shot an uppercut. Jaa blocked with another bone, and Yuji backed away before the horizontal swing could get him. And it did. His glasses at least. This sent a shock through the crowd. After having perfectly dodged everything, Jaa had scored a small hit on Yuji.

Yuji was, needless to say, surprised. The fact he lost his glasses didn't scare him; he could see well enough without them. But there was no way Jaa could have gotten faster. "How did he manage?" Yuji ignored the trail of blood that was pouring down his forehead, a flesh wound.

Jaa charged again, once more trying to pound his enemy. Yuji continued to evade the attacks, but it was getting harder and harder, and he was starting to feel weaker as well for a few seconds. However, as it went on, he felt his strength return. Yuji didn't know how long he had if his temporary sickness would return.There was no longer any opportunity to counter-attack, so Yuji decided that it was time to resort to old tricks. He hadn't used it on this guy before, so tactically it was quite sound. Yuji fired his wires the way he normally did before. They hit something, but not Jaa. Where Jaa should have been, his bones were instead. "Wha-?"

That tingling sensation went off, but not in time. He looked up to the sky, and saw his opponent too late. "Gekigen no Ono!!" The tip of Jaa's elbow landed square on Yuji's skull. Yuji stumbled again, blood pouring down his head. His world was both spinning and duplicating itself several times over. He couldn't react in time to prevent himself from getting clenched.

"Kakekomi no Yagyuu!!" At lightning speed, several knees landed right in Yuji's sternum, and there was nothing he could do about it. Jaa delayed the last knee, cocked it back, and in a shot more powerful than the rest, sending Yuji shooting up like a rocket.

Yuji coughed blood in midair, struggling to get a hold of his surroundings. "There….must be…something…" Yuji fired his wires to break his fall, but his failing senses wouldn't allow him to grab hold, and he fell to the ground. He somehow managed to land right, otherwise he would have broken a leg. Yuji panted again, and looked to the sky. "I've got nothing. My gauntlets are destroyed. His taijutsu is better then mine, and whatever was happening to me a few minutes ago wore off. Dad…what else can I do? I've struggled for so long…I can't just give up like this! I've waited too long. There has to be a way! There…" He didn't know why, but somehow his vision focused long enough to look at the window above the waiting room where the other contestants were. He saw a pink dot. "That's Sakura!" Despite the pain his skull was in, the wheels in his head began to turn. "I've got a plan." Yuji struggled to rise….

* * *

"What happened?" Naruto asked. "He was doing great there!"

Kakashi looked forward, his face as placid as ever. "I think Ryu-san was right on the money that he was the first in his generation to generate a new Kekkei Genkai."

Naruto looked back at him. "Yeah. Sakura-chan told me about her mission with Yuji's dad, and it did have something to do with him being able to dodge like crazy. But if he did inherit it, why did it stop working?"

"I noticed Lee's student had poured some kind of oil on the bones. It's hard to tell from up here, but I smelled some kind of poison that I'm familiar with. It doesn't kill; it just makes you feel ill for just a little bit. I'd imagine that is exactly what happened to Yuji. Even if it wore off by now, that ability of his is no longer present. I remember Ryu stating that if he took a major hit to the head, his sixth sense didn't work."

Naruto clenched his fists under his chin. "He did great." Naruto commented. "He held his own against an opponent who was far above him and returned some damage. What do you think?"

Kakashi smiled. "I don't think he's ready. But with some training, I'd imagine that in less than a year, he will be."

Naruto smiled back.

* * *

Yuji was back on his feet, but he was staggering. He couldn't keep his balance. "Oh no. It won't work. I've only got one shot. He'll dodge it. It's over…" His eyes, though unfocused turned to the ground. Then, another idea.

_"I promise I'll make you say 'I give up!'"_

Yuji had to smile. "I said that. Didn't I? Well, I guess it's time to fulfill that promise!" Yuji concentrated the best he could. Despite the fact that he couldn't focus like he did when he was in goo condition, he could feel the chakra gathering up in his hands. "I managed to get some of it down pat. Not as good as Sakura's, but it should do." Yuji smashed his fists right through the ground. Then, he acted like he was trying to lift something. "It's still so heavy…but….!"

Suddenly, the ground cracked. Jaa stumbled backwards, wondering what was going on. He jumped again when he felt something from underneath. The ground was moving up! The stretch of ground that separated him and Yuji by twenty meters was no longer part of the earth…and Yuji was holding that piece with his bare hands. "How!? If he was that strong, his blows would have ended the fight from the get go! Even kill me! Was he…was he holding back this entire time?" Yuji's hold on the slab of land did not waver. Jaa tried to think of a way to end this, his resolve shaken. Nothing. "Mom…Dad…Lee-sensei…I'm sorry. I can't win. But someday, I promise you, I will make it!" Jaa held his hand up. "I give up!"

Everyone was in shock. "The winner!" Gendou yelled. "Miyamoto Yuji!!" Gendou just grinned. "Hmph. This just keeps getting more and more interesting."

Yuji smiled, his eyes glazed over. "You…fell for it." Yuji let go of the slab, and fell over.

Jaa jumped off and landed beside the crumbling piece of debris. "He…he was bluffing!?" At first, Jaa was furious…then, a smile formed on his lips.

_"There is more to becoming a chunin then winning."_

He remembered Lee's words as he got them ready to sign up for the exam. Jaa put his hands into prayer position again, and bowed. "You were a worthy opponent. My congratulations to you. I think you have rightfully earned it."

* * *

Tsunade shot up from her seat, still holding on to it. "Impossible…" She turned towards Shizune, who looked as surprised as she was. "Shizune, do you know anything about this!?"

Shizune shook her head "No, Tsunade-sama! It's inconceivable that anyone other than Sakura could have obtained your strength!"

Tsunade sighed and sat down. "I see…"

* * *

"Yuji!!" Iori jumped off the railing, Shiguri following after her. Iori ran towards Yuji, hoping he was okay. Finally, she knelt down and cradled Yuji's head. Shiguri went over to his side.

"I-Iori? S-Shiguri? Is that you?"

Iori delicately brushed her hand across his head, staying mindful of the injuries he sustained. "Yes, it's us. Come on, let's get you to-"

Yuji planted a hand on the ground, attempting to stand again. "No…I'm okay."

Shiguri sighed and held two fingers in front of his friend's face. "Yuji…how many fingers am I holding up?"

Yuji had trouble focusing. "Uhh….seventeen?"

"MEDIC!"

* * *

Sakura got to work on Yuji immediately. "He's a stubborn kid….a very bad concussion, several broken ribs, and he looks as beaten as a slab of meat at a butcher shop…don't worry, nothing I can't handle." Sakura poured her chakra into Yuji's wounds. Since she and the others were expected to care for other injuries, including ones more life-threatening than this, she was only doing the bare minimum to put him in stable condition. "There. Now sleep it off." Sakura commanded Yuji.

"No way!" the genin responded, and struggled to sit up. "I need to watch the other matches and plan my counterattacks, or else…!"

Soon, Naruto stepped in. "That's not your concern anymore."

Yuji looked at him curiously, then his eyes widened in horror. "You mean-?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Yuji…you won the fight, but Sakura has ruled you unfit to continue." Yuji started to form tears in his eyes. Then, he leapt off from the bed and started to run. Naruto and Sakura shouted simultaneously "Hey!! Get back here!!"

Either one of them could have easily stopped him before he reached the door. However, Iori appeared and beat them both to it. Before Yuji could respond, Iori punched him and knocked him to the floor. "OW!! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!?"

Iori simply grabbed him off the collar and brought him to a face that looked like it could kill. "You imposter!! The Yuji I know would never do anything incredibly stupid!!" Yuji's eyes widened again. "Don't you realize it yourself!? You've been battered and bruised beyond anything you've experienced before, and you won only because you tricked that other guy into giving up!! If you could fight more, it's more likely that he would be the one in here!!" Iori set her friend on his feet and turned her back to him. "Besides…didn't the Hokage say that they'd determine if we become chunin not by winning, but by the skills and wits we have displayed?"

Yuji didn't know what to say: He was so focused on winning he completely forgot about that. He turned his head away, not saying anything for a full minute. He then looked up to face Naruto and Sakura. He bowed, ableit slowly. "I apologize. I know you were only looking after my well-being. It was selfish of me to behave the way I did." Yuji then managed to stand up straight. "But…I can't sleep just yet. I have to cheer my friends on…so please. I promise I'll take care of myself once this is all over."

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, a smile forming on both of their lips. Sakura looked at him. "All right…I give you permission to watch from the sidelines. After the tournament is over, it's strict bed rest for you."

Yuji bowed again. "Thank you so much!" Yuji turned back to Iori. "Thanks…for setting me straight." Iori smiled slightly, and nodded. "Hey, it's your turn now, isn't it?"

Iori blushed slightly, and said "Well…"

"Let's go!! You wait for me any longer, you'll forfeit the match! Hurry!" Iori did as she was told and ran outside. Yuji was about to do the same, but nearly fell over.

Naruto ran to grab him, but Shiguri walked up and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry, I've got it taken care of." Shiguri said.

As soon as they left, the two jonin sat down. "He's good." Sakura sighed. "He's lucky to have a teacher like you."

"Yeah. But it was because of you he will become a chunin."

Sakura smiled sadly, averted her eyes for a minute, and just barely looked back at him. "Naruto…do you really think he's ready?"

"I think so. I know he has the brains to lead, and this match proved that he won't use brute force to defeat his enemy. He just might trick them into forcing them into a corner. But I know that's not what's bothering you." Sakura looked straight at him, shocked that he got it. "Just tell him what happened between you and his father. He's a good kid, and I just know he won't blame you. He really admires you."

Sakura slightly nodded. "When I'm ready." She then said "Another student of yours is going to fight! You better get back in the stands and watch it!!"

* * *

Zou Seppun-Elephant Ki

Aikyou no Kamigami-Love of the God

Konoha Su-pa Gufuu IsshuuKonoha Super Hurricane Kick

Hebi Dappi Gaihi-Snake Shedding Skin

Hisan Musutangu-Flying Mustang

Demukaeru Chijin-Meeting a Friend

Gekigen no Ono-Dropping the Axe

Kakekomi no Yagyuu-Buffalo Stampede

Next Time: Iori vs. Hanabi. Quite frankly, I'm surprised that you wanted that one rather than the one this chapter.


	20. Fire, Flame, Conflicting Pain

Hi again! Not much happening, I'm just trying to graduate, and despite the classes I have to take, plus the other ways I may choose to spend my free time, I just MIGHT take Hapkido. I probably won't get beyond orange belt, but it should still be something fun to learn.

And we'vehad a good turn out of reviews. I must say though, it was a bit of a kick in the teeth to get some negative reviews, but then again, criticism is what they're for. Since I'd rather not reply to the people who have claimed they've given up on this fic (that's their call), I'll just say this for those of you who are also getting bored with this fic yet are still sticking around (which I appreciate, by the way): I warned you, this arc was for Naruto's team. After this is over, and it will be next chapter (no, the tournament will be completed, no invasion or S-class criminal will halt it), the story WILL focus on Naruto again. Team 12 will still play a prominent role, but the other genin you'veseen here are done after this. Also, if you feel this story is not going the way you would like it, review it or PM me before you giveup on it. I probably won't give you what you want 100 percent, but I will at least veer towards what you request.

Now for responses!

JDay: Thank you, it's one of the things I try to be good at. I should also add that westerners didn't have so much of a hard time getting the spoken language down, but getting the kanji right was almost impossible. English is actually said to be the hardest to learn.

Mrfipp: He did. Naruto said it himself. And as for the flashback thing, this chapter will break that pattern.

Dark Dragon 22: Wait, what did you find funny about this chapter?

Pirogeth: I appreciate you telling me instead of saying "This sucks now! Goodbye!" I suppose I may havebeen a bit too descriptive, and I hope this chapter will leave a little more to the imagination. It will end next chapter and you will get a better idea of what's going on with Sasuke and the Akatsuki at the same time too.

For today's disclaimer, we'll have Sakura say it! Go ahead, Sakura!

Sakura: KC does not own Naruto. He's my bitch! Mine!

KC:...Indeed.

* * *

The Tea Daimyo dropped his program in shock. "H-How? That's impossible!!" He stood up and stomped it repeatedly, cursing something incoherent.

"Calm down, Shinichiro-san." The Wind Daimyo said. "You choose based on what is said in those programs, and nothing more. Besides, it was your fault you lost money; I never wanted to bet anything. It was your suggestion in the first place."

The Tea Daimyo was about to make a debilitating retort, but when his eyes returned back to the stadium, he smiled instead. In the center was a young girl with black hair. "That's…a Hyuga!" He turned to face the wind daimyo once more. "Two thousand on the Hyuga, no matter whom she may be facing!!"

"The odds?"

"20 to 1!!"

The Wind Daimyo had to roll his eyes. Normally, he would have advised him to stop with his gambling habits. But unfortunately, this was the most peaceful custom between Daimyos. Tradition dictated that so long as the challenger offered you a huge sum of money, you were obliged to accept the bet. There was an unspoken rule that of all the petty reasons a ruler could go to war, loosing gambling money wasn't one of them. So, his country wouldn't have a problem should the Tea Daimyo look like a fool again. And custom dictated that if he lost, he could refuse any more wagers. "Oh well." He said to the Daimyo "I accept. But I warn you, her opponent is another one of this…Uzumaki's students. You just may end up loosing again."

The Tea Daimyo just looked at him madly. "Have you seen who it is!?" He pointed his finger. "That's a Hyuga!! Next to the extinct Uchiha clan, they're the greatest of Konoha's ninjas!! There's no way I can loose!!"

* * *

Iori nervously trotted towards the exit into the arena. From what Naruto had told her, it would be impossible to fight her opponent the way she normally would any other ninja. Hanabi sounded scary, and looked downright scary when Iori looked into her eyes. She nearly flinched when she felt someone touch her shoulder. She turned around to see Yuji, supported by Shiguri.

"Hey, don't give up. The most important thing, remember."

Iori gave a slight smile, and jumped down to the floor. Yuji simply smiled back.

"I'll be honest with you, Yuji." Shiguri whispered. "Her chances don't look too good."

"Neither did mine. I may be out of the fight, but the fact is I did win. Everyone has a chance to beat the odds."

* * *

Kakashi laid back in his seat, amused by the last match. He didn't flinch when Narutoliterally jumped from the higher point of the floor into his seat…or when it gave way under the pressure and sent Naruto to the concrete floor, accidentally kicking two spectators in the head.

"HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU DAMN JERK!?"

"MAYBE THEY SHOULD DEMOTE YOU BACK TO THEIR LEVEL!! YOU'LL GET PLENTY OF ACTION DOWN THERE!!"

Naruto tried to apologize, but Kakashi grabbed his shoulder and bowed. "My apologies. We were on our way to get new seats anyway." Kakashi dragged Naruto with him, muttering "Even though you're a jonin, your maturity is incredible, and I don't mean that in a nice way."

Naruto whispered "Sorry, I just wanted to watch the fight as soon as possible. So what now?"

"The roof will do. I prefer standing anyway."

* * *

Shikamaru watched from the shadows, leaning against the wall. While he appeared to be laid back without a care in the world, he was paying attention to what was going down at the arena very closely. "Well Hanabi, will you dominate this fight, struggle, or loose? This will be interesting to see."

* * *

Iori faced Hanabi, trying to put on the best game face she could. However, her eyes still twitched.

And that did not go unnoticed by Hanabi. "You're scared. Good." She already activated her Byakugan, and got into her clan's trademark stance. Iori did too, although she kept in mind direct combat was probably a bad idea.

Gendou stepped forward. "The next fight: Hyuga Hanabi vs. Myojin Iori! Begin!"

Hanabi struck with a palm strike, which Iori backed away from. Hanabi made strike after strike, and Iori backed away from each one. "If what sensei told me is correct, I can't let even one touch me!!" True to her sensei's suggestions, she managed to dodge each strike, if only by a hair. However, she was so concerned with dodging that she was becoming predictable. Hanabi feigned a strike but at the last minute changed to a foot sweep, sending Iori to the ground. Hanabi was on top of her, preparing a strike to the heart…but Iori flipped around and struck her heel, sending the Hyuga to the ground as well. Iori then back-flipped away, putting some distance between them.

"Long range!" Iori threw her shuriken at Hanabi, who only smiled and leapt to her feet. She then twirled, and a chakra shield surrounded her. The shuriken hit it and bounced back right at Iori. Iori tried to dodge, but one of them hit her knee. The kunoichi hissed in pain, struggling to keep herself from kneeling over. She pulled the shuriken out of her knee, and stood guard.

Hanabi was upon her, making a series of palm strikes once again. Iori blocked…and realized her mistake too late. Hanbi brought her fingers down on Iori's arm, and sealed her tenkatsu there. Iori backed away, and held her arm in pain. She noticed the dots right on it. Iori nearly turned around too late to miss a palm strike to her face. Fortunately, she flipped, and landed a solid kick on Hanabi, sending her to the ground once more.

Hanabi clutched her broken nose more in rage than in pain. "I'm done toying with you!!" She stood up again, maintaining her guard.

Iori stared at her, thinking of a way to fight. She scored a damn good hit, and she needed to land another one. "Shuriken won't work on her. But even if it was a fluke, I managed to break her nose." She thought of a difference between the two occurrences, and then it hit her. "She can't use rotation in close quarter combat. She could easily see the shuriken coming from far away, and was able to time her counterattack. Close range, there's not enough time for her to react. Sensei said close quarter combat was a bad idea, but right now, it's my best shot." Iori charged, and Hanabi tried to block. Ioriducked and weaved to avoid her strikes, and sent two consecutive punches to her opponent's abdomen. Hanabi flew and rolled onto the ground. Iori smiled, the high from scoring a hit on a supposedly undefeatable opponent coursing through her. "That's it!"

* * *

"So far, I'm very impressed." Kakashi said to Naruto. "I don't think she's going to win this one though. By using close combat, she's bound to make a mistake against Hanabi."

Naruto audibly gulped. "Yeah…"

* * *

Iori landed several round kicks to Hanabi's shins. They didn't hurt, but they prevented the young Hyuga from closing the distance. Hanabi back flipped to break the pattern, rushed forward and shot another palm strike. Iori used an inward block to stop it, and immediately turned it into a chop that struck Hanabi's neck. Had she stepped away one second later, she would have been out cold. Even so, it still hurt like hell.

She panted, and stared at Iori. "Okay Hanabi. Calm down." She closed her eyes, breathing. Even if Iori attacked, she could at least back up. Then, she opened her eyes, realizing the best way to fight. "Don't meet force with force. That's the key." She stayed put, waiting for Iori to strike.

Iori did sense that Hanabi wanted her to come. "She's got a plan…no time to think about what it is! I've got to strike! and end the fight before she gets a chance to use it!!" Iori charged, aiming a knife-edge kick to her opponent's kidney…but Hanabi circled around and placed two palms on Iori's side instead. Iori screamed as the pain of having her chakra sealed filled her body. She hopped away, and prepared to fight again. She punched, but Hanabi twisted once more and hit her left temple. Iori stumbled, feeling light-headed. Another strike to her stomach made her cough up blood and fall on her back. Her vision began to fail…

* * *

_Iori, who was three at the time, played hopscotch with a teddy bear at her side. Every now and then, she would glance back at her dad, who was a few feet away from her. She saw him playing with something, but she couldn't figure out what. She was getting bored, so she decided to ask him. "Daddy…what are those?"_

_Her father stopped, and looked at her. He seemed to be thinking about something. Then, he smiled and made a face like he didn't care. He knelt down to Iori. "These, princess…are called kamas. They're pretty handy weapons."_

_Iori said "But I thought ninjas only used shuriken and kunai, like in the books you read me."_

_Her father chuckled. "Most use only those weapons, plus the occasional sword, true. But you see, our people weren't always ninja. We used to be farmers. Those were turbulent times, and we needed weapons of all kinds to defend ourselves. One day, the king banned non-samurai from carrying swords. As a result, the farmers in this region were helpless against tyranny. So, they turned their own tools into weapons. And that led to our own style of ninjutsueventually." He held one of the weapons in front of her face. "This one was used for cutting weeds. But trust me, it can be deadly. Technically, you're too young for this, and your mother will kill me if she finds out. But…you want to give this a try?"_

_Iori hesitated, wondering if she should or not. Then, she reached out and grabbed the handle…_

* * *

Iori realized she was unconscious for only one second. She rolled over and crawled away. She was lucky too; Gendou almost declared Hanabi the winner.

Iori turned to face Hanabi, trying her best to make it look like she recovered. The truth was, her body felt weak. "I think my strength has been cut in half. I can't let this fight drag on!" She reached behind her shirt, and pulled out two weapons the ninja of Konohagakure were not familiar with. They looked like garden scythes, though sharper than usual. Hanabi was puzzled as well. "Kamas." Iori said, answering the question in her opponent's mind. "They belonged to my dad. I've had them with me ever since he died."

She got into a guard position, holding the weapons straight towards her opponent. Hanabi hesitated. They were close range weapons, and she hadn't mastered the rotation technique to counter such things from so close. "I'll have to bear it and test her." Hanabi flipped forward and shot some more palm strikes. Iori side stepped and cut her opponent across the back. "AARRGGH!" Hanabi clutched her bleeding back. She decided to use one of her earlier tactics: She feigned a strike and went for a leg sweep. But Iori was ready this time around. She jumped up, and brought one of the Kamas down. It missed Hanabi's leg, although it did manage to tear a small piece of her kimono. The two broke apart, and sized each other up once again.

"I go in, she'll cut me down! She knows already not to attack! Unless…I draw her in." Hanabi wasn't exactly an expert on people, but she spared enough with both her father and her two teammates to understand her opponent's personality. Iori, she deduced, was hot-tempered and eager to fight. Sure, once she realized it was safer to be on the defensive, she would do so. But once she saw an opening…she would try to take advantage of it."Perfect." Hanabi made a huge round kick, which Iori ducked to avoid. Hanabi landed, exposing her back as a result. Iori didn't waste the opportunity and lunged forward, aiming for her opponent's shoulders with her kamas. But Hanabi twisted and shot her palms towards Iori.

One hand hit Iori's shoulder, just like she intended. The other one was impaled by the kama. Hanabi was so high on adrenaline she barely felt it. Careful not to make a bigger hole in her palm, she pulled it away and stepped back. The left shoulder that she struck, however, did some of the damage she was aiming for; Iori seemed to be having trouble holding on to her weapon. But it was her left hand, and Hanabi could clearly see Iori was right-handed. Iori probably couldn't defend as well, but she could attack just fine. Hanabi had to be aware of that, and keep in mind that tricking her into attacking was still dangerous.

* * *

Neji and Lee were both amazed. Lee was nearly heartbroken from the last match that his pupil lost, but he recovered before this match began. At first, he put his money on Hanabi. _"Oh, Myojin? I can't say, really. The one opponent I did see her face wasn't too impressive, and she took him down with one hit. I think Hanabi will be fine."_

That was what he told Neji. Now, he wasn't so sure. "Naruto-kun, you're students keep surprising me." He smiled at the thought. He glanced at Neji, who was chuckling. "It reminds you of your fight with Naruto-kun, doesn't it?" Lee asked.

"A little. Just the part about a supposed nobody taking on someone from the Hyuga. But Iori is being more strategic. Naruto learned from our fight, and Iori is applying that advice." Then Neji started to shake slightly.

"Shit!" Lee cursed. He reached for his pouch and took out Neji's pills, who asked him to hold onto it for him earlier in the morning.

Neji swallowed it as soon as it was presented to him, and calmed down immediately. "Thanks." He whispered. Neji turned to his uncle. "So, what are your thoughts, Hiashi-sama?"

Hiashi didn't look at him, instead he stared at the arena. "It looks like it will be a close match. However…I'm hoping Hanabi will loose."

Neji and Hinata turned to him in shock. "Father!" Hinata almost screamed. "Why?"

Hiashi relaxed back into his chair and sighed. "The elders have been getting to her. They've practically brainwashed her into believing the Hyugaclan is superior above all, even the Hokages. I have tried to tell her we are equal with the other ninja of Konoha, but she won't listen to me. I myself was that arrogant once, and I regret it so much." Neji knew what he was talking about. "The superiority-complex I once had caused me to loose my brother. Even if he would have still volunteered to take my place when Cloud attacked, I regret treating him as my subordinate, and not as my family. The only way Hanabi will realize how blind the clan's views are is to loose herself."

* * *

Iori made another slice at Hanabi's cheek. The ebony-haired girl now had two scars across her face. She didn't really care about her looks, but she wasn't too happy about it nonetheless. Hanabi shot a low kick to Iori's stomach, pushing her back. However, Iori surprised her and threw the kama in her left hand right at Hanabi. She was still too close to allow Hanabi to use rotation, and it grazed her eye. "AAAAHHH!"

Hanabi clutched her eye in pain while Iori rolled behind her to pick up her discarded weapon. "Sorry about that." She kissed it, and got into a fighting stance again.

Hanabi turned around, one hand holding a guard, the other holding her eye. "I haven't mastered the application of the rotation technique! But there's still got to be a way to…" Then, she smiled. "If I can't use it for defense, I'll use it for distraction!!" She let go of her eye, and jumped towards Iori, landing a few feet away from her. She suddenly spun, puzzling Iori.

"What's she doing? I haven't even attacked her yet!" The dust cloud formed, and Hanabi jumped behind her, repeating the process. She did it again and again within six seconds, in all directions. Soon, the red-head was surrounded by dust. "Wha-?" She coughed, the dust starting to get to her. Without any warning, two kunai came out of nowhere, and struck her kamas out of her hands.

Before she could process what happened, Hanabi was upon her. "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!!" Hanabi landed each of her strikes quickly and with precise accuracy, sealing off any chakra Iori had left in her body.

Iori felt the last of her strength leave. "No…"She fell to the ground, but did not loose consciousness; she struggled to get back up.

"Give up." Hanabi said, tracing the scar across her eye. "You're powerless now. The Hyuga are invincible, although I have to admit, you came close to changing that."

Iori managed to roll over and lie on her back. "Sorry, but that's bullshit. I got you hurt. If you're invincible, that can't happen. Besides, my sensei kicked someone's ass who was from your family." Iori had to smile at the last part, despite the dire situation.

Hanabi became enraged. "You'll pay for that!!" She ran forward and placed more palm strikes on Iori…

* * *

"Oh no!!" Naruto shouted. "I'vegot to save her!!"

"Hold it, Naruto!!" Kakashi yelled "Gendou is right there! He'll stop the fight!"

"You don't understand! If this goes on too long, Iori will..."

"Naruto, I know about Iori. Tsunade anticipated that and Yamato is here somewhere. She wants to see if Iori can control her power. If she can, even if she looses the fight, she might become Chunin!!"

Naruto was about to retort, but he was interrupted by a scream. And Iori was not the one who did it.

* * *

Hanabi clutched her wrist in pain. From out of nowhere, the chakra in Iori's body regenerated…and duplicated itself several times over! Silver chakra, cobalt eyes, and fangs formed around Iori. She growled, grabbed Hanabi by the throat and threw Hanabi several feet away. Hanabi hacked, rushing into a fighting position. "What is that chakra!?" Hanabi wondered in horror.

Iori roared, and ran towards Iori, barely fast enough to see. Hanabi, in a panic, threw shuriken. Iori kept running, and stalactites formed out of nowhere, deflecting them. Iori stood face to face with Hanabi. The Hyuga froze, then collapsed. Iori's punch was far stronger than before. Hanabi coughed up a little bit of blood, but maintained her will to fight. She reached for another kunai and slashed Iori across the forehead. She spun, then faced her again. The cut was healing!! Hanabi shot her palms out, trying to keep her calm. But Iori dodged each one of them, and sent her opponent in the air with an ninety degree kick to the chin. She flew high enough that she was on level ground with the spectators. She could have gone higher, but Iori jumped up and grabbed her, then slammed her back into the ground. Hanabi retreated, in a manner she wasn't used to: Crawling!! Her mind couldn't comprehend that she was reduced to this! Iori landed behind her, walking to her slowly, yet not the least bit calm. Hanabi reached her thigh. She got out her smoke bomb and threw it right in Iori's face. The red-head roared, its senses disoriented, and choked.

Hanabi shot straight forward and struck. It was no longer a battle of strategy, but survival! Hanabi hit her target, but as soon as the tenkatsu was closed, they reopened! Iori roared and punched Hanabi across the face, turning her into a human rocket. Hanabi struggled to rise from the ruble, spitting out a tooth. Iori simply stood there, flexing her claws. Then she ran forward, and punched the ground. Hanabi didn't know what was coming, but she knew she did not want to stay where she was. She jumped just in time to avoid being impaled by a stalactite that came out of nowhere. Hanabi looked back at Iori in fear. She punched the ground once again, and Hanabi moved. Everywhere she landed, she dodged to avoid being skewered. Soon, half the arena began to look like a spike pit…

* * *

"What happened to her!?" Yuji asked in fear.

Shiguri replied "I don't know." That wasn't a complete lie. Sure, he had seen this power before, but he couldn't figure out its origins.

"She'll kill her!"

Yuji was about to step in, but Shiguri held him back. "You'll get killed too! You're in no condition to fight, and your luck from your fight won't stop her!!"

Yuji struggled, but he was still too injured to fight his teammate. "I can't just watch!!" Yuji screamed "Iori!! Snap out of it!! You'll never become chunin like this!! Come back!! Don't loose control!!"

* * *

Hanabi panted like mad. She was battered, bruised, and bloody all over. Never mind the fact that she had to perform a balancing act on the stalactites her opponent had formed.

Iori was staring right at her, and got ready to bring her fist to the ground once again. Then, she heard something. It sounded familiar. "Irrelevant. Kill." were the only thoughts that entered her mind. However, she froze when she heard one clear sentence:

"Don't loose control!!"

* * *

_Iori was six. She was doing simple things. Watching the clouds, climbing anything she could, chasing crickets…there wasn't much else to do out here. Her father was training, and no matter how boring she complained it was, he forced her to come with him. It used to be fun watching her father practice his techniques, but she saw him do the same ones over and over again that she didn't care anymore. "I might as well see what he's doing anyway." she decided_

_She ran through the tall grass, and climbed up a rock to observe him. But something was wrong. Her father wasn't moving. He wasn't even in a proper horse stance. He was hunched over…crying. "What? Daddy doesn't cry!!"_

_Suddenly, he shot straight up, gritting his teeth. Silver chakra surrounded him, and parts of it extended behind his body almost like they were tails, about three to be exact. He roared, and ran on all fours. Iori stared in both horror and awe as her father leaped into the air, straight for a boulder. He cocked his fist back, and punched it dead center. The boulder became nothing but dust before he even landed. He seemed to search for something, grunting like a feral animal. Every time he yelled, spikes from the earth formed._

_"What's happening to him!?" Iori jumped from her perch and ran straight towards him. "Daddy!!" Her father froze, and looked right at her. Iori stopped right in her tracks. Her father had changed…cobalt blue eyes, protruding fangs…she didn't know what she was feeling...sadness? Fear? Perhaps both? "Daddy…what happened to you?" Her father's eyes widened, and slowly, he stood straight up like a normal person. The chakra vanished, and his beast like features disappeared. He was back to normal, but he was giving her the same look she did just a minute before. He turned around, and held his hands behind his back._

_For a long time, neither one of them said a word. Finally, her father broke the ice. "I'm sorry…I didn't want you to see that." Iori slowly walked up to his side, and took his hand. Her father looked down at her, and his frown slowly became a smile. Then, he scowled again quickly. "Iori-chan." Iori looked straight at him and nodded, showing him he had her full attention. He kneeled, and firmly gripped her shoulders, of course not enough to hurt. "Never, EVER, loose control like I did. Nothing good ever comes out of it." Iorionly gave him a confused look. "It's okay if you don't understand right now. But always remember what I just told you."_

_Iorilooked even more confused, but then gave him a goofy smile. "Okay, Daddy!!"_

_Her father laughed, and picked her up. "Come on! I'm really not in the mood to train anyway!!" Her father settled her on his shoulders as they walked back towards the village…_

* * *

"Control…" Iori 's vision suddenly became clear, and she looked around in horror. "I…I did this?" No one could safely walk in the arena now, with all the newly formed stalactites. She looked down at her hands nearly screamed. They looked more like claws. She was so shocked that she forgot she was in the middle of a fight! Hanabi jumped over the spikes and attacked. Iori wasn't prepared, and didn't put up a guard. Not when she saw her own face reflected in Hanabi's eye. "I look like…a monster."

Hanabi struck her in the kidney, and Iori went down. Luckily for her, she fell into a space of open ground. She gripped her side, and looked up at her opponent. She stood up, and stared at her with a new determination. "I'd rather loose as a human being than win as a monster. Even so, I'm not giving up!!" She then started making hand signs. "I might as well make use of this chakra!!"

Hanabi watched carefully, and realized what she was trying to do. "A summoning jutsu!?"

Iori then placed her hand on the ground. "Summoning no Jutsu!!" An explosion of smoke followed, and revealed Iori, standing atop a butterfly. Enlarged, the insect wasn't terribly attractive, now that one could see the different segments of its body. But it's wings were still stunning. Orange and black, and the patterns looked like a work of art. Iori herself could only look at what she summoned with awe. "Wow…so…just how do you fight?" The insect said nothing.

Hanabi reached into her back, and threw more shuriken. The insect flapped its wings, not only lifting itself off the ground, but halting the shuriken as well. It then flew right towards Hanabi at an incredible speed.

Hanabi jumped up, intending to attack the creature. "It's just a bug! What danger is it to me!?" She found her answer when the large insect wrapped its proboscis around her waist and flung her to the ground on which it was summoned. Hanabi jumped up, and prepared for battle once more. The insect, however, had other ideas. It hovered right over Hanabi, and as it flapped its wings, a powder fell from them. Hanabi coughed as soon as the powder touched her nose. "What the hell…is…this…stuff…" Hanabi relaxed her guard, and put on the stupidest, laziest grin imaginable. "Hehe…" She fell to her knees, and simply lied down as if she was getting ready for bed. The crowd watched her in silence, wondering what was going on.

* * *

Those who bet on Hanabi, particularly the Tea Daimyo, panicked. "What is she doing!!"

The Wind Daimyo merely said "It looks like…she is sleeping."

"No!! There's no way any child who passed the academy here would do something so stupid as to fall asleep in the battlefield!!" He then snapped his fingers. "Waitaminute, that's it!! Of course!! How could I not think of that myself!?"

"What?"

"She's trying to trick her!! Lure her into a false sense of security!!" His theory was blown out of the water when the speakers emitted Hanabi snoring.

"The winner!! Myojin Iori!!" Gendou announced.

"Noooo!!"

"I guess that's life." The Wind Daimyo said to no one in particular.

* * *

Sakura checked out Hanabi, measuring her pulse, her breathing, all of her vital signs. "She's fine. The powder that insect spread was a tranquilizer. Quite effective, perhaps better than our own."

"How so?" Hiashi asked, looking over Hanabi with concern a second before.

"It induces euphoria as well. Our tranquilizers, the few times we use them, doesn't affect the mood of the person. As a result, in combat, one could fight it off for a time and escape. However, with this one, it makes the victim feel unusually happy and truly relaxed. You can't fight off a chemical like that when you're in an unusually good mood."

Hiashi rubbed his fingers across Hanabi's forehead. "I see. How long until she wakes up?"

"I'd say this time tomorrow. You can take her home, she's in no danger."

Hiashi nodded, and picked his daughter up. He looked at her with fondness that sometimes even he thought he wasn't capable of. He hadn't seen her looking so peaceful since she was an infant. "You fought well, but your ego lead to your downfall in the end. I hope you learned your lesson." Hiashi whispered that with true fatherly love, and not the strict voice he normally had. He stopped when he saw Iori standing in front of the doorway.

She seemed hesitant, nervous for some reason. Then, she quickly bowed. "I'm sorry!" There was a moment of silence between the two. "I'm sorry…for hurting your daughter. I didn't mean to…"

"There is no need to apologize. Your objective in this exam was to beat your opponent anyway you could. I bear no grudge against you. However, your concern for my daughter is very much appreciated." Hiashi bowed slightly, and said "Thank you."

Hiashi walked past her, and walked towards his elder daughter and nephew. "Let's go home. Now that Hanabi is out of the fight, there's not much reason for us to stay."

Neji bowed, and said "Actually, Hiashi-sama, if it is alright with you, I would like to stay and watch the rest of the fights. I'm curious to see how Naruto's final student will do."

Hinata blushed, and quickly bowed as well. "Yes!! I mean…I've been enjoying the exams as well."

Hiashi sighed. "She's got to let that silly crush of hers go." He smiled and said "Very well. You two have a good time. I'll see you at the mansion." With that, the Hyuga leader left.

* * *

The rest of the exam had a brief delay. Tsunade needed time to give some of the ninja who were on guard to get rid of the spikes. After that, Tsume and Chan's match began. Shiguri, Yuji and Iori watched the two face off. Chan was on top at first, using his unpredictable movements. However, Tsume lived up to his name and got some serious cuts on his opponent.

"He's good." Iori commented. "However, if I'm the one he fights, I don't know what he's going to do. He's strictly against hitting women..."

"He might do the same thing as last time." Shiguri calmly replied.

Iori facefaulted as she remembered that incident from the preliminaries. "IF HE DOES THAT, I'LL MURDER HIM!! I DON'T CARE IF I FLASH THE WHOLE VILLAGE, I'LL MAKE HIM PAY!!"

Shiguri just stared at her oddly, then turned away, muttering "I'm sure."

Yuji, who was standing in between them, said "It's almost over."

At that moment, Chan thrust a powerful side-kick, which Tsume leapt over. "Serval Stride!" Tsume leapt in mid-air straight up, awing everyone in the stadium. As soon as he reached his peak, he shot forward at 90 degrees to the left. He finally shot straight down and bounced off the ground towards Chan. Tsume punched Chan right in the ribs, and the Zhiu Quan fighter coughed up blood and collapsed.

Gendou held up his hand and yelled "The winner! Shiro Tsume!"

Chan was dragged out of the arena immediately as the crowd cheered.

"Well," Yuji said "it will be either you, you, or that guy who fights him." Yuji was referring to Shiguri's opponent, Hige.

Shiguri cracked his neck in response."He's got nothing on me. I've got some tricks up my sleeve not even sensei knows about." Shiguri looked at Yuji, and winked one eye.

Yuji only said "That sounds like a deadly weapon. Especially one to be using in a chunin exam." Shiguri also trained late at night without Naruto knowing. He was working on a weapon, one that was clearly meant for killing. Yuji didn't like the fact he would be using it here, but trusted his friend's judgement.

"Hey, we're allowed to use shuriken and kunai. You could poke someone's eyes out with those things, so mine shouldn't be much of a big deal."

"The next fight: Inuzuka Hige vs. Naka Shiguri!"

Shiguri just gave a wicked smirk and jumped into the arena floor…

* * *

Hope you enjoyed that! I forgot to mention, that Iori's taijutsu was supposed to be based on Okinawan Karate. Hopefully, you got something from that style (I should also warn you NOT to bang your knuckles against a rock, that's a fine way to get arthritis). Next chapter, Shiguri vs. Hige, and the final round of the chunin exams! Plus, what is the new jutsu that Kizu has discovered?


	21. Compromise Does Not Exist

Hello again! Not much happening. I decided to take the Hapkido class, and so far it's turning out pretty good. I'm learning some interesting wrist techniques as well as basic strikes. It's not as intense as Muay Thai, but still they find a good way to batter my forearms.

Also, just as I was finishing up this chapter, I made a discovery that bummed me out. Where I go to school there was an Anime Express store. Not only did they have a bunch of DVDs on sale; they had some available for rent, and sold manga, collectables, and video games as well. If they didn't have the specific DVD, series, or boxset you wanted, you could special order it and they would have it under your name within a week. It was the place I relied on the most for most of my anime purchases. Since this would be my last year in the area, I decided to stop by for at least one last purchase. But low and behold: They sold the place. I knew the anime industry was going through a crisis before, and if no other factors were involved, that just reminded me! I thought it was an awesome store, and I sincerley hoped that it would eventually become more mainstream and have a great business here in America. Hopefully, someone else if not them will try an endevour like this again and succeed, but it's not looking so good. So, RIP Anime Express, and to the former owners, I wish you the best of luck and domo arigataro for your superb services.

Now for the story: The final chapter of the chunin exams!! I hope most of you enjoyed this, as I know some of you have not. I wanted to make a story that would lead to the next generation, and give Naruto the same experiences as the ninja that came before him. I also wanted the next generation to fight alongside him as well, and the purpose of this arc was to bring them up closer to his level. And believe me, very soon, Naruto will need all the help he can get! While there were many similarities between this exam and Naruto's, I hope I added enough differences between them to make this enjoyable enough. Now for review responses!

This is my(your?) name: Well, I wasn't trying to make this too different from the Naruto we all know and love, and Naruto's team, against Jaa and Hanabi, were essentially darkhorse canidates. The outcomes were predictable, true, but I felt the process of getting there was more fun. Hopefully, this chapter will change things for you.

JDay and Spazzgirl: It's what I do best.

Mrfipp: You're about to find out. And I think you'll love this chapter for another reason too.

Korisen: Another word eludes the spell check once again!! I'll try my best not to let it slip again! I do intend to finish this story, as all the events that will follow are very clear in my head, and I think would be a waste to let it go unfinished. And thanks for the address. I'll try it sometime!

And now for Pirogeth: Th...Waitaminute! Where the hell is he!? Pirogeth!? Pirogeth!? NOOOOOOO!!

* * *

In the sky, something flew in the clouds. Most observers would say it looked like a huge bird. However, it had no feathers, and its "beak" was much rounder than normal. And if one where to feel it, he would realize it was made of clay. "About time, ya! That was hell!!" Deidra sat on top of the head, more moody than usual. His Akatsuki cloak was torn, he had several scratches across his body, and worst of all, the jinchuriki they managed to nab cut off his ponytail!! Deidra, like most other things that involved him, thought his hair was a work of art. So, that was a major blow to him. He was brought out of his thoughts when his partner moaned behind him. "Tobi…it's been 3 DAYS NOW. You've had more then ample time to recover from that, ya!"

Tobi was on the back of the bird, lying on his back and holding something very precious to him. "My balls…" During their fight with the Orochi Jinchuriki, Tobi was nailed in the groin, and that was apparently the first time he was hit there. To top it off, he didn't know that was a weak spot.

For once, Deidra sympathized with him on that day. After all, no one liked to get hit there. But even if the memory of it was painful, to hold on to it for this long…"Tobi…you sit up like a man, or I'm throwing you off!! Do you understand, ya!?"

"It hurts so bad!! Tobi's in pain!! PAIN!!"

Deidra did not keep his promise. Instead, he just proceeded to get him in a leg lock. "Tell me, does this hurt as much as that one blow from three days ago!?"

* * *

In Soragakure, a woman waited. She had no emotion on her face as she was waited for the Akatsuki's most egotistic and dumbest members. They came into view once Deidra's clay bird broke through the clouds. When the bird landed, Tobi fell face first.

"I may have took it too far." Deidra commented as he hoped off the bird.

"Did you obtain the jinchuriki you were assigned?" the woman asked.

"Ya." Deidra replied. "Let me tell you, he was a tough one. If it weren't for my masterpieces, we would have been toast, ya."

Tobi suddenly shot straight up. "But Deidra-sempai!! If it weren't for my jutsu, you'd be dead right now!!"

"You're the one who was crying over a low blow for three days!!"

"But it hurt so much!!"

Deidra was about to make another retort, when a water spout separated them. "Enough." The woman replied calmly. "Kizu-sama wants to see you immediately."

Deidra shut up, and had his bird open its mouth. There, the unconscious jinchuriki he obtained was removed and thrown over Tobi's shoulder.

* * *

Kizu went to a compartment and pulled out what looked like piercings.

"You're planning to use those?" Madara asked. "Like you did on her?"

"This is a slightly different variety." He tossed the piercings up, and caught them in his hand. "With these, not only can I control what the person is doing, but I can speak through them, and see what they see, as if their body was mine. Unfortunately, I can't perform my own jutsus, only their own." Kizu walked down the stairs. "But with the victim I have in mind, that may not be necessary."

He walked down into the meeting room where he finally met up with the other members. "Welcome back." Kizu then looked at Deidra questionably. "Deidra…did you get a hair cut?"

Deidra gritted his teeth, but knew better than to talk back at his master. He smiled and tapped the area where his ponytail used to be. "Ya! I felt it was time for a change! Do you like it? Isn't it a real work of art?"

Kizu could only think "It looks terrible."

"He didn't like it at all!!" Tobi interrupted. "You should have seen Deidra-sempai!! He was using so many bad words!! What if children had been around!?"

"Tobi, shut up!" Deidra yelled.

"I've been nothing but a good boy!! You can't talk to me like that!!"

"ENOUGH!!" Kizu yelled. Deidra was annoying enough, but if it hadn't been for his jutsus, Tobi wouldn't have a place in the organization. "Anyway, I have another mission for you two. The extraction can wait a few minutes. First off, I would like to reintroduce Hidan."

His female partner carried the head into view. "Deidra, Tobi…to what do I owe the pleasure?" Hidan asked in a sarcastic manner.

Zetsu rose from the floor, plopping the dead body of Kakuzu onto it. "You may want to step away from the circle." Zetsu said. "You better do as he says!" the other half said. "Not unless you want to make this even more of a freak show!"

Deidra and Tobi looked down, and behind them. Indeed, a circle lined with seals was behind them. Though they did not exactly know what would happen, Deidra decided it would be safer to find out from outside. Tobi had other ideas and stayed where he was. "You heard what they said!" the Iwanin yelled.

"But sempai! I want to see what happens!"

Kizu himself threw Tobi out of the circle. "This jutsu only works when two are placed in the circle. One must be crippled, the other must be dead."

Deidra's eyes widened. "Kizu-sama…what are you planning to do?" Kizu said nothing, and instead, made hundreds of hand-seals at lightning fast speeds. Finally, he placed his hands right on the edge. "Shouten Yuukai no jutsu!!" A light shot from the floor, and everyone was surrounded in light…

* * *

Kiba and Shino stared down in the arena in anticipation, one being more nervous than the other.

"Has your cousin improved any?" the Aburame asked.

Kiba gulped. "Yeah…a little." Truthfully, Kiba thought Hige came a long way. However, even without seeing what his opponent could do, he knew he was going up against a relative of someone from the council. That was never a good thing. Kiba feared what training he could give to his cousin would not be enough.

"His opponent being the grandson of Danzo is not something to worry about, only what skills he will bring to this fight is." Shino said, as if he read Kiba's mind.

* * *

Tsunade stood in her chair with her hands tucked under her chin. So far she had been impressed. Miyamoto showed excellent wits and copied her signature offensive ability. She would definitely promote him to chunin. Iori, as feared, lost control initially, but snapped out of it and used a summoning technique to finish the fight. As soon as she could do a more proper evaluation, she would put her decision on hold. Jaa was still somewhat immature, but it paid off having him learn under Konoha's taijutsu specialist. He also demonstrated that he could potentially win a fight if his taijutsu was countered. Besides, with the family he had, he could use a bigger pay, and he had worked hard for it. Hanabi was a great fighter, but she was terribly arrogant. It was no big deal; most of the Hyuga were promoted to chunin by appointment anyway. Hiashi himself did not pass the exam when he was their age. Tsume and Chan were good, but so far, nothing impressive. This match, however, would be a tricky decision without even knowing the outcome. And when she caught someone out of the corner of her eye, she was reminded why. "Danzo…to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm simply here to get the best view possible to witness my grandson's match. Nothing more." Since Tsunade wasn't told that he would sit next to her, there was no seat for him. Some servants were carrying it instead.

When he sat down,Tsunade asked "So, what did you think of the other matches so far?"

"I've come here to observe my grandson, and nothing more." Danzo repeated, clearly annoyed.

Tsunade had to scoff. He was probably in the lounge arranged for members of the council doing whatever he likes to do other than get on her nerves.

"I probably don't even need to bother." Danzo commented. "He'll make chunin anyway."

Tsunade said nothing. "I've a feeling…" She then looked at the ceiling above her. There, a certain man in an ANBU mask stood. Tsunade mouthed "You may go, Yamato." The ANBU nodded, and jumped down the opposite side.

* * *

Before anything could be said, the Tea Daimyo shouted "I'll bet ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY THOUSAND RYO on the Naka kid, no odds!! Not only is he the grandson of an esteemed council member in this village, but he is also another pupil of this Uzumaki! Face it, Heionkaze, you've got no chance now!"

The Wind Daimyo calmly replied "I've no obligation to accept your wager. You've wasted so much money now. While my people can use more money, I think we will be fine now. I suggest you start saving some for your people."

The Tea Daimyo gritted his teeth in rage. "Time for Plan B." The Tea Daimyo leaned in to his companion's ear. "Well, I'm sure in your eyes, I'm not worth risking that much. But what about your sister? I'm sure she's worth it."

The Wind Daimyo's thoughts halted immediately. If he brought up his sister in a situation like this, it could only mean one thing: leverage. While inside he was scared like he was a child who had a bad dream again, he kept his composure. "Very well." He said. He narrowed his eyes as the Tea Daimyo turned away and smirked. "I must inform the Kazekage of this right away." He then began to write something down as Shinichiro was looking away…

* * *

Shiguri faced Hige, not the least bit concerned. Hige, who had on a coat similar to Kiba's when he was younger, was clearly nervous, but he didn't loose his resolve. Genmai was right beside him, his tail up and alert. Hige scratched his back, trying to get as much comfort as he could before the match began.

Gendou, as usual stepped up. "The next match!! Naka Shiguri vs. Inuzuka Hige! Begin!!"

Both of the genins' eyes widened at the signal, and threw their shuriken. Each one collided with one another and collapsed on the ground. Shiguri charged and struck. Hige blocked, and the exchanged continued for a few seconds. Then, Hige whistled. Shiguri looked to his side and saw Genmai coming at him! The dog tackled Shiguri to the ground, and proceeded to sink his teeth in. Shiguri pulled a kunai and got Genmai to clamp his jaws around steel instead of flesh. However, he was completely defenseless against Hige, who came to his side and kicked him, sending him sprawling across the ground. Shiguri immediately jumped up and made his hands signs. "Doton! Tetsutsukami no Jutsu!"

Two hands made of stone grabbed Hige's wrists, and squeezed. Hige tried not to scream, but a small gasp did escape. "You're not even worth using my weapon against!! I'll be nice and make you beg for mercy right now!!" Shiguri pulled out a kunai, and ran towards Hige.

Hige, despite the fact that his circulation was being cut off, managed to mouth something. Shiguri couldn't hear it, but Genmai could. "Genmai…get into my pouch! Quickly!"

The dog planted its face in his master's pouch, and took out something. A soldier pill! The dog woofed it down, and it's fur became more spike-like. "GRRRRRRLLLL!" Genmai leapt upon Shiguri and scratched his hand, forcing him to let go of the kunai.

Shiguri stepped back, clutching his cheek. "You sons of-"

Before he could finish his insult, Genmai dug through the stone locks. Hige was now free! "Let's do it boy!" Genmai barked in response, unintentionally sounding vicious. He stood atop of Hige , who made a sign. "Juujin Bushin no Jutsu!!" Genmai immediately transformed into a double of Hige. Then, the two split off, and charged!

"Okay…" Shiguri mumbled. "Whatever shall I do?" he smirked, mocking them in fake concern. He could try to take out both, but he would risk using enormous amounts of chakra. He could try and focus on one, but he would risk being open to attack. Besides, his victory would count only if he defeated Hige; the dog would not count. Shiguri was soon brought out of his thinking. He was forced to dodge their attacks from all sides, and it was beginning to wear him down. This was like going against a pack of…or swarm… He suddenly snapped his fingers."That's it!"

One of the two Higes, unfortunately, body slammed him towards the wall. But that wouldn't stop Shiguri from finishing his jutsu. "Summoning no jutsu!" His hand managed to stop his trajectory, and smoke exploded from the ground.

"What's going on?" Hige asked. Genmai, however, knew. He growled. "What?" Hige asked. "Bugs?" Suddenly, he heard it, and they appeared from the smoke. Several wasps, as big as a large rabbit! One went straight for Hige! He side stepped and kicked it away. Normally, he wouldn't worry about getting stung by one. But if they were summoned, then they had to be able to do some damage! Plus, having one that big fly towards you was quite intimidating. His attention turned when he heard Genmai yelp. Genmai was still in his transformed state. But his left arm hung loose.

"You're lucky that was only a scratch." Shiguri said, holding his hands in his pockets and grinning wickedly. "If one of these beauties manage to hit your torso, game over." Soon, the Inuzuka and his dog were surrounded by a whole swarm.

* * *

Naruto looked down, and sighed.

"What?" Kakashi asked. "Aren't you excited?"

Naruto replied "I don't know what to think right now. A part of me wants him to do well, but…he just…"

"Just what, Naruto?"

Naruto closed his eyes, thinking of how best to put it. "There's something dark about him. He doesn't seem to care about the life of his opponent. If he was fighting with a ninja from another village, most probably wouldn't think anything of it…"

"…but since he's fighting a fellow leaf ninja…don't worry, Naruto. I'm sure he'll end this fight the right way."

Naruto didn't respond. For once, his hopes weren't that high.

* * *

Hige threw smoke bombs to distract the wasps. He needed to stay next to Genmai, as they needed each other. He got next to him, and pulled out a kunai. "Genmai, can you move?" Genmai arfed in response, which Hige knew meant yes.

Suddenly, Hige deflected a kunai thrown at him. "Ah-Ha! You're the one!" Shiguri rushed towards him, two kunai in hand. He tried to stab Hige, but Genmai grabbed him with his good arm. Shiguri flip-kicked Genmai on the chin and made another motion towards Hige. Hige countered with his kunai, and caught something out of the corner of his eye. Another wasp! Hige ducked, avoiding getting stung in the neck. As he rolled, he saw Genmai struggling to get away from the other wasps. Hige threw his shuriken, managing to hit every one of them. However, he saved his dog at the cost of his own defense: Shiguri grabbed him by the collar, and threw him towards Genmai.

He collided with him, and soon they found themselves under the swarm. Hige looked at his dog. "Hey, you think that technique cousin Kiba showed us will help?" Genmai just barked in response. "I'm not sure either, boy. But we can't afford to go overkill yet." The two stood up, and then together. "Gatsuuga!" Much like an ordinary Gatsuuga, the two formed separate twisters. However, unlike Kiba's technique, where the two would split off, they stuck together, side by side. Which meant double the impact. They shot out, disintegrating one wasp after the other. Soon, there was nothing left.

Shiguri just stood there, looking at them nervously. Hige just stared back, and for once, he was the one smirking. "You're next. Gatsuuga!" The two tornadoes came towards Shiguri, who managed to dodge only by a hair. Of course, they would veer course and hit him again. But he anticipated that. "Perfect time to test out these little new toys." He shot both of his arms out, and something sprung from them. Whatever they were, they wrapped themselves around the ends of the twisters. Then, he pulled. While it put great strain on his arms, the twisters did stop, and the momentum that was left wrapped the things around Hige and Genmai's legs even tighter. They both fell to the ground, yelling in pain. Right by their ankles, blood was drawn. Then, the chain like material withdrew, cutting their skin even more. Genmai released his transformation, unable to concentrate any longer.

Hige looked back and stared in horror. Attached to Shiguri's arms were…chains? The portions wrapped around his arms and that he held onto were most certainly chain. But the rest was different. The "chain links" had crescent shaped hooks on each side, as sharp as a razor, and the ends on both were kunai.

"Like'em?" Shiguri asked, chuckling. "I made them during my training. I haven't thought up of a name for them though…" He looked at each one, deep in thought. "Dragon tongues." He turned to Hige, smiling once more. "That will do for now."

* * *

"Okay, why is it my own students keep pulling off things like this behind my back!?" Naruto yelled, clenching his fist.

Kakashi answered "Well, Miyamoto got the designs from his father for his weapons. Iori was from another country if I recall correctly, and learned hers from there. Naka…well, I guess he's just one of those who can come up with something original every now and then."

Naruto sat down, and took a closer look. "Oh man. That weapon is MEANT for killing. It's just as I feared."

* * *

Shiguri fired his dragon tongues. Hige leapt towards Genmai and gathered him up before he was hit. "Are you okay, boy?" Genmai whimpered. He was in pain, but he could still fight. Hige let him down, and they got ready to fight again. Shiguri began twirling his weapons. Then, he raised them up into the air, and headed towards them. Hige and his dog backed away, but the dragon tongues had incredible range. Hige jumped over one aimed low…and saw the other heading straight towards him. He spun in mid-air, but the edges still manage to take off a good portion of his back. Hige fell to the ground wincing, but he was alert enough to roll away when one of the chain like daggers came down where he had just been.

The weapons were flexible, hard to predict. With time, one could predict the movement of one. But added with another, there was simply no good way to counter-attack. Shiguri was about to attack again, when something held him back. Genmai bit into his leg, holding him down! "ARGH! You little runt!!" Shiguri kicked him into a boulder, knocking the wind out of him. Shiguri then yelled to Hige "Just be patient! I'll take care of you soon enough!!"

Hige's eyes widened in horror as he realized what Shiguri was about to do. The doton user turned towards the dog and shot a dragon tongue in his direction! "NOO!!" Hige stepped in between Genmai and the weapon, and as a result, caught it on his shoulder.

Shiguri smiled evilly, and pulled, deepening the wound. The shock was so great to Hige he couldn't even cry out. "How noble of you, but in the Shinobi world, your dog is considered a tool. And no tool is worth your life."

Hige breathed heavily, clutching his shoulder. Genmai whimpered, and ran over to his master. The dog immediately began licking the wound. The Inuzuka dogs' saliva did in fact have some healing properties, but not enough to really help in a situation like this. Still, Hige appreciated the effort. "Thanks boy." Hige just managed to stand, and stared Shiguri right in the eye. "That tool, as you call him, is my best friend. And I'll make you pay for what you nearly did to him!!" Genmai barked with him, and they both charged at Shiguri.

Shiguri just chuckled evilly. "Brave speech." He then twirled his weapons over his body again. "But with great courage comes extraordinary stupidity!!"

Right before Hige and Genmai were in range of his weapons, Hige threw a smoke bomb. The dragon tongue sliced it, causing an explosion of smoke. Shiguri coughed, struggling to keep his eyes opened despite the pain. "Damn! Focus!" When the smoke began to clear, he looked around. Shiguri stepped back just in the nick of time to avoid getting scratched by Hige. However, his shades flew off. At first, it looked like it would be nothing more than an annoyance. But he found out that it would become deadly.

"Genmai!! Now!!" Genmai leapt from the remaining smoke, spun around, and peed into Shiguri's eyes.

"Ahh!! What the hell is this stuff!?"

Genmai and Hige ran right behind Shiguri. "This is our best chance! Are you ready!?" Genmai barked in response and jumped on top of his master's back. "Inuzuka Ryuu Chinjuu Konbi Henge: Soutou Rou!!" Hige and Genmai then transformed into an enormous beast. It looked like a giant dhole, with black legs and red fur. However, its claws, even for its size, were far too big for them to possibly belong to a dog. Never mind the fact that it had two heads, both drooling and showing off their fangs. The beast howled, and ran towards Shiguri, who had just regained his sight. Before he could react, Shiguri was swatted by the creature, and in midair, captured him in one of its mouths and threw him in the opposite direction.

Shiguri growled and stared at his foes with rage. "You think a little transformation like that will be enough!?" He readied his Dragon Tongues once again, spinning them in circular motions above his head. The beast that was Hige and Genmai formed the Garouga and charged. Shiguri shot his weapons out, but they broke apart on impact. He was hit dead on, and sent flying into the air.

After he landed in a heap, the beast turned back to its original forms. "I think we did it boy." Hige whispered, and collapsed on his knees. Both had used up most of their chakra in that final attack. They couldn't pull it off again.

* * *

Kiba finally breathed. "Oh man. That was too close." Kiba had to smile, proud of his cousin and student. "You've gotten strong, Hige."

"It's over." Shino said.

"Yeah."

"No, it's over. For Hige. He's going to loose." Kiba turned to face his partner with his face contorted in anger. "What are you getting at!? Didn't you see the move he pulled!? He knocked that Naka kid flat on his ass…"

"And used up almost all of his chakra. Think about it. Look at what jutsus Naka used. How much chakra do you think he planned on using up?"

Kiba was about to argue back, but then his mouth froze in mid-speak.

"That's right." Shino answered. " As little as possible."

Kiba turned back to the stadium, looking in fear.

* * *

"Well, if Shiguri stands up, he will win this fight." Kakashi noted.

Naruto looked on, troubled. "I have a feeling that he's not going to simply stand up and gloat about his victory."

* * *

Hige turned to stare at Shiguri's body, and his eyes widened again. "Oh no! It can't be!!"

The body cracked, and turned into pebbles. "Doton: Iwa Bushin no Jutsu." Shiguri came from beneath the ground, and shook the dirt off his clothes. "Cool move, but you didn't time it right! I've got plenty of chakra to spare, and I'm going to end this! Right here, right now!" Hige was on guard, but knew realistically he wouldn't have a chance. "You opted to use big moves to finish me off. However, I'm a lot tougher than I look." Shiguri made more hand-signs. "Doton! Taaru Kubochi no jutsu!!"

Suddenly, the ground began to turn black, and slowly Hige and his dog began to sink. Shiguri made more seals and summoned his wasps again. "Pick up the sharpest pieces you can find." Shiguri commanded them. The wasps flew in all directions, each returning with a piece of the weapon that Hige broke. Then, they hovered over the two helpless victims.

Genmai was closer to the border of the tar pit, and was beginning to climb out. This did not go unnoticed by Shiguri. A wasp buzzed next to his ear, then shot towards Genmai. The dog saw it coming, but he could not escape when covered in tar, and the wasp pierced his back. Genmai yelped in pain, then his body began to go numb. He couldn't move. And not one paw managed to reach solid ground, which meant he was sinking.

"Genmai! Genmai!!" Hige panicked, causing him to sink even deeper, right down to his chin.

"Well, well!" Shiguri cackled. "This is quite a predicament you've gotten yourself into, isn't it!? But let's face it: The two of you are doomed anyway. But…I might be willing to change that. All I ask…" He started straight at Hige with a malicious grin. "…is that you give up, and agree to surrender your life. In return, I will spare your dog's life, I'll even lift him out of the pit first." Shiguri bowed slightly with his arm crossed. "Do we have a deal?"

Hige sputtered some tar out of his mouth. He wanted to get back at him so badly, to get out of there! Heck, he wanted to live! But when he turned to see Hige, he saw his head go under, with just a bit of his shoulder remaining outside the tar. He knew what he had to do then. "Yes!" he yelled, swallowing some tar. "Yes, just spare my dog! My life is yours!"

Shiguri stood up straight, satisfied with the answer. "Very well." Shiguri snapped his fingers, and all the wasps converged on Hige. It would have been easier for them had Hige had more parts of his body sticking out. But the wasps, without complaint, all landed on his shoulder and began to pull. Hige was then lifted far into the air, covered in tar. The wasps simply plopped him onto the ground. Shiguri turned back to Hige, who looked at him like he was prepared to accept his fate. "By the way…" Shiguri said. His frown turned up into a smile "I lied."

Hige would have screamed as many curses as he could had it not been for the fact that his mouth was beneath the surface. The wasps picked up their pieces, and dove right for him. It looked like the end for him. But then, several figures arrived into the arena!

Naruto, Gendou, and Kiba destroyed all the wasps before they could touch him! Akamaru walked into the arena, and picked up his kin in his jaw. By this time, Hige, completely covered in tar, managed to surface.

A wire was then fired into the tar pit. "Get your arm out!! Grab on!!" Yuji was the one who fired it, and with Iori supporting him from behind, intended to pull him out. Hige struggled, and finally he managed to get his arm out to grab the thin piece of metal. Yuji and Iori pulled, but it was not enough. Then Naruto came from behind them both and helped. Finally, Hige erupted from the pit, safe.

Shiguri just stood there in shock. "Why!? Why did they interfere!?"

After dispatching the last wasp, Gendou stood in the arena center calmly. However, those that knew him would see he was beyond mad at Shiguri's behavior. "Hige is unable to continue the fight. And for using excessive force, Naka Shiguri is disqualified!"

Shiguri yelled "What!? That's bullshit!!" Shiguri leapt, ready to punch Gendou. Though the jonin could have handled the situation easily, he received some help; Naruto jumped in between them and punched Shiguri right into the ground. The black-haired genin looked at him in shock. "Sensei…"

Naruto looked down on him, his eyes hidden by his bangs and disappointment etched in his face. "Get out of the arena." He growled.

Shiguri didn't change his expression, didn't say anything, he didn't even pound the dirt. He just stood up, and walked away, looking at Naruto in a way that was asking for forgiveness. Naruto would not look at him.

Then Shiguri looked at his two friends. Their eyes met….and his two friends turned away. "Go home Shiguri." Yuji whispered.

Shiguri said "Yuji…"

"I SAID GO HOME!!" Yuji yelled. "You won the fight the instant you made that tar pit. Going that far…was not only unnecessary…it was cruel. Unlike the Shiguri I knew."

Soon, he was left alone in the arena. "Get out of here brat." Gendou growled, standing in the middle. "You've no place here anymore."

Shiguri didn't bother to put up a fight. He just hung his head low, and walked out of the arena.

* * *

"You can't do that!" Danzo screamed at Tsunade. "He was doing what shinobi are supposed to do!!"

Tsunade didn't turn to yell at him. She only stared at the arena floor emotionlessly. "You do realize that all of our competing genin are from this village, correct? While killing is overlooked if it happens by accident, your grandson clearly planned to murder the boy from the start. Having him kill a fellow leaf ninja is contradictory to our ultimate objective."

"The strong live, and the weak die. That is a law of nature as it is of the shinobi world. That Inuzuka boy was simply not fit to be a ninja."

Tsunade turned to look at Danzo, with an obvious hint of rage within her. "If that were true, you shouldn't have been allowed to live the day the Biju attacked."

Danzo hastily stood up and nearly cried "You b-" He didn't finish.

Shizune had pinned him to the wall, and held a kunai to his neck. And the weirdest part of all was that she was smiling in a most sinister manner."You of all people should know better than to insult Tsunade" she hissed in an unusually dangerous tone. "Remember, you would have to face my wrath as well."

Danzo was about to retort, but something caught his eye. Something Tsunade hadn't noticed, as she only looked passively from the corner of her eye.

"Shizune." she finally said. "Enough."

Shizune kept her kunai fixed on Danzo's neck for one second, then let him go. And when she did, she smirked. "You will be next." she whispered so low even trained ninja would have trouble hearing it.

Danzo said nothing, and walked away. "It will be a terrible sacrifice, but he just might be the edge I need."

As soon as he was out of sight, Tsunade spoke up. "Shizune…while I do appreciate you coming to my defense, that was completely unnecessary."

Shizune turned, and bowed. "My apologies. But with everything you've been going through lately, I felt I should have come to your defense."

Tsunade was still puzzled by her behavior, but decided to let it go for now. "Well, the final round is about to begin." She smiled as she turned back towards the arena. "Let's enjoy the rest of the show!"

* * *

"I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS-" The Wind Daimyo plugged his ears as the Tea Daimyo shouted words that were considered unbecoming in nobility. The Wind Daimyo was about to say something, but the Tea Daimyo was too obsessed with his own rage to realize it. "That's it! I've had it!!" He snapped his fingers and his two fellow ninja followed him out.

The Wind Daimyo sighed in relief. There would be no more disputes over money, but there was one thing that concerned him. "I still need to take care of that." He gestured to one of the Sand Ninja to come over, and whispered into his ear. "He's threatening my sister. Send the best kunoichi you can to deal with him."

The chunin nodded. "My sensei should be able to handle it."

* * *

"This is your fight, you got that? Your time to shine." Yuji was encouraging Iori like he was her coach. Naruto was right there as well, of course.

Iori just smiled confidently, and said "Yeah, I know." Truthfully, she was embarrassed the way Yuji was praising her. But at the same time, it felt good. Real good.

Naruto's hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. "Good luck." He smiled proudly. Iori smiled back, and nodded. She jumped to the floor, and ran to the center to face Tsume.

"And now…" Gendou shouted. "For the final round!! Myojin Iori vs. Shiro Tsume!! Begin!!"

Iori attacked immediately. Tsume managed to block, and it became apparent that as far as orthodox taijutsu went, that would be all he would do. "Still afraid to hit a girl!? A part of me is thrilled by the prospect of that, but at the same time, I don't feel too good about that!!" Finally, Iori shot a punch into Tsume's gut, sending him tumbling on the ground. As soon as he stopped, she ran towards him and leapt into the air, intending to land a powerful kick on his stomach.

However, he surprised her: He jumped up and wrapped himself around her arm! "What the!?-" Iori fell down with him, and before she knew it, she was in an arm bar.

"Don't worry." Tsume said. "I won't break it. But you will have no choice but to surrender!" He started to pull just enough for Iori to feel the pain. Iori struggled, but there was no way for her to get out of the arm bar.

This went on for a good few minutes. Eventually, the stadium cried for more action. "This fight is boring!!" One spectator yelled.

That one got to Iori. While she didn't care much for giving anyone a show, she didn't like it when people talked trash about whatever she would do. "Oh, I'll give you action alright!!" The silver chakra surrounded her once more. Her features changed, except for one thing: Her mind was still intact! She lifted Tsume with ease and slammed him to the ground. Tsume let go, only to grab onto her leg. "AUGH! Let go!!" She swung her leg into the wall, cracking it and injuring Tsume pretty good as well. However, he held on.

He went for various locks and holds, getting slammed onto some surface by the powerful kunoichi each time. Finally, he circled around her and got her into a bear hug. Then, he did something shocking: He kissed her right on the lips!

Iori's eyes widened, and she grabbed him and tossed him across the floor. "You bastard!! I'll-" Suddenly, her beast-like features faded. Her eyes became droopy, and she stumbled around. Finally, she collapsed face first into the ground.

Gendou knew exactly what Tsume had done, and smirked. "The winner! Shiro Tsume!!" Everyone in the stadium booed, while Tsume simply gave them the finger.

* * *

"I'll kill him!!" Yuji tried to lunge at Tsume as he passed by, but Naruto stopped him.

"Now now. He just wanted to win without causing her any harm. Nothing romantic about it." Yuji didn't listen, so it was a good thing that Naruto kept his hold on him. "Then again, if that was Sakura- chan, I'd be pretty pissed too." he thought.

Speaking of whom, Sakura had already gone to pick Iori up. As she passed by Naruto, with the genin in her arms, she said "Don't worry. It was a sleeping pill he forced her to swallow, nothing more. She'll be up and about in an hour or two."

Yuji finally calmed down, and Naruto let him go. "I don't know if I'll hit him or hold him while Iori does." He began to walk away, looking downcast.

And Naruto knew exactly why. "It's not Shiguri's fault that he chose the way to fight, it's his grandfather's." Yuji turned to face him. "His grandfather is an extremist. He wants Konoha to become in his mind a clan of perfect warriors. Shiguri doesn't agree with him entirely. But he's still young. Impressionable. And Danzo is still the only family he's got, and to him it's someone he wants to make proud. For now, he cannot be allowed to think his way of ninjutsu is okay. But he will learn what it really means to be a ninja, and what's really important."

Yuji cracked a small smile, and nodded before walking away.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked. "It's time."

Tsunade nodded, and made her way into the arena. She looked around, observing the damage, and whistled. "They really did a number on this place."

She then turned her head up to the audience. "Thank you for coming here today!! It has been a spectacular exam this year, and these genin have given us all great hopes for the future!! What these genin have experienced is only the beginning of one of many obstacles they will face in their futures! But this exam has proven that they will overcome them as time goes on!! Just as their ancestors before them, they will protect and serve this village that they were raised in and loved, and ensure our will of fire continues to burn bright!! I hope you all had a wonderful time seeing the pride and joy of this village, and rest assured, there will be more to come!! Please come back again the next time for the next exam, and once again, thank you!!" Tsunade humbly bowed as the crowds cheered.

Tsunade then turned around to look at Shizune, and sighed. She couldn't get used to the fact that her student and assistant held her hands forward, and no longer carrying Tonton. "This has been an entertaining day. Let's go home, Shizune. After all this, I feel I can get back to work." "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" The two medi-nins walked out, glancing back at the cheering crowds. One, however, gave a sinister smile. "Not quite the way I wanted, but I will get my wish." Shizune then hurried back to Tsunade's side.

* * *

A small distance away from Konoha, a foot touched down. Several more followed it. "So this is the legendary Konoha." A figure spoke. "It looks more like a town for ordinary people rather than ninjas."

Finally, Sasuke chimed in. "We will camp in the outskirts and wait for the signal." He gripped his sword in anticipation.

One of the others said "I look forward to killing all of those women and children soon!" He raised his weapon and shouted "Hi-"

Suddenly, another sword was pressed right against his neck. It was Sasuke's kusunagi. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that…you have guard duty and specific assassinations, nothing else. More than money is at stake should you not comply."

The swordsman gulped, and backed off. Normally, he would have cut down anyone who threatened him. But Sasuke was different: Sasuke recruited the swordsman by beating him.

"We will camp out, and hide. I will watch for the signal." Sasuke said, heading the direction opposite into Konoha. All four figures retreated into the woods.

* * *

Back in Soragakure, the light diminished. Tobi put his hand down and looked towards the circle, as did Deidra. Neither of them believed what they were seeing. It was Hidan, but not the one they knew. His head looked the same, but for some reason he had a scarf over his mouth, and masks mounted his shoulders.

"How do you feel, Hidan?" Kizu asked.

Hidan looked at his new body in wonder. "I can feel them…Kakuzu's powers!" Tendrils shot out of his body, piercing everything. "It's like they've always been mine…yet I know they haven't. Do I…?"

Kizu nodded. "You still retain your abilities as well." He walked up to him and handed him his trademark scythe. "I've made improvements. It's now a kusarigama."

Hidan took the weapon, and swung. The blades extended, and sliced the hard metal floor. "Hehehehe, yeah! This is what the power of Jashin should be like!" Hidan then turned to Kizu.

"You MAY get the chance to find someone to…perform your rituals on. However, that will only be if Uzumaki decides to bring help. " Kizu looked at Deidra and Tobi. "He will be joining you. I will alert you to the plan as soon as you are within Fire Country."

Deidra nodded, while Tobi yelled "I'm excited! We never worked with another person before, Deidra-sempai!"

Deidra just moaned and placed his hand on his forehead. "Tobi, you have no idea how crazy that bitch is, ya."

Kizu then walked over to Tobi. "Tobi-san, take these with you." Kizu then placed the jewels in his hand.

Tobi stared at them for the longest time before asking "What are these? "

"That is not relevant. Not now."

"But if they're not weapons…" Tobi tossed them aside without a care.

Before he knew it, a demonic hand made of chakra pinned him to the wall, while another grabbed the items. "Do NOT toss them away!! They are very important parts of the plan."

The hand tightened around Tobi's body "ACK!! Tobi can't breathe!!"

"Just do what you are told! After all…" Kizu's voice turned sweet, almost fatherly like as he released his hold. "We are family after all, right? And you wouldn't want to disappoint your family, would you?"

No one could tell what Tobi was thinking, but if his body language was any sign, he was nervous. "Tobi is a good boy. Tobi WILL be a good boy."

Kizu, seemingly satisfied, turned around. "Get going." Deidra created another clay bird, and his two comrades boarded. When they took off, Zetsu appeared before him. "Zetsu, I need to ask a favor of you."

"What is it, Kizu-sama?" Kizu simply held up a photograph, which Zetsu took from his hand. Zetsu stared at it, his face unchanging. "This is…"

"Find him. He'll be perfect to combine with Itachi." Zetsu bowed, and disappeared into the floor.

* * *

Okay, I'll admit it: Shiguri's weapons are a total rip-off of the Dark Prince of Persia's Daggertail. Hopefully, adding one more gave it some originality.

Next chapter: Life has returned to normal for Naruto. He trains his team, and his relationship with Sakura at this point in time couldn't be any better. But then calamity strikes Konoha, and it's up to the blond jinchuriki to save the day! But it's not a simple invasion: what the enemy is planning is worse..

Shouten Yuukai-Death Fusion

Heionkaze-Peaceful WInd

Tetsutsukami-Iron Grip

Taaru Kubochi-Tar Pit


	22. Black Hearted Evil, Brave Hearted Hero

Hi again! So far, school is going okay, but I've gotten used to it taking a turn for the worse, so I'm ready for anything. I decided to do Hapkido as well…not nearly as tough as Muay Thai, but I am learning some interesting things (throwing is fun!). And that's about it. Now it's time for the third arc, and for those of you who hated the fact that the story lost focus on the main characters, this one should serve as a great and tasty medicine! So, enjoy!

Mrfipp: I'm glad you're happy. Unfortunately, they won't be fighting until the next arc. You're just getting a hint of things to come. I'm glad you liked my chunin exams better than the real ones, although that wasn't my intention. And how the hell does the fusion of Kakuzu and Hidan make Yaoi fans happy? If they really were a couple…poor Hidan has nothing left but masturbation! And Hidan is not some cross-personality with Kakuzu, so yes, he still has his temper. As for the Mist Swordsman, keep in mind that Raiga was from a filler arc, and I'm not counting any new swordsman beyond Zabusa and Kisame as canon in this fic. And you'll find out who will combine with Itachi…eventually.

Catsi563: I'm glad this story was to your liking. I should add that Jaa does not like to fight, but he will if he has to (think Ting from Ong-Bak). My intention was for Yuji to use his super-strength in a more innovative way to win than just a knockout. Besides, if you were kicking the shit out of somebody to the point of exhaustion, and suddenly he knocked down a building or preformed some feat of strength beyond your own abilities, I'd imagine you'd be inclined to think he was toying with you and then you'd decide to run away.

Spazzgirl: Um…that part was meant to be serious…maybe when I delve into Tobi's past…

Pirogeth: Sorry, I was just worried you were going the way of some of my other reviewers, who reviewed every chapter for a long time, then suddenly quit. You don't have to review every chapter if you feel you're too busy (though I would prefer it), but please drop me a line every now and then. And you're going to enjoy this chapter.

JDay: (Pulls out a knife) I HATE HAPPY DANCES!! Okay, I guess that was a bit psychopathic on my part.

Now enjoy!

* * *

Sakura emerged from the water, and wiped the wet hair off her forehead. Things had been quiet for a change; there was nothing serious going on in other countries that needed the Konoha ANBU. People were a bit healthier than usual, so she had no major work to do at the hospital. Many of the jonin were on missions though, a rather big one. Kakashi, Gai…just about all of their former senseis were out on a mission from a big client. Today was a rare day off. She spent much of the morning helping her mother out with some chores while her father was out, and they got it all done much faster.

By mid-afternoon, Sakura asked Naruto if he wanted to go for another swim out of the blue. Being predictable for once, he did not object in the slightest. And Sakura was reminded of that a second later. "Kage no Bushin Cannonball!!" About a dozen Narutos somersaulted into the water, together creating an enormous splash against Sakura.

"Naruto!" Sakura shrieked. She wasn't mad; it was just that the waves kept coming at her. When it stopped, she let her arm down and looked around for him. "Naruto?" Suddenly, the strong arms of her beau wrapped around her. She smiled, expecting a little kiss or something. But instead, she burst out laughing. Naruto was tickling her! "Hahaha….Naruto…Hahah...Stop!...Hahahohmygod!...NARUTO!!" She broke free and punched him across the lake, sending the jinchuriki moving through the water like a skipping stone. "Baka!! What the hell has gotten into you!?" Sakura stood up in the water with her hands placed on her hips, demanding a damn good excuse.

Naruto just scratched the back of his head, and looked to the side like he didn't have a care in the world. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I just wanted to have some fun, that's all."

Sakura turned her head and was about to go "Hmph!" when she noticed something: Her left strap had slipped! "That means…!" Sakura looked down, and sure enough, her left breast was exposed. Sakura turned red, and adjusted it immediately. Her first instinct was to kill Naruto, but…"If Naruto had seen her, wouldn't he have a major nose bleed, or a major- "

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?"

Sakura eeped, and looked behind her. Naruto just stood there, curious, maybe even concerned. Sakura sighed in relief. "Good…there's no way he'd act normal if he saw me exposed…I wonder how he would act if he saw me like that?" Sakura turned red again. "Ack! Badthoughtbadthoughtbadthought…"

"Sakura-chan?"

"I'M-" Sakura looked at him, and held her scream in. "Fine…"

Naruto smiled and said "Great! So, how about some ramen?"

Not the most romantic dinner in the world, but on a carefree day like this, it was a quick and easy way to fill up."Sure Naruto."

Naruto walked away, and let out a deep breath. "Oh, thank god! She would've killed me if she knew I saw her…" Then, something very common in men his age began to occur, and it took all of Naruto's willpower to stop it. "Ack! Sasuke and Sai making out on a cold day, Sasuke and Sai making out on a cold day….!"

* * *

"Here's your tea sir."

Shikamaru looked up from the table and at the waitress who was serving him. "Thank you." Shikamaru took the cup, and sipped. And then, he sighed. Chouji was on vacation with his family, Ino accompanied her family to look into expanding their flower business, and he already trained his genin team for the day. He was bored out of his mind. Sure, he could have stopped by and visited the other members of the rookie nine, but he wasn't as close to them as he was the team he trained with. Besides, Naruto was with Sakura, and there was no way in hell he would pay attention to him under those circumstances. Speaking of a date…he realized he was starting to feel lonely. His mom often chided him to get married already, and that there were plenty of women in the village that would be more than happy to be his wife if he would become more motivated. Shikamaru just said "Troublesome" as usual. Besides only one female ever held his attention…and she wasn't even from this village…

"Well, I knew you were lazy, but judging by the company you're keeping right now, I'd never guess you to be antisocial! Hmph."

Shikamaru's eyes slowly opened as wide as dinner plates. Even slower, he looked up, to see someone occupying the seat across from him. "T-Temari?"

Temari just smirked. She looked as stunning as ever, the only difference now was that she let her hair fall freely. "I see you haven't changed at all." she said, smiling.

Normally, Shikamaru would've taken the smile she gave as an insult. But it never made him feel that way. It made him feel…happy. He shouldn't have, but it did. "Temari!" Shikamaru nearly shouted. He collected himself, ignoring the fact that the sand kunoichi was chuckling. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Business with the Hokage?"

"More or less." Temari answered. "I'm actually a day or two early. But I had a mission right before that, and by the time I'd have gone back to Suna, I would have been late for my ambassador work here. So, this was more practical. And there's no need to find a room for me. I already got one."

Shikamaru nodded. "I see. So, what was the mission?"

"It was in Tea Country. You see, our daimyo was being threatened by the Tea Daimyo…"

* * *

"_Hahaha…This is the best!!" The Tea Daimyo swung his sake wildly, clapping with the music at the same time. Today was his birthday, and all the servants had to give the very best gifts. Those who underperformed were never heard from again. "So far so good. But what good is a party without girls!? I hope you brought lots!!" His closest servant fumbled his fingers nervously. _

"_Um…well, Your Excellency…we've been running short this year in terms of girls." _

_The tea daimyo dropped his cup and grabbed a katana from the nearest samurai. He stood and waved it madly. Everyone backed away; skilled with a blade or not, they did not want to be on the receiving end._

"_What!? You better have come up with something good, Fuku, because my patience is practically dissolving!!" _

"_W-we managed to find one girl, a beauty the likes of which you've never seen! She claims to be a geisha in training, and we think her looks alone will hold your attention!" Fuku bowed down to the floor, clearly fearing for his life. "Please, master! At least give her a look!!" _

_The daimyo shrugged. He preferred to have a whole group of girls…but…"Very well. Send her in. But I warn you…" The daimyo pressed his finger against his own neck and shot it across. Then, he turned his face to the center of the room, and his jaw dropped. This girl's beauty was beyond comparison! Her blond hair was set in intricate patterns, unusual but most certainly not unattractive. Her eyes were stunning as well. But what caught his attention was that her loose kimono revealed her voluptuous figure. The daimyo was stunned speechless, and his mouth began to salivate_

_The girl was barely an adult on top of that, but there was no law of consent in this country…"You must be Shinichiro-sama." The young woman said. She bowed down to the floor. "It is an honor to be of service to you, my lord."_

_The Tea Daimyo remained silent for a good minute. He looked at Fuku, and smiled. "Well…you surprise me!" He snapped his fingers. "Make sure the bedroom is spotlessly clean!" The servants went to work in there immediately. "Guards! Take her to the changing room and search her clothes! But don't touch her!" _

_The young lady was escorted to another room. In a minute, the samurai had her kimono in their hands, and inspected it. "She's clean! Return it!" _

_Soon, the young lady was brought back to the daimyo, with her kimono back on. The daimyo bowed in a gentlemen-like fashion, and gestured to his quarters. "Well, my fair maiden. May I ask that you accompany me for the evening?" _

_The lady lifted the lower part of her kimono slightly and bowed as well. "Why, of course! That's what I'm here for after all…" The young woman then thought "It's a good thing this guy doesn't know much about ninjas beyond his own village. Otherwise, he'd recognize me as Gaara's sister…"_

* * *

_The Daimyo was enjoying one of the best massages he was getting in his life! "This woman has a way with her hands…" _

_The lady then leaned her head next to his ear. "Is their anything else His Excellency requires of me?" _

_The daimyo shuddered. "This girl is perfectly willing…it shouldn't be a hassle at all." Consent or not, he could have taken her. But a completely unwilling girl was more trouble than it was worth. "Well, I was hoping we could move on to something more…pleasurable." _

_The woman walked in front of him and smiled seductively. "But of course. Shall I dance for you?" _

_Normally, he would've said no, but he knew there was something more to it. "So long as it is wonderful eye candy at the same time." He said, trying to sound as smooth as possible. The woman stepped backward, and let her loose fitting kimono fall. The daimyo was disappointed that at the very last second, she used fans to cover the essentials. But even partially exposed, she was something to die for. She began her dance. How she was able to cover up everything perfectly at the last second was beyond his understanding. Then again, he was not in thinking mode at the moment. And he never would be again. _

_She faced forward and preformed a horizontal slash. "It's a good thing those samurai did not count on steel fans."Temari whispered. Before the daimyo's head could hit the floor, she held it in place, and laid the body on the floor. She then put her clothes back on, and made her escape…_

* * *

"And that's what happened. I knew Gaara wanted me to meet up with the Hokage in a few days, so I used a hawk to tell him the mission was a success, and that I would make my way up here early." Temari sipped her tea, and took a good look at Shikamaru. He seemed disturbed for some reason. "What?" Temari asked.

"I can't believe you did that." Shikamaru whispered, turning his head away like he was annoyed.

"That Daimyo was pure scum." Temari replied, annoyed at his behavior. "I never advocate killing anyone unless absolutely necessary, but I was glad to end his life."

"I'm talking about right before that." Shikamaru hissed.

Temari's eyes widened for one second, then she looked at him angrily. "So? It's not like I let him touch me. And not even for SS class payment would I let him. What does it matter to you?"

Shikamaru didn't know what to say. He was struggling internally. His rational mind told him she was just doing her job, and if he were a kunoichi, he would have used such methods himself, and that nothing platonically romantic or sexual happened. But some gut feeling told him he should hate her. Shikamaru never let his emotions get the better of him, and this was no exception, but even then, what he wanted to say didn't quite come out right. "I don't approve of you doing such things."

Temari looked at him incredulously. "Don't approve!? What is it to you what I do!? If I enjoyed that, I wouldn't have bothered coming here!!" Temari stood up hastily and picked up her fan. "Besides, it's not as if we're together or anything." she mumbled.

After she left, Shikamaru just gawked at her. Not together? Shikamaru looked back into his teacup. "It's true…isn't it?"

* * *

Konohamaru was bored out of his skull. He made chunin a little bit before Naruto became jonin. He liked the idea of being equals with the man he considered his older brother, but he couldn't help but feel happy for him. Besides, being a chunin wasn't all that great, he reminded himself. Teaching was a pain, he didn't know how Iruka-sensei put up with it. The missions he got were not all that exciting. Never mind guard-duty. And then there was the task he was doing right now: bringing paperwork over to the Hokage. "She is one of the Legendary Sanin, the Hokage, and the Head Medic-Nin at the same time!! And she doesn't have the ability to get her own paperwork!?"

"Hey, Konohamaru!"

The young Sarutobi turned around to face his long-time teammate, Moegi. "Oh, hey Moegi! It's been a while!" Konohamaru stayed close with his teammates, despite the fact that their missions often required them to separate for weeks at a time. He and Udon began to age both physically and mentally, with the latter becoming more noticeable. They had outgrown many of the things they used to do as kids, and found what they perceived to be boring adult activities quite fun. That was something they thought would never happen. Moegi hadn't really changed much…except she developed a few bumps here and there…

"So, what does Hokage-sama want this time?" Moegi asked, a bit curious.

Konohamaru turned red for a reason he couldn't explain. "Just some documents. I don't know why she can't handle it herself." He grumbled.

Moegi then showed a concerned look on her face. "Konohamaru…are you still mad? That she replaced your grandfather?"

Konohamaru replied "No. Maybe a bit miffed. But the village needed her then, and they do now. She was also Grandpa's student, and he would have probably nominated her anyway. Besides, if Naruto-nichan respects her…even if he does keep calling her 'Ba-chan'…then I should to!"

Moegi smiled at him. "He's gotten mature…both mentally…and…" Moegi blushed as she remembered an incident from a few months ago where she wanted to surprise Konohamaru. She snuck into his house…and caught him walking out of the shower. Fortunately, he had a towel on, but she could see quite clearly that he had been working out. Moegi then slapped her face. "Hey, Kono, I'll race you!!" Moegi laughed as she sprinted ahead of her teammate.

Konohamaru could only gawk. "Hey, no fair!! I'm carrying paperwork!!" Konohamaru ran as fast he could, but it was nothing more than a light jog. He remembered what happened the last time he lost documents…

* * *

Tsunade continued grumbling over her documents. What made the day worse was that there was more to come. But at least when discussing chunin promotions to the council, most of them agreed with her. Except for one…

* * *

"_My grandson has all the necessary skills!!" Danzo yelled. "He is powerful, he can plan ahead, he is clever…" _

"_And he is too ruthless for now." Tsunade replied. "While that's arguably a good thing in the face of the enemy, with comrades that will be a liability." _

_Hiashi spoke up. "Indeed. To openly kill a leaf ninja who lost his will to fight is unsettling. It's a tactic someone the likes of Orochimaru would try." The council, even Danzo's allies, agreed with him. Danzo couldn't take anymore and abruptly left._

* * *

Tsunade rubbed her temples thinking of that. "Another bad day for the legendary sucker, eh?"

Tsunade turned around to face someone else that often annoyed her; not a political opponent, but one of her closest allies and friends. "Jiraya. To what do I owe the displeasure?"

Jiraya smirked, and got off the window sill. "Just the usual information report, as usual. I got the message you sent me, about the guard and the missing bodies." Jiraya took a seat and donned a more solemn look. "You know me, Naruto, and Kakashi too well. And Minato is dead. I had seen it myself."

Tsunade held her head down, thinking back to the event where she actually suspected either Naruto's betrayal, if not the other Rasengan users, or that the Yodaime had risen from the dead.

"I may have a theory, though." Jiraya answered. "It's a stretch, but at the moment it's the only thing I can think of."

"And that is?"

Jiraya stayed silent, trying to find the right words. "You remember…how Minato came to be my student, right?" Tsunade nodded…

* * *

"_That was tough!" A young boy with a shaven head named Goro said. _

_The girl, who would one day become Uchiha Mikoto, just yelled back "All that trouble just for a B-rank mission! Jiraya-sensei, you jerk! You said real danger wouldn't happen until we were chunin!" _

_Jiraya just grumbled in response. "When I was your age, I craved for those kinds of missions!! Besides, all that's important is that we've made it out alive!!" Jiraya, though he loved his genin as if they were his children, was at times a bit disappointed. He was hoping for a team that was eager to delve into combat, and he would make sure they would live. But unfortunately for him they sought to avoid combat. Granted, in most situations that was ideal. But Jiraya owed a lot of his strengths to experience, something these two sorely needed. That's right: two. It was an odd year at the academy; not enough graduated to make 3-man teams. Jiraya got stuck with the one two-man cell. _

_He was brought out of his thoughts when Mitako yelled "Sensei! There's a boy down there!!" _

_Jiraya stopped, and looked down by the stream. Indeed, a young boy was lying right there, face first. Jiraya leapt down from the treetops and ran over to him. He turned him over to look at his features. Blond hair, blue eyes…he was an unusual looking kid. Jiraya put that out of mind at the moment and checked his vital signs. He was weak, but alive! "Come on kids! We've got to take him to the hospital now!!"_

* * *

_Five months have passed since the incident. Beyond the fact that the kid made a full recovery, Jiraya heard nothing of him again. However, that changed when he was one day summoned by the Hokage. "So you wanted to see me, old man?" Jiraya lazily took a seat, not stand like protocol demanded. _

_The old Sarutobi could only sigh at this. "Jiraya…remember the young boy you rescued? The one with blond hair?" _

_Jiraya blinked a bit. "Yeah…why?" _

"_After his recovery, we gave him room and board to study at the academy. And something remarkable happened." _

"_What?" _

_Sarutobi turned his head towards the one guard. He opened the door, and there stood the same child, wearing the Konoha band around his neck. He seemed a bit shy, nervous. Jiraya looked at him curiously, then at his former sensei. "Jiraya, meet your new apprentice: Namikaze Minato!"_

* * *

_Jiraya was a bit nervous about having a new apprentice, but soon he felt proud to be his teacher. Minato had already been well-versed in the Shinobi arts, and he was approaching chunin-level fast. They also had many things in common: they were quite laid-back, had huge dreams, and both were rampant perverts. Minato himself looked up to Jiraya like he was his father. Little did the toad sage know, he would become even prouder when he saw Minato holding out his hand, apparently struggling. _

"_Whatcha doing there?" the Sanin asked. _

_Minato stopped for a minute, and turned around. "You know how with every ninjutsu, we need to use hand signs?" Jiraya nodded. "I'm trying to use a technique that will not require any signs." The genin answered. _

_Jiraya laughed a little bit. "That sounds like a tall order there. You're a genius, I'll give you that, but you've still got A LOT to learn. Do you even know what you'll create?" _

"_Yes." Minato replied curtly. "I've seen HIM do it a thousand times, and I know how it works!"_

* * *

"WHAT!?" Tsunade yelled as she slammed her desk. "Minato didn't invent the Rasengan…he copied it!?"

Jiraya looked away. "I've asked him about it several times. But he would never tell me. I always knew there was something about his past he did not want to bring up. Since nothing dire ever came up from it, I eventually stopped asking. Besides, I worried that if I forced him to tell me…we would loose the bond we had."

Tsunade folded her hands together. "So what you're saying…is that somehow Minato was linked to whoever it was that stole Kakuzu and Itachi?"

Jiraya nodded yes. "At the moment, that's all I can come up with. I've been using all my sources for information on Soragakure and Kizu. But so far, nothing."

Tsunade sighed and went back to work. "Very well. Dismissed." Jiraya was about to walk away, when Tsunade said "By the way…don't you think it's time? For Naruto to know the truth?"

Jiraya turned around, with a worried glance on his face. "I used to think now would be a proper time. But now I'm not so sure. I know Naruto puts on a smile no matter what…but I know for a fact that the way everyone treated him, how everyone treats him even now, eats away at him. I can only imagine it would get worse if he found out he was the son of the fourth. Besides…he'll be heartbroken if he finds out what happened to his mother."

Tsunade reluctantly nodded in agreement. It was bad enough Naruto did not get the kindness he truly deserved for being his father's son…and it would crush him when he would learn the truth about Kushina…

"By the way, where's Shizune?" Jiraya asked. "She's usually watching you like a hawk when you claim to be doing paperwork, right?"

Tsunade growled "Are you implying I can't do my job without her!?" She calmed down and took a deep breath. "She said she wasn't feeling well, so I gave her the day off."

Jiraya looked at her, like he suspected that something was off…but decided to let it go. "Well, have a good day." He said as he waved her goodbye without looking.

* * *

Sasuke stared off into space. He had always been a patient man. He suppressed any desire to go off against Itachi on his own when he was training under Orochimaru. He knew, when he faced off against Itachi that day, how powerful he needed to become. And he knew to be patient for his new goal. And he waited. And for his new goal, he would wait as long as it took. But with the village staring right at him, he felt his patience wearing thin. Besides, if he let the opportunity slip by, even he acknowledged how deep into madness he would delve. His head shot up as he heard a crow. He held out his arm, and the crow landed on it. The ninjas would grow suspicious of any foreign hawk that most villages used. But a crow was a perfect means of communicating undetected. They were everywhere, but they were hard to tame. Sasuke unwrapped the piece of paper on its leg. He then threw it away as it burned. "It's time." He said to the mist swordsman. "Remember your jobs." The three mumbled crankily. Then, they took off into the forest, towards Konoha.

* * *

Tsunade struggled with her paperwork, as usual. It was always unending. "Ugh. We're not at war. Our economy is just fine. Honestly, can't I get a break here!?" She then heard someone come in. Tsunade was on guard. She felt something sinister from the other end of the room. Then the figure revealed itself…Shizune! "Oh, Shizune!" Tsunade gasped. "I don't know why, but you managed to give me a heart-attack!"

Shizune bowed. "My apologies, Tsunade-sama. I don't know why, but I've been feeling a lot better lately. I should be able to return to work tomorrow!"

Tsunade smiled, and said "That's good to know." Tsunade then looked around. "But why am I feeling so ill at ease?" she wondered.

Shizune then brought her some tea. "It seems like you could relax some, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade sighed, hoping that she would bring her sake instead. But oh well, it was good for her nerves. She drank the whole thing in one gulp, and sat down. "Danzo has been a pain in the ass, even more than usual." She commented. "Now, he's been throwing temper tantrums that I won't promote his grandson. And he won't stop pestering me about Orochimaru."

Shizune asked "Regarding what?"

"That Orochimaru is on the move. He wanted to set a trap, but Orochimaru is too clever for that. Besides as of right now, he poses no threat to Konoha. Jiraya's spy network is very reliable, and while he did hear something about something unusual occurring, he doubts it has anything to do with him planning to attack us."

Out of Tsunade's sight, Shizune sneered "You have no idea…"

* * *

The guard posted fell asleep.

"It would have been so much more practical to kill him…"

"And alert the entire village to our presence." Sasuke scowled. "Quite a brain you have there, Shumokuzame." Shumokuzame growled, frustrated at how the brat insulted his intelligence, which he considered just fine by all means. "To the Hokage tower, immediately." The Uchiha commanded.

* * *

In the forest, a group of Jonin ran through the trees. Kakashi, Gai, and Kurenai, who left her son with a relative, were in the lead, with several other well known jonin behind them. The azure beast of Konoha had the same personality, but much to his dismay, his hair was turning gray. When someone pointed it out, he just said he was starting to rival Kakashi. Kurenai had become more withdrawn ever since Asuma's death, but she was still a sweet and loving mother despite her loss.

"We're almost there." Kakashi told the team.

"Don't you think it's strange?" Gai asked. "I know this lord is a big time client, but to meet us all the way out here?"

"He said it was a dire emergency." Kakashi replied. "The request looked authentic. The handwriting belonged to him, and there is no possibility of it being forged. Besides, he never had ulterior motives and has been a huge supporter of our village. We'll learn more once we get there."

The group soon came upon the castle. "Strange…" Gai said. "Isn't it further away?"

Kakashi walked forward and touched the walls. "Welcome!" The jonin turned around, and in front of them was one of their richest clients, Lord Taganaki. He wasn't a daimyo, but a wealthy business man. And as they say, the richer you are, the more enemies you have. He looked like a typical business man as well: Quite fat, little hair, and a moustache that looked like two spikes. But despite his stereotypical appearance, he was also quite the philanthropist. "I'm glad to see you all here! I'm terribly sorry to have summoned so many at once, but it is a dire emergency! Quickly, I'll explain everything!"

The jonin were rightfully suspicious, but until they got conclusive evidence, they could not act based on their intuition just yet.

* * *

Four figures surrounded the Hokage tower. And one of those four was Sasuke. "Begin." He commanded.

Everyone drew the seals on four corners they were instructed to. Then, they shouted "Kekkai no jutsu!! Kin'iro Kyuubikuru!!"

* * *

Tsunade shot her head up from her desk as she heard some rumbling. "What is that!?" Suddenly, Shizune pulled out a kunai and got her master in a headlock, and jumped through the roof with her hostage. Tsunade was at first stunned beyond words at what Shizune was doing. "Shizune!! What the hell as gotten into you!?" It took the Sanin a good ten seconds to look around her. The entire tower was surrounded by a golden barrier.

"My my, I bet you didn't see this coming, did you, Hokage-sama?" Shizune asked in an insane tone.

"Shizune!!" Tsunade screamed. "Why!? Why are you betraying your home!?"

Shizune faced her and smiled wickedly. "A few years ago, you were willing to do the same thing. Orochimaru promised the resurrection of your brother and Dan, provided you give him Jiraya and Naruto. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he planned to destroy Konoha. And yet, you actually considered it!!"

"Shizune, I was depressed!! I realized my mistake before I let it happen! You were part of the reason why I went to Orochimaru with the intention to kill him instead!!" Suddenly, some large slithering sound was heard. Huge snakes made their way across the village! "You…" Tsunade turned to Shizune with more fear than she showed before. "You're working for Orochimaru!?"

Shizune just nodded her head and said "Tsk tsk. You're still not getting it."

* * *

Naruto and Sakura leaned their heads against one another, simply admiring the night sky atop the buildings. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Sakura asked, probably at the most peace she had been for a while.

"Yeah. But not as beautiful as you." Naruto replied. Sakura giggled, and gave him a light punch on the shoulder. It wasn't enough to leave him keeling over on the floor, but it still stung. "Ow!! Sakura, you know I bruise easily!!"

Sakura just laughed some more. She didn't know why, but some feeling that she couldn't describe was taking over inside her. When she was near Naruto, it seemed like nothing else in the world mattered. She felt like she could do anything. She felt everything would be alright. Naruto made her feel perfect, no matter how many times she brushed it off. And it all came with a hint of lust. "What…" Sakura's eyes snapped open as she turned her attention from what was inside her to in front of her. "…THE HELL IS THAT!?"

Naruto looked forward and his eyes bulged in horror at the huge snake reeking havoc on the village. "Orochimaru!! Come on, Sakura!!" Though both were in their casuals, they knew of a technique that would change them to ninja gear. Once that was done, the leapt off, ready for battle.

* * *

"Don't go in that door!" Moegi screamed. Konohamaru and his teammates were watching a horror movie that night. Granted, not much would scare experienced ninjas. But that was something they lacked. "AIIEE!!" Moegi screamed, clutching onto Konohamaru.

The young Sarutobi turned red at that moment, while Udon was just fixated to the TV. Moegi stayed in her position, until they felt the house vibrate. They were into the movie, but not that much. "I'm not the only one who felt that, did I?" Konohamaru asked.

Both of his teammates looked around, wondering where that came from. Then the roof collapsed under the weight of a giant snake! The three chunin jumped out of the way as the reptile's body hit the floor. The snake turned around and spotted his prey. It hissed, and struck. Fortunately, the three were very agile and dodged it.

Udon threw a pen into its eye, but he only annoyed it a little. It turned and snapped its jaws once more, this time grabbing him by the leg.

"Udon!" Konohamaru shouted. He reached the area around his pants, but realized that he wasn't carrying his shuriken pouch! "Oh no! Where is it!?" Konohamaru looked around frantically. Knowing time was of the essence, he turned to Moegi. "Where's our shuriken!?" Moegi looked around in a panic, then pointed behind the snake. Right there were their shuriken pouches. Konohamaru took one look at Udon, who was feebly punching the snake on the nose…and ran right past him. The snake swung its tail, hoping to bat Konohamaru away, but he rolled under at the last possible second and knocked the pouches into his hands. He jumped when the tail came swinging at him again, and threw the standard throwing star. Unfortunately, they simply stuck to the creature's hide. When he landed, Moegi took them from him. Konohamaru was about to protest, but kept his mouth shut once he saw Moegi take out an explosive tag and wrapped it around a kunai. She threw it right into the creature's nostrils, and when it went off, the creature let go of their teammate. Konohamaru helped him to his feet as the creature roared in rage. "Come on!! We've got to join the others!!" Though Konohamaru and his friends were barely chunin, even they knew snakes this size meant only one thing…

* * *

"AAAHHHH!!" A leaf nin fell. There were too few jonin to stand up to these foes.

One of the mist swordsman cackled. "I warned you, Sarutobi! Look at what strength your kindness has brought to your village!!"

"Ah, the Ino Shika Chou trio will be quite a prize. No one will fuck with you when you take out three incredible ninja by yourself!!"

The third said nothing.

As a fire behind them burned, two figures landed in front of him. "Well well, if it isn't the last of the Mist Swordsman." Jiraya said. He then danced around and faced forward. "Now, you will face the awesomeness that is The Legendary Toad Sage Jiraya!!"

"Sorry, but my friends are out on business. I'm afraid I'm all you've got to play with." Shikamaru said lazily, although in actuality he was quite scared. This was his first time seeing a mist swordsman, let alone three of them, and facing the possibility of fighting them all at once.

One was old. He had wrinkled, blue skin. His head was bald, but he adorned a long, white beard that nearly touched the floor. He wore clothes similar to those worn by monks on another continent, "Shaolin" if Shikamaru remembered correctly. But he took note of his swords: Two blades that curved like hooks. The handles were not at the opposite end of the blades, but they stuck out from the side. Another foreign weapon: Hook swords. "Lei Gong." the old man said, showing no interest at the two leaf nin in front of him.

Shikamaru looked at the second one. He possessed orange hair that shot out like a star on its side. His skin was jet black, but his eyes were pure white, with bright red lips. The two sides of his head were unusually long, making his face almost beet-shaped. His outfit was arguably even more ill-fitting for a ninja's than Naruto's: It had patches of fluorescent yellow spots all over. His weapon was a pair serrated krabi. " Hoshiboshi Shumokuzame." He said. "It's nice to meet you. I presume you're part of the Ino Shika Chou trio?" He laughed in anticipation.

"Nara Shikamaru, yes. But I will make you find out that you would have never stood a chance against the three of us." Shikamaru replied curtly.

The third was the most shocking: He was simply a little kid! He was pure white, minus his intense yellow eyes, had no hair, and a simple shirt was all he wore. And his weapon made him appear even smaller: It was a nine-ringed Guandao!

"Ah." Shumokuzame said, looking at the kid. "That one doesn't talk. He's not really one of the legendary seven mist swordsman, but one of our late comrade's offspring. We simply call him Akkisebire. He's really good, and has the same skills as his father, so we decided he could be a swordsman!!"

Shikamaru and the Toad Sage got ready for battle. "Well, we have a slight advantage in numbers." Jiraya commented. "The old man has got experience on his side. And if they have a young kid with them, he must be that good. I'll take them both!"

"Right!" Shikamaru replied.

Lei Gong stepped forward and said "As regrettable as it is not to fight one of the legendary Sanin, I must decline. You see, I have a vow I must keep: To destroy all of Sarutobi's family!" The old swordsman disappeared.

Jiraya could sense which way he was going and cried "Wait!" However, he fell back as Akikisebire's Guandao slashed at him. Jiraya growled in response. "Shit…"

* * *

Yuji lined up with the chunin, escorting the civilians and academy students into the monument. He wasn't a chunin, though unknown to him he was going to be, but in emergencies, genin were expected to help out. For once, his mother didn't object as all he was doing was traffic control. Iori was there too. Shiguri was right next to him, but they haven't spoken a word to one another ever since the exams.

"I want to go in there and fight!!" Iori yelled. "What is it with them!? They don't trust us!?"

"Pretty much." Shiguri replied, even though he knew he wouldn't get an answer from either one of them.

"There's really nothing we can do anyway." Yuji noted. "Whoever has the guts to attack Konoha head on must be incredibly powerful!"

* * *

Naruto and Sakura leapt across the rooftops. They saw the tower had been surrounded by a strange barrier. "Sakura, do you think you can get beyond that barrier?"

Sakura replied "I'm not so sure. But if I can get a close look at it, I might be able to find a way around it!"

Naruto looked at Sakura admirably. Then, he sensed something, and turned his head forward. "Sakura-chan, look out!!" They leapt back as a giant snake emerged in front of them, ready to strike! But neither one was about to back down. Sakura charged and punched its torso, sending it keeling over. Naruto leaped behind her and hit it with a Rasengan in the exact same spot. The reptile coughed up blood, and its eyes sunk. Naruto and Sakura panted from the close encounter, but then their eyes widened when they heard something.

"A relief to know you're strong, Naruto. Perhaps you did have what it took to beat Itachi."

The two turned around slowly, and there he was, staring above them indifferently just like at Orochimaru's hideout: Sasuke! They didn't know what to say. They couldn't even mutter his name.

"Sakura…" Naruto said. "Get to the Hokage tower. Now." Sakura didn't argue when Naruto was completely serious. She took off, looking back at him sadly. She had given up on Sasuke, just like she said. But she knew what Sasuke was doing here. And Naruto would be heartbroken when he found out the truth…

* * *

"Yes, yes!" Shizune shouted, refusing to relent her hold on Tsunade. "It may not be under the circumstances I would have liked, but my dream is coming true! Konoha will burn!!"

"Shizune! What's gotten…" Tsunade then stopped, as the wheels in her head finally turned. "No…"

"Oh yes." Shizune replied, in a voice that was not her own as she smiled wickedly. She placed a hand on her face, and ripped it off. It its place was Orochimaru's…

* * *

The jonin Taganaki had summoned were escorted to his personal chambers. He took a seat at his desk, and motioned for the others to do the same. Kakashi and his comrades kneeled in the seiza position. "Thank you to coming to my castle on such short notice. It is my regret to inform you…there is no reason for you to be here!!"

A liquid sprayed out of nowhere and landed in the area where Kakashi's eye was! He already had it covered up, but it became a problem when the liquid hardened and prevented him from removing his headband! "What the-!?" The jonin looked in fear as the walls became distorted, closing in on them…

* * *

Here you go!! So please PLEASE review!! (sobs). Next chapter, the battle for Konoha's survival begins!

Kekkai no jutsu: Kin'iro Kyuubikuru-Art of Barriers: Golden Cubicle

Shumokuzame Hoshiboshi-Hammerhead Shark of the Stars

Akkisebire-Devil Fin

Lei Gong-Chinese God who uses thunder and lightning to punish mortals who use Taoism to harm others

Krabi-Thai swords

Guandao-A giant Chinese saber, used to cut the legs of an opponent's horse. The nine-rings would give a whistling sound, terrifying those who lived to tell about it from a previous encounter.


	23. The Power That Is Me

Hey. School's been going okay. Not great (grumbles). Not much else for me to talk about. Just glad everyone liked the last chapter, and here's the next!! And I should also add that Sasuke will not be the final villain. That showdown…damn, I think you won't see that until Chapter 70 something! But anyway, please enjoy!

Mrfipp: Well, he's pretty uber-powerful in the manga, so this doesn't come as much of a surprise to me. And you will find out Lei Gong's grudge here. Naruto's mom…details on her will be revealed around Ch. 30 (I estimate).

JDay: You couldn't force me to do anything if you tried. Nonetheless, I'm giving you what you want right here.

LonewolfBloodstorm: Well, I made it clear Shizune was behaving a bit out of the ordinary.

Pirogeth: Please don't use computer slang, cause I don't know what the fk you're saying. I'm glad I finally stabilized my descriptiveness.

Bfavreg1: Apparently, not a lot of people did. And you're certainly right about some permanent damage being done. However, what I meant to say about Sakura was that she knew why Sasuke was there, and that Naruto would be sad. She is NOT BETRYAING ANYBODY. She's just more insightful than Naruto is all.

Now to get the rest of the show on the road!

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other for the longest time, ignoring the screams and destruction around them. "Sasuke…I thought you wanted nothing to do with this village…why are you helping Orochimaru do this?"

Just like last time, in the blink of an eye, Sasuke was upon him, and drew his sword. Naruto pulled out a kunai in response, and for the first time in years, surprised him. Sasuke's sword couldn't break through the kunai! He took a closer look, and saw why. "Wind Chakra." He muttered. Sasuke broke off and attacked again. Naruto parried his blade each time, but he did not see the kick coming. Naruto sprawled against the wall, seemingly vulnerable to Sasuke's attack. However, before he got too close, the Uchiha was sent sprawling onto the ground when a bushin out of nowhere kicked him onto the floor. Soon, he was surrounded by a mob of Narutos. Sasuke wasn't worried at all; just miffed. He shot up and as each clone came close, he sliced them away with his kusunagi. Then, he thrust behind him…and his attacker coughed up blood.

"Sasuke…" Naruto dropped his kunai, and slumped. But Sasuke didn't sneer at his victory. Because he didn't win anything yet. He turned and sent a spinning back fist at the real Naruto. Naruto ducked in the nick of time, and landed a right cross against Sasuke's jaw. However, at the same time, Sasuke landed a kick to the blonde's gut. Both collapsed on the ground, panting. After a good minute, they looked at each other right in the eye.

"You have gotten stronger…dobe." Sasuke struggled up, and Naruto did the same. "Unfortunately for you, it's not enough." He finished.

"Sasuke…why are you doing this!?" Naruto yelled. "Abandoning us is one thing…but trying to kill us!?"

Sasuke looked away from him. He stared at the tower, and the Hokage monument. "Naruto…answer me this…is it true…that you killed Itachi?"

"What does that have to do with anything!?" Naruto yelled. "Look a-"

"Answer me, dammit!" Sasuke screamed.

Naruto just looked at him, confused, yet knowing why he was asking. "He was about to turn over one of my students to the Akatsuki. More importantly, there is something you should-"Naruto hacked when Sasuke rushed up and punched his gut. Naruto took at least ten more blows before Sasuke hurled him into an abandoned building right through the wall.

Sasuke jumped inside and said "It's true then. Naruto…ask yourself this…you know that since my childhood, I lived solely to kill my brother, correct?" Naruto didn't answer, but he was listening as he struggled back up to his feet. Sasuke's face contorted in rage as he said "What am I supposed to do now that he's dead!? To live in hate and anger as far as I remember for nothing!? What's the point of me living now!?" Naruto didn't answer, but closed his eyes and threw a flash grenade right in the Uchiha's face. Sasuke's sharingan couldn't take it and was forced to shield his eyes. Naruto ran and tackled Sasuke, hurling them both outside a window.

"Sasuke!! Your way of life now is the reason I've been training so hard to bring you back! I don't know what Orochimaru has done to get you to do this, but…"

Naruto stopped when Sasuke chuckled. "Naruto…you don't get it, do you?" Sasuke kicked Naruto off and shot back to his feet.

* * *

"Orochimaru!!" Tsunade screamed. She broke the headlock her ex-teammate had her in, but Orochimaru jumped out of range from her kick.

"It's been a long time, Tsunade-hime." Orochimaru paused to look around. "It seems, at least up until now, you've fared well as Hokage…Sarutobi-sensei would be proud."

Tsunade hissed "You. It was you who killed Tonton! And for kami knows how long, Shizune as well!! You somehow caught her off guard and stole her skin!! You planned on spying on me, but Tonton could tell that you weren't her, so you killed him before he got a chance to alert me!! That's it, isn't it!?"

Orochimaru laughed, and said "Quite right, Tsunade-hime. I believe it was approximately four weeks ago. I kept a close eye on Shizune, observing her everyday routine. I earlier disguised myself as a man that by my standards was considered incredibly handsome, and asked her out on a date. But the one who came back home to you was me!! That swine nearly blew it; a split second later and you would have heard him! I've been waiting for quite sometime to find the perfect opportunity to kill you!!"

Tsunade fought to keep her tears from flowing, but it was a loosing battle. Still, there was something fishy about Orochimaru's story."Just one thing I don't understand: I had my suspicions of Shizune's unusual behavior before. I asked you certain questions out of the blue, questions only she would know. And you got them right each time. How!?"

Orochimaru couldn't help but taunt her more. "So confused, aren't we!? Well, this is where everything will end, so I suppose there's no point in keeping secrets. I used a jutsu that allows me to look into the long term memory of those I kill. I know just about everything about Shizune, now!!" Orochimaru finally dropped his grin and breathed deep. "But, time is of the essence, and I need to fulfill at least one part of my dream myself. After this…" Orochimaru's face contorted in hate. "…'Sasuke-sama' won't have anymore use for me."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Sasuke…-sama?" Impossible!

Orochimaru spat "That's right. Unfortunately."

* * *

Taganaki swung his sake and cackled madly. "Well, I think Konoha will have to do without you!! Goodbye!!"

The jonin felt their fear accelerate as they felt the walls close in, as well as their vision spin. Their confusion at their client's actions also made it harder to think of a way out. However, one of them was not the least bit worried. "Kai!" she shouted. In an instant, Kurenai dispelled the genjutsu. The palace they were escorted into turned out to be a dingy basement. And when they looked at their client, they found it was not the wealthy businessman they worked with so many times before…it was Kabuto, in a wheel chair.

With the genjutsu dispelled, he cowered. "I knew it!! I told him it wouldn't work!!" He immediately turned his wheelchair and pushed as fast as he could away from the jonin. For all the good it would do him.

Kakashi tore the chemical patch off his mask and pounced on the former-medic nin. He drew a kunai against the helpless man's throat and yelled "Where is he!? Where's Taganaki!?"

Gai came back into the room yelling "I found him!!" Gai had the real billionaire in his arms, and judging by the look on him, he was tortured severely.

"I'm sorry!" he cried. "I couldn't take anymore!! I didn't want-" One of the other kunoichi accompanying them hushed him. It was nothing to be ashamed of, especially for an average man; shinobi torture was very efficient.

Realization then struck Kakashi. "Orochimaru! He's attacking the village!! This was a set-up!!" Kakashi got up and shouted to his comrades. "We must return to Konoha immediately! We'll take Taganaki-san with us as well!"

Kakashi was about to leave, when he heard Kabuto chuckle. "You really think Orochimaru is the one who ordered the attack?"

Kakashi turned around slowly. "I don't have time for games." He hissed dangerously.

Kabuto laughed some more. Arguably, not the smartest thing for a paralyzed man to do in the presence of an angry ninja. But Kabuto felt he had nothing to loose."Sasuke-kun is the one in charge now." Kakashi's eye widened. He didn't want to believe it. But he could read people very well, and no matter how much he would tell himself otherwise, Kabuto was clearly not lying. "That's right, Kakashi! Orochimaru tried to take over Sasuke-kun, but he tricked him into switching with another body! Now, he's the one destroying Konoha!! Ask that pig over there, he'll tell you your precious student tortured him personally!! And he nearly did the same to me before I agreed to sacrifice myself over here!!"

Kakashi's eye narrowed, and he stomped on Kabuto in a blind rage. Everyone knew he was going to kill him right then and there, but before Kakashi could go any further, Gai clenched him. "Kakashi, enough!! We don't have time for this!!"

Kakashi snapped out of it, taking one good look at the battered young man. He turned around, not facing his comrades. Instead, he just walked forward ahead of them. "My apologies for the delay." With that, all the jonin retreated outside to save their home.

Kabuto wheezed, and spat out a tooth. "Too bad you'll never know how Sasuke intends to carry out his plans…if you did, you might go easy on him…"

* * *

Shikamaru stared Shumokuzame down. The swordsman looked right at him, with a wide grin plastered on his face. "If I remember correctly, your clan specializes in shadow techniques, correct? I wonder, just how effective are you fighting at night?"

Shikamaru circled around him, deciding it would be best to distract him for at least a second. "I know you want to take out either my team or my dad's. Since neither are here, perhaps I can persuade you to postpone this duel until another time? It would make you look good if you took out the three of us all at once."

Shumokuzame hefted his swords up his shoulder and sneered "Nah. I don't follow that code of honor bullshit. I just have to say I killed you, and no one will question it. Back at home, if you killed someone, you earned it. For what it's worth, I find it amusing that you would even try to trick me."

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, it was worth trying." He turned to his opponent and sneered "And now to answer your question!!" He threw several kunai with explosive tags into the air, but none of them hit Shumokuzame.

"Haha! Not like you would've hit me anyway, but you missed!" When they went of, a fire surrounded them…and that was when the truth of Shikamaru's plan dawned on the swordsman. "Oh." The fire emitted a light around them, making it almost as bright as day. Shumokuzame threw his swords up and caught them. "Let's go!!"

He ran, circling the shadow ninja, while Shikamaru did the same. "He's not much of a tactician, is he?" Shikamaru thought. "Kage Mane!" His shadow extended, and caught the mist swordsman.

"Shit!!" he cried.

Shikamaru forced him to drop his weapons, and smirked. "I'm disappointed. One of the famous mist swordsman brags about being a badass, and not even ten seconds in, you're down and out. You should probably refer to yourself as 'The Legendary Mist Numbnuts'."

As he forced the swordsman closer to him, the unusual man chuckled. "What's so funny?" Shikamaru growled.

Shumokuzame sneered "You're the idiot this time. You didn't even see me make my hand signs when I threw my swords up in the air. Dokudokushi Isoginchaku no Jutsu!!"

Suddenly, some rope-like tentacle shot out of the ground and grazed Shikamaru's leg. Shikamaru managed to get away from the others, but he felt an incredible pain in his left leg. "Shit!! Well, at least he…"

Shikamaru looked up, and his jaw dropped in disbelief. Though Shumokuzame was clutching his leg just like Shikamaru, he smiled; he wasn't in any pain! "Any good poison user knows to develop an immunity to his own weapons." Shikamaru's concentration faded, and his shadow dissipated. Shumokuzame, able to move again, retrieved his weapons. "By the way, I wouldn't think about trying to change locations." Shikamaru looked around, and saw near the fire, the tentacle that snagged him had some companions as well. "Those tentacles are covered in poison, a poison you only got a scratch of. You come as close as a meter to them, they'll attack, and next time you will die of cardiac arrest."

Shikamaru threw his shuriken, but Shumokuzame blocked them with his swords, and sliced at him. Shikamaru stumbled, clutching his left shoulder. "Not a good time to cry like a bitch!!" Shikamaru let it go and back fisted Shumokuzame across the face. But it didn't feel right. It felt more like he hit a water balloon, rather than someone's head.

"WEW! That sent my world spinning for a minute there!" Shumokuzame cackled. Shumokuzame landed a kick against Shikamaru's temple, and unlike the swordsman, his head didn't compress with the blow. Shikamaru crawled up as fast as he could, but Shumokuzame grabbed him from behind across the neck.

"Well, I think I should take your head now!!" Shumokuzame prepared to slice his throat open, but was stopped again.

"Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu." Shikamaru whispered. A shadowy hand then gripped Shumokuzame right at the neck. The swordsman struggled to get it off, and Shikamaru struggled to not let go of his hold.

Shumokuzame, however, had control of his hands this time around. "Suiton!! Chuuten Houmatsu no Jutsu!!"

Shikamaru was suddenly surrounded by a bubble, and lost his grip. "Shit!"

Outside, Shumokuzame laughed. "What's the matter? Haven't you heard of popping a bubble? Go ahead, give it a shot!"

"I know it's not that simple." Shikamaru muttered.

Shumokuzame chuckled, and pointed his fingers up. "Quite right. This bubble will pop, but only under the right atmospheric conditions. It has to be up high. Very high." Soon, the bubble rose, very slowly. But it was accelerating. "I look forward to finding your corpse soon!!" Shumokuzame cried.

Shikamaru looked around frantically. He didn't know when, but soon, he would fall from a height not even a ninja could hope to survive. Shikamaru knew he didn't have much time, but it was the only way he could think his way out of it. He crouched, and held his hands together like he normally did to concentrate…

* * *

Jiraya stared Akkisebire down. He knew that this kid would be no joke if the mist swordsmen took him seriously. However, he was still a kid…and killing was something he was sure he didn't want to do to this boy. "Maybe I can coax him, make him surrender." He kneeled slightly, and said "Hey there! You don't want to be with those big, bad men, do you? I know they must've been so mean to you. You want to get away from them as soon as possible, right?" The child's eyes narrowed dangerously in response to his baby-talk. "Shit, maybe I should take him more seriously." Jiraya cleared his throat and said "Okay. No more bullshit. I don't know why you're with the swordsmen or how they got you to join your little group, but I can't see you enjoying it. I've met a lot of kids like you who were incredible prodigies and forced into killing…and not one of them enjoyed it. So-"

He was cut off when the child began to chuckle. "Fool." He sneered. "I love killing. It has brought me far more joy than any parent, toy or friend. But if you really want to be a saint and make my life better…" Seribeki raised his Guandao and jumped towards the sanin. "Why don't you just die right here right now!!"

Jiraya activated his Hirai Jizou immediately. The blade still managed to graze his cheek, but his hair prevented it from doing any further damage. Akkisebire himself didn't come unscarred, as his feet were pierced right through by the spikes and bleeding. Unlike most children, however, he didn't react normally.

"Hehehe. That was fun. The one who falls on his back and cries looses!!" Akkisebire swung his Guandao wildly, but the sanin managed to evade him.

"Katon! Edan!" Jiraya shot fourth a stream of fire from his mouth, but a wave of water blocked it. Jiraya got ready for the worst…and was surprised when no one was there. He looked around, and realized the attack would come from below! The blade appeared from the ground, much like a shark's fin through the water, and headed straight for him at an unimaginable speed. Jiraya jumped, but the blade still scratched him. A second later, and it would have severed his Achilles' Tendon. Akkisebire burst through the ground and followed through, hitting Jiraya with the blunt end of his weapon and sending him to the other side like a bullet. Akkisebire charged, sensing his weakness. Jiraya may have been upside down, but he was not out! "Gamayudan!!" Jiraya spewed some liquid from his mouth, and Akkisebire was bogged down to the floor. Instead of panicking though, he laughed. Like a small child would during a very fun game. But this was no game. And the scariest part was that this child knew it.

"Suiton! Todo Gouon no Jutsu!!" He opened his mouth and water spewed out, like a high-pressure hose. The water blasted Jiraya through the ruble, and he flew so far, he swore he must have landed on the far end of Konoha. Jiraya struggled up, and felt the large blade press against his neck. "I hate fighting old guys." Akkisebire growled. "They don't know anything about fighting today, they tire too quickly, and it's always 'Oh please! Spare my life!' Quite frankly, I'm disappointed in fighting you as I was those other so-called grandmasters."

A vein on Jiraya's forehead popped. "First off, I'M NOT THAT OLD!! Second…" A puff of smoke erupted from him, and in his place, was a man-sized toad doll. Akkisebire wasn't annoyed at all; on the contrary, he was overjoyed. He looked up to a tall building, staring at his prey with glee. Jiraya then finished his sentence. "You've never fought a Sanin before."

* * *

Konohamaru and his teammates avoided the snakes, intending to regroup with the other Konoha ninjas. And while they did not get one of their first choices, they found someone: Ebisu! "Hey, closet pervert!!" Konohamaru yelled.

Normally, Ebisu would have corrected him sternly, but even he knew now was not the time. He turned and shouted "Young master, thank goodness!! I was-"

"For crying out loud, we're chunin!!" The young Sarutobi yelled. "Anyway, we need to meet up with the others, right now!!"

Ebisu adjusted his glasses. "Normally, I would agree, young master. But something came up. Something I think you should know."

"I've got no time for this!! We-"

"Konohamaru!!" Moegi yelled. "If it concerns you at a time like this, you have to listen!!"

Konohamaru cowered at her yelling. When she stopped, he stood up straight, and signaled for Ebisu to go on.

"I might be wrong, but some dying comrades I found claimed to have been defeated by the last of the remaining mist swordsmen. You know who those are, right?"

Konohamaru arrogantly said "Some ninjas who carry swords from Kiri. I've heard it all the time!!"

Ebisu freaked out and yelled "You fool!! You have no idea how powerful these men are!!" Ebisu and Konohamaru just looked at each other in silence. "We're being attacked by the last of them," Ebisu finished. "And one of them, a long time ago, swore an oath of revenge on your grandfather."

This got Konohamaru's attention. "But it's got nothing to do with me." He said.

Ebisu at this point was sweating. "According to what I've heard, he was not interested in killing your honored grandfather: what he wants is to kill the entire clan."

Konohamaru just stared at him, afraid. "He's…here?" Ebisu nodded. Before anything more could be said, they heard a woman scream. No one except Konohamaru knew who it was. "Kira!"

Moegi asked "Who?"

"A relative of Aunt Kurenai's. Since she's out on a mission, she…oh no, Asuma!!" Konohamaru ran in the direction of the scream like a cheetah chasing down prey.

"Kono, wait up!!" Moegi yelled as she and Udon sprinted to catch up to him.

Ebisu recovered from the shock and headed off after them. However, just as he was about to catch up with them, a huge snake blocked his path. As goofy as he was known to be, Ebisu was a formidable ninja, and without hesitating, pulled out a kunai. "I have no time for this!" Just then, several other snakes closed in on him. Ebisu gritted his teeth in annoyance, and leapt into battle.

* * *

Kira clutched her stomach, desperately trying to shield the young boy she was taking care of.

"K-K-Kira…" the boy said.

The woman valiantly tried to fight off the attacker, but she was sliced and beaten. "I beg you…please, spare this child…."

Lei Gong towered over her with his bloody swords, looking most impassive. "I will give you one last chance to run away. My feud is not with you, but with the Sarutobi." Kira turned and spat blood on his face. Though Lei did not show any annoyance, he nonetheless raised his hooksword and sent the chunin's head flying. He threw the body away, and looked at Asuma Jr. The boy was paralyzed with fear, and began to cry for his mother. "It's a pity you're not even a ninja. In fact, your pathetic position has even made me think of sparing your life." He raised both swords and said "But I have a vow of revenge to keep. If you must hate anyone, hate your foolish grandfather!!"

Before the blades could touch the toddler, a large shuriken collided with them and disrupted his strike. "Edan!" A stream of fire hit Lei's body. Before he could recover, two chunin hit him. It wasn't enough to even stun him beyond the initial surprise though, and he simply batted the two away. "Moegi! Udon!! Are you two alright!?"

Lei turned around and looked at the juvenile, now holding the child he was just aiming to kill a moment ago. "Ah, another Sarutobi, I see. " The old man cricked his neck and introduced himself. "My name is Lei Gong, and as you may have guessed, I am fulfilling a grudge against your entire family. Normally, I would just take the toddler from you and kill it, but…I haven't had any worthwhile fights, so I will make an exception."

Konohamaru, at first, couldn't get what he was saying, When the swordsman nodded in the direction of his teammates, he then understood. Konohamaru took his crying cousin and handed him to Moegi.

"I want my mommy." The boy weakly cried.

Moegi patted Asuma on the back and whispered "Don't worry. She' coming, I promise." She then turned her attention to Konohamaru, awaiting his orders.

"I'm the one he wants. You take Asuma to the shelter. If I fail, at least there will be enough ninja to protect you two."

"Udon can take Asuma. I'll stay and-"

"No, Moegi." Konohamaru said sternly. "Udon's with me. You go hide with the others. This is a mist swordsman we're fighting here. The odds don't look too good for us here."

"Konohamaru, I can fight just as well as you and Udon!!"

"No, you can't!!" Konohamaru yelled.

Moegi just froze and looked at his face. He seemed angry, and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. "What does he mean?" It made no sense to her that Konohamaru would behave this way.

"Moegi, you've always been weak. Every mission we had, you've done nothing but slow us down. Take my cousin and make yourself useful for once. Maybe then, I can at least acknowledge you as a teammate." The two stood silent for a long time, a time which a not-so generous enemy would've taken advantage of. Moegi then slapped her teammate across the face. "You know that's not true…you spoiled brat." She shed a tear, and then took off. Konohamaru's face immediately softened as he watched his kunoichi teammate take off. He didn't want to do that to her. But he couldn't think of any other way to keep her out of danger. And it pained him to realize that he may never get the chance to apologize and tell the truth.

"Konohamaru…" Udon said. "You could've just said you were worried about her."

Konohamaru sighed sadly. "No, she would have argued until she convinced me to let her fight with me." He faced his best friend with a sad smile. "Udon, should anything happen to us, I want to let you know that you've been the best friend a guy could ask for. And I'm glad at least someone will understand why I did what I did."

Udon smiled back, and the two faced off against Lei. The old swordsman then placed his swords on his back, and began making his hand signs.

"Get ready…" Konohamaru warned.

"Suiton!! Kosui no Jigokudo!!" Konohamaru and Udon leapt out of the way…only to find nothing had happened.

As the two looked around in disbelief, Lei chuckled. "Fools. You two were not my target…"

* * *

Moegi held her emotions in check as she carried out her new task. No matter how angry she was at Konohamaru right now, the child was her priority. Just as she touched down on the floor, she lost her balance. The ground was becoming water!! Before she could sink completely, she threw Asuma under a pile of ruble, hoping that the weird phenomena wouldn't reach him. She then tried to swim out, but the water became more like quicksand and forced her down under.

She expected to drown from lack of oxygen…but she was surprised when she found herself encapsulated in a bubble. "Odd." She thought. Then she noticed it was getting hot. Dreadfully hot. In just a few seconds she was starting to sweat. "I have to get out of here!" She found the bubble wall to be thin, yet it did not burst as she put her hand through. However, as soon as she brought her hand out, she screamed and withdrew! The water outside was freezing! She stared at her hand in horror, realizing it already turned blue! She could either stay here and fry…or she could escape and freeze to death. Though ninja were trained not to panic, for Moegi that was proving extremely difficult right now. When she came to realize what her situation meant, her thoughts turned to one person "Konohamaru…"

* * *

Konohamaru heard Moegi scream, and realized whatever Lei Gong did, the technique was meant for her!"Bastard! What did you do to Moegi and Asuma!?"

Lei Gong emotionlessly replied "My technique forms a lake in the ground and imprisons my target in a bubble. Inside, it is a sweltering 82 degrees Celsius. They can escape if they choose…but outside it is fifty below freezing. It's…unlikely, that they can swim to the surface, and even if they could, they still have to fight off the hypothermia."

Lei Gong began to chuckle quietly, leaving Konohamaru struggling to keep himself from screaming. The young Sarutobi reached into his pouch. "Let's have at it."

Lei Gong nodded, and preformed another jutsu. "Suiton!! Fuhen Suijinheki!!" A water wall, much like the one Kakashi created in his first fight against Itachi, but larger, erupted from the land and surrounded Konohamaru and the swordsman, leaving Udon outside.

The chunin yelled his comrade's name, and charged at the water barrier. He tried slashing a kunai through it, but it would not budge once he pierced the surface. Udon backed away and whispered "Hang in there, Konohamaru." He made his hand signs…

* * *

Konohamaru looked around the wall in fear, knowing what his enemy wanted.

"As confident as I am facing off two on one," Lei Gong said, twirling his swords. "I much rather prefer a more duel-like setting. More fitting for a Sarutobi."

Konohamaru got into a stance and prepared to fight. "I don't know what kind of grudge you have with my old man, but you're going to wish you forgave and forgot!!" The chunin charged, and fired taijutsu blows with the swordsman. All of his strikes were evaded, and Lei circled around him and sliced the Sarutobi's back, almost as if he was trying to open up his spine. Konohamaru gripped his back and jumped away. With his free hand, he let his shuriken fly.

"Such basic tactics!! Show me the power that was once the professor's!!" Lei parried each shuriken, and attacked with another jutsu. "Katon!! Oushi Yofun Hitonami no Jutsu!!" He spat thin tendrils of fire, which became fire bulls making a bee-line for the chunin.

Konohamaru quickly made some more signs. "Doton!! Doryuu Heki!!" He vomited a muddy substance from his mouth that quickly became a perfect wall. Though the wall cracked, the bulls couldn't get past him.

"Raiton!! KamiKarento!!" A wave of electricity shot forward and dissolved the base of the wall. Konohamaru's barrier collapsed, and the bulls ran straight towards him. Though Konohamaru managed to evade a direct hit, just being in close contact with them left him badly burned. Lei Gong just sighed at what he was witnessing. "Perhaps I should have allowed your friend to join in. It would have been a little more interesting, at least. But, I'm a firm believer in following through, so I will make that decision upon your death."

Konohamaru rose, and took a deep breath. He remembered how he boasted about how his grandfather should have just retired and let him be Hokage. Though the former was true, after he learned about what his grandfather did to Orochimaru, he couldn't help but feel proud."Old man…guide me through this, please." Konohamaru then opened his eyes, and charged. He threw a single shuriken and yelled "Shuriken Kage Bushin no Jutsu!!" The weapon duplicated a thousand times, and Lei parried each one.

"Is that all you have to offer!?" the old swordsman screamed.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!!" A duplicate of Konohamaru formed, and put there hands together. "Katon!! Karyukyuu no Jutsu!!"

A large ember formed in the hands of the two clones, but Lei Gong was not impressed. "My hands are so calloused that I can grip it as if it were an ordinary stone!!" And so he did. But he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Konohamaru yelled "Burst!" The explosion knocked Lei Gong against the wall of water, singing his skin. He looked up in the nick of time to see a dragon made out of fire flying straight at him.

"Tsu!!" A stream of water landed on the dragon and it began to vaporize. But not fast enough. Lei Gong cross blocked and took the brunt of the beast. He lowered his burnt arms, and panted.

Then Konohamaru rushed up to him and kneed him in the groin. Before the elder ninja could recover, Konohamaru threw him clear to the other side. "You're the same age as my gramps was before he died. Maybe even older." Konohamaru noted, feeling guilty and a bit embarrassed fighting him. "And just like him, your body is failing, isn't it?"

Lei Gong struggled up, whispering "Little brat."

"Listen. Release that jutsu you have Moegi imprisoned in. Promise you'll never return, and I'll let you go."

Lei Gong looked at him in the eyes, full of rage. "You little brat!! You're the same as your grandfather!! Believing kindness, not ruthlessness, is the true strength of the shinobi!!" Lei used his swords to help him stand. "We, the ninja of Kirigakure, had always believed it was brutality that would ultimately ensure our strength and survival. That was what I, as Mizukage, had taught everyone and enforced."

Konohamaru's eyes widened, and his body turned cold. Mizukage? Even if this old man was no longer at his peak, he still possessed power that was beyond the reach of most shinobi. And he probably wasn't out of tricks yet.

"During the great Shinobi wars," Lei Gong continued "I became the second Mizukage. Like my predecessor, all I believed in was strength. Failures were disposed of. Clans with valuable Kekkei Genkais were ordered to have as many children as humanely possible. And the only way to pass the academy…" Lei Gong began to sneer "…was to kill a fellow student."

Konohamaru, though he had been told many times by his grandfather himself, could not believe it! "The mist ninja really were insane!!"

"During the Shinobi Wars, our forces landed in Fire Country. After destroying that pathetic Whirlpool village, we closed in on this village. Then, your grandfather, came walking out of the gates to greet me. He challenged me to a fight to the death, and if I lost, my troops would withdraw. I accepted. Of course, I planned to use my guards to stay in hiding, waiting for my signal to shower him in shuriken. But he was too clever for that. He immediately erected a cage using his damned dirty apes! I didn't think much of it. After all, I was a kage, and I was confident I could defeat your grandfather. We fought an incredible battle, and were evenly matched. But ultimately, he prevailed. Yet, he refused to kill me. He called it mercy. But no, he did not realize that what he did was the opposite. My people left me for dead. I eventually recovered, and made my way back to Water Country. But once I was there, I found out I was no longer the Mizukage, but a fugitive. Someone had taken my place, and because of the system I helped to create, I was betrayed by my own people. From that day forward, I vowed that your clan would pay for their so-called-kindness!! I would take advantage of it by killing them all!! At first, I tried rather unsuccessfully to raise an army. But my chance finally came in the form of a young man named Uchiha Sasuke."

Konohamaru couldn't believe it. Sasuke, Naruto's friend and teammate? True, he heard he abandoned the village, but Naruto and Sakura told him that he was manipulated. But if he was the one who organized this attack…"That's not important right now." Konohamaru adjusted his scarf and said "My grandpa was one of the strongest shinobi ever. And he was strong because he WAS kind and merciful. You better pray that you receive mercy from me." Konohamaru took a kunai and charged. He leapt into the air, and slashed at the former Mizukage.

However, Lei Gong blocked it and counter attacked with a kick to the chunin's stomach, sending him skidding across the floor. "Katon! Fushido no Rentan!!" The ground Konohamaru was lying on suddenly became intensely hot. Konohamaru struggled up, burning his hands as well. But this torture wasn't enough to stop him! Konohamaru pretended he was about to reach for his shuriken…but instead whipped out his scarf, which extended an impossible length around Lei Gong's neck. As it tightened, the swordsman struggled to cut it off, but a protective barrier of wind chakra prevented him from doing so. Suddenly he was lifted off into the air and was slammed into the coals that Konohamaru had just been in. The mist swordsman screamed in rage as he got up. "I will kill you!!"

* * *

Though many of Konoha's famous jonins were away on a mission, the majority of the ANBU squad was there to rescue their Hokage if need be. For all the good it would do them, anyway. The barrier proved to be impenetrable. Then, they felt a familiar presence behind them coming up. To them, she was known as Hiiro Hakumei. However, she did not bring her mask, so it was appropriate to call her by her actual name. "Sakura-san!!"

Sakura landed, acknowledging her comrades. "Any luck cracking this thing!?"

"None. Our experts don't recall a barrier like this in the archives. And nothing we tried is breaking it!!"

Sakura looked around. Though neither she nor Tsunade knew much about barriers, one thing was common knowledge: Every type had a weakness. "It's sides are covered. There's no entry through the top." Sakura then looked at the corners. "Seals are holding the barrier in place." Then the wheels in her head started turning, and she found her answer. "Get me Naka Shiguri."

* * *

Naruto stared down Sasuke, circling him. "I do get it, Sasuke. Orochimaru convinced you to go ahead with his plans to destroy the village." Naruto smirked, though inside he didn't find anything funny. "You're pathetic, teme. You've become nothing but a puppet."

Sasuke only chuckled at him. "You think so? I don't know what kind of training you have undergone, Naruto…but it apparently has done nothing for your mind!" Sasuke faced him, grinning insanely. "Orochimaru is MY subordinate! And I'm the one leading this attack!!"

Naruto's eyes widened in horror. "Cut the bullshit Sasuke!! Orochimaru is just us-"

"He can no longer change bodies. And because of that, in a few years, he will die." Sasuke tapped his sword against a pile of rubble. "But that's beside the point. Naruto, you took away my purpose for living." Sasuke tilted his head to the side, and said "So in return, I'm taking away yours."

Naruto clenched his kunai, dreading the answer. "What do you mean?"

"Your dream was to become Hokage. The easiest way to destroy that, most would argue, would be to kill you. But no, then you wouldn't live to suffer like I will. What I have in mind is much worse." Sasuke drew his sword and sliced off the banner of a building with Konoha's symbol. Slowly, he turned his head around and looked at Naruto with insane eyes."I'm going to erase this damned village from the face of the earth!! Without the council, there will be nothing but political chaos!! When I burn all the money in the treasury, your people will be forced into poverty!! After a devastating attack like this, no one will fund nor hire from this village! No matter how many of the ninja here survive, no matter how determined you are to rebuild, Konoha will only be a place of history."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sasuke betrayed them, sure…but it was because of a childhood trauma. Had he managed to get revenge on Itachi, he would have been no threat to Konoha! He was certain that Sasuke would even come back of his own free will. But then he remembered the story of Uchiha Madara and the Shodai Hokage…

* * *

"So you see, Tsunade-hime, that is how I've come to be here, as I am." Orochimaru said, spreading his arms as if he finished telling a great story.

Tsunade looked outside in horror. "It's just like before. Sasuke…has become like Madara!"

Orochimaru chuckled. "That's half-right. But I'll let you in on a little secret." Orochimaru licked his tongue across his lips in anticipation. "Sasuke, despite how he intends to utterly destroy our humble little village…does not wish for anyone besides the council members to be killed. Maybe a few ninja who put up a fight. But no civilians. Sasuke-kun, despite how dark he thinks he has become…still does not know what true evil is. He cannot bring himself to kill those he views as innocent. He wants the village destroyed so long as we give bystanders enough time to escape. The ones who, according to his plan, should be worried are the council members, which also includes you. Then he plans to rob you all, and then Konoha is gone." Tsunade, at first, felt relieved. Surely, Naruto would defeat Sasuke, and everything would be alright. He would still be punished severely, but she could at least spare his life. "But what Sasuke-kun doesn't know is that I have already mucked up his plan!! I suggested using the mist swordsman in the first place. He assumed so long as they were paid, they would do as he said. But he doesn't know the swordsman like we do. They care nothing for money; they only live for carnage!! And I'm sure that someone is bound to get hurt." Orochimaru laughed. "It's so strange!! I used to crave immortality, but now, I no longer fear death, whether it be from my decaying body or at my former protégée's blade! HAHAHAHAHA!!"

Now Tsunade was shaken. Instead of thinking about helping Naruto and Sakura get their teammate back safely, she realized that her priority now was the village.

Orochimaru calmed down, and finally dropped his smile. It wasn't a frown either. Just like their days together as teammates, Orochimaru was expressionless."Anyway, Tsunade-hime, I believe it's time to settle it once and for all. I'd like to fight Jiraya one last time as well, but you're more relevant to this village than he is." Both Sanin prepared to fight.

"Shizune, I'm so sorry! I failed to protect you, I failed your uncle! The same goes for you, Tonton. But I promise you, he will pay!!"Just when she was about to pounce on him, Tsunade felt something wrong. She was beginning to feel dizzy, queasy even. And then an intense migraine kicked in. Suddenly, she lost her footing, but not her sense of touch. "What's…happening…"

"Kabuto may be a burden when it comes to battle, but he's still good at making concoctions. I believe it was a chemical similar to the one you drugged Jiraya with. It probably won't kill you…" Orochimaru rushed up and kicked her in the gut. "But then again, that's what I'm here for. And it is going to happen oh so very slowly."

* * *

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered. How could it have come to this? He failed to stop him at the valley at the end. And he was far too weak to rescue him from sound. Now, it seemed time had taken its toll. "Even so…I will…" Naruto readied his kunai and charged, as Sasuke leapt and prepared to strike with his kusunagi. "I will…" The two blades collided, with both wind and lightning chakra running through them. "I will save him!!"

The two disengaged. Sasuke rolled up his sleeves and revealed tattoos. From them, he summoned two windmill shuriken. Naruto rolled out a scroll and summoned a giant shuriken. At the same time, he created a bushin which transformed into another giant shuriken. They both threw their weapons. Both pairs collided, but only one windmill shuriken fell to the ground. Sasuke pulled the string on the other, its blades flew, knocking Naruto's second weapon to the floor. At the same time, one of the blades managed to cut his leg, but fortunately, Naruto sidestepped to avoid a deep cut. Naruto created three more bushins, and two of them transformed into chains. The two in human form picked them up, and flung them at Sasuke. The Uchiha was caught unprepared, and the chains wrapped around him. The two Narutos pulled tight, forcing Sasuke to kneel in pain. He looked to his side to see that he dropped his sword. He tried to reach for it, but he couldn't make it.

"Give it up, teme!! These chains my bushin have transformed into are coated with plastic; your chidori cannot run a current through them!!"

Sasuke struggled, and finally knelt down in defeat. "Perhaps…" Suddenly, his head shot straight up, and a chidori blade from his left hand impaled Naruto. Sasuke knew he hit the real one; he tracked Naruto's original body like a hawk. The jinchuriki coughed up blood, unable to speak. "Don't worry Naruto; you'll live. You'll live to see the place you love burn to the ground forever."

"I kind of doubt that."

Sasuke looked down and was met by Naruto's foot. Sasuke flipped over, and his surprise left him vulnerable to an onslaught of punches and kicks. Naruto finally grabbed Sasuke, and wrapped him in an arm lock. "How!?" Sasuke yelled. "I tracked the very body that formed the sign!! That should have been you!!"

Naruto pressed down further, causing Sasuke to bend down. "I found a neat way to use my bushin. Once the clones form, I use a mild space/time jutsu to switch places. Not even a sharingan user can see it."

Sasuke , oddly enough, smiled in response. "That's actually quite relieving to hear, that you are a true challenge. It then means that my life was not for nothing after all. Ryuu Yofun no Jutsu!!" Flames erupted out of Sasuke's body, and Naruto was forced to let go. While he was off guard, Sasuke punched the blonde across the face, following up with another back fist and then a round kick. Finally, he tackled the jinchuriki and leapt into the air. "Hayabusa Otoshi!"

Naruto landed head first onto the ground, but thanks to his taijutsu lessons, he was able to stop Sasuke from breaking his neck. Naruto stood, and with one hand, formed his Rasengan. Sasuke immediately countered and jabbed at him with his Chidori. The two were locked in a stalemate. Sasuke pushed forward, bringing his face close to Naruto's. "I sense no killing intent from you. Are you that confident? You think you can beat me without killing me!?"

Naruto pushed back. "Whichever one of us is stronger doesn't mean a thing to me anymore!! I refuse to kill you!! You're my friend!!"

For some reason, this struck a cord in Sasuke. "Friend!? Even when he knows all of this is my doing!?" Sasuke screamed "Don't make me laugh!!" He brought his free hand to the floor and shouted "Chidori current!!" The electricity traveled on the ground and hit Naruto, causing him to loose his footing. "Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" The massive fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth, burning everything in its path. Naruto jumped again, but his right arm was caught in the flame. The jinchuriki landed on his side, moaning in pain.

After some hitched breathing, with Sasuke no doubt taking the time to relish in the sight, Naruto began to move his hand. It hurt, yes, but he could still use it to fight. Naruto slowly got up, and formed his Rasengan. Then, he formed a bushin to insert wind into it. "Futon Rasengan!!"

Sasuke smiled. "You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you!? Well then, I'll give it to you!!" Sasuke prepared more hand signs, but not for his previous fire technique. "Katon!! Gouryuuka no Jutsu!!" Another blast of fire shot forward, but instead of a simple ball of fire, it took the shape of a Dragon King. "Not only does your technique lack the power to push it back, Naruto…You'll make it even stronger!!" It looked like the blond jinchuriki was doomed, but then Sasuke caught something in his left hand. "Is that…water!?"

"Hahonryuu!!" At the last second, Naruto combined the water with his elemental Rasengan. "Gufuu Suika no Jutsu!!" The emerging whirlpool began to push the head away. But by the looks of it, it was more likely that it would evaporate.

"No!! Housenka no Jutsu!!" Sasuke sent several smaller fireballs to aid the original, but soon the waterspout came right at him.

As soon as it evaporated, Naruto knelt, hoping that worse hadn't come to worse. "Sasuke!! Are you all right!?" When the vapor finally cleared, Naruto found him. But not the way he hoped. He wasn't dead. He wasn't even hurt.

As the wings around him unfolded, revealing his Curse Mark 2 form, he said "Actually, dobe, I've never been better." It was then that he ran straight up to Naruto, and looked into his eyes with his Sharingan…

* * *

In the catacombs within Naruto's mind, the Kyuubi awoke. He couldn't get out of the cage, and the brat was getting better everyday at keeping him under control. That was when he noticed the so-called last Uchiha staring right at him. **"So, we meet again. Afraid to face my power, brat!?" **

Sasuke chuckled. "I admit, that's partially correct. But it's a bit more complicated than that. You see, I want to face Naruto without any interruptions. And that includes you. Besides, I was helpless to stop him from taking what was mine…and I want to duplicate that feeling."

As stone pillars rose from the spaces between the bars, the Kyuubi growled with a strange sense of amusement. **"Hm. It's a shame that Minato didn't choose you to be my host. We could have been great together. I'm almost rooting for you. But remember: Don't kill him. You will regret it." **

As the walls closed, the demonic Sasuke smirked. "I highly doubt that."

* * *

Naruto stepped back, feeling something was off. It didn't take long for it to dawn on him. "It will make no difference, Sasuke!! I'll show you I've gotten strong without the Kyuubi!!"

Sasuke could only laugh. "Naruto, don't you remember the Valley of the End!! You used your special power before me, and I still defeated you easily!! Without that monster, you have absolutely no hope!!" Sasuke placed his thumb close to his fanged mouth.

Naruto did the same. "We'll see about that!!"

* * *

Shikamaru's eyes snapped open. "I've got it!! It's going to take a lot of chakra. Still, it should work. That guy proved to be clever at times, but he's no strategist." Just when he thought that, his bubble prison popped. He must have been twelve kilometers high! "Not for long." He thought grimly.

He took out a scroll, and did his best to fight the wind pressure. Out of the scroll came several light bombs, all weighed down with dumbbells. "The odds of this working are slim." He held his hand in the sign of the tiger and yelled "Kai!!" The bombs exploded with light. He had to take a chance and pray that the anvils had landed. "Kage Joku no jutsu!!" Indeed, the anvils had just landed, and their shadows shot straight up and combined. Shikamaru landed right in the center. But now he was sliding. The good news for him was that he could extend it into a slide. The bad news, for Shumokuzame, was that Shikamaru was heading right for him. Shikamaru tackled him, and used him as a sled as they practically sailed through all the rubble. It seemed like an eternity before they stopped.

Shikamaru, despite his exhaustion, got up immediately and put some distance between him and his opponent. The Kage Joku saved his life, performing a feat impossible for a safety net. Even so, he was hurt. Not critically, but his sore arm and sides would be a bit of a handicap. Shumokuzame grunted, and rose. "Whoa. That sure hurt like a bitch. Good thing I'm practically a terrestrial jellyfish." Shumokuzame drew his swords and said "But falling from that height, if you managed to survive, that's gotta hurt!! You're nothing to me but wounded prey!!" The swordsman charged, thinking it would be a one-shot kill.

"How wrong he is." Shikamaru thought dryly. He clasped his hands together and shouted "Kage Nui!!" His shadow extended, and tendrils came out.

"What the-!?" The tendrils managed to pierce him, and his blood spilled out. Frantically, he gripped his sides. But the wounds were deep, wide, and accurate."I…can't…stop it…" The swordsman collapsed onto the ground.

Shikamaru finally breathed. "Oh man. I don't think troublesome accurately describes this guy." Shikamaru was tempted to take a nap, but he knew other things were going on. He got up, facing the Hokage tower. He then felt a sharp pain in his back. "Oh man, forget troublesome. This whole day is the pits."

"For you, anyway." Shikamaru turned around in horror, and could not believe his eyes. The blood that poured out of Shumokuzame was forming into three of him!

"It's an unusual kekkei genkai, isn't it? Making me bleed to death will actually create three more of me!" Shikamaru was, for perhaps the second time in his life, dumbfounded. One of them drew his swords…and swallowed them! Suddenly, blades appeared all around him; one on each wrist, elbow, knee, and two at the side of his head. But he didn't attack just yet. He decided to perform another jutsu. "Seiya no Jutsu!!" The other two Shumokuzames spots began to glow even more intensely. Then, they ran circles around Shikamaru. Shikamaru threw a kunai at one, but missed! Normally, he would've chalked it up to bad luck. But Shikamaru could see that it wasn't his opponent's agility that allowed him to evade the weapon: The lights they emitted distorted his vision. The shadow nin tried to engage one in taijutsu, but once he was up close, he could not see the punches in time to counter them. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to get up close to lights?" one of them taunted. "You could go blind!" Shikamaru took another punch to the face and stumbled. Then, the one with the blades was right at his face, and slashed! Shikamaru clutched his face, and screamed in pain. "Hehe, just so you know, I was prepared to take on your entire team if need be. But seeing my victims so helpless…it gives me shivers of pleasure!!"

* * *

Akkisebire brought his blade down, only for Jiraya to block it again with his hair. "Ranji Shigumi no Jutsu!" Jiraya's hair transformed into a lion shape and pinned the child to the wall.

Akkisebire, despite his predicament, smiled. "My, you are good. Anton! Ingei no Eidan!" What seemed to be a portal opened in Akkisebire's chest. Then, a black hand reached out and pinned the toad sage parallel to the child. If that wasn't bad enough, Jiraya felt his chakra draining, and fast.

"Dark chakra…huh? You're an interesting kid." Jiraya didn't have much time. Dark chakra could drain the life out of an opponent. And he was afraid he didn't have enough to counter it. "But, I've got THAT!" Jiraya, his hands still free, pulled out a scroll and unraveled his weapon: A flute!

Akkisebire's brow twitched. "I hate music." He muttered.

"Ooh, that's good. Then you are going to absolutely hate this!" Jiraya began playing.

Akkisebire actually didn't mind it. It felt…soothing. "I could just go to sleep like this…." That was exactly what happened. Seribeki's eyes closed, and once he did, he was surrounded by a chakra cage. The chakra hand that held Jiraya disappeared as well.

"This is no ordinary flute, kid. This is the Flute of Tranquility! Whoever posses it can play a melody that will force a person into a dream-like genjutsu. And the barrier around you prevents anyone from deactivating it as well." Jiraya, content that the fight was over, put his mythical weapon away. What he failed to notice, though, was that the Guandao was glowing.

"**Bah. I should have known my brat was too young to make it on his own. Wake up, kid!!"** The barrier shattered, and Akkisebire's eyes glowed bright red. He then charged towards the toad sage. By the time Jiraya heard him coming, it was too late. He avoided a fatal blow, but the cut he received nearly paralyzed his left arm.

"Impossible!" he shouted.

"**For him, yes."**

Jiraya's jaw almost dropped. That wasn't the kid talking…it was the blade. "What is that thing?"

"**Hnhnhn. Jiraya the Toad Sage I presume."** It spoke. **"I suppose it should come to no surprise that not even a sanin knows about me. I am Shachi Gaikotsu…the father of this boy. Not too long ago, I battled with a powerful ninja, one I'm sure even Orochimaru would be afraid to take on. I was defeated in that battle, and dying. So, I transferred my mind and soul onto my blade, and commanded my son to wield it. We have been a formidable team since then." **

Jiraya was stunned at first, but remembered something from Tsunade's reports about a puppet master from the Akatsuki turning himself into a puppet. "I guess nothing's impossible." He muttered. "Well, I am impressed, but all you will accomplish is making this fight just SLIGHTLY more interesting."

"**Oh, I'll do that, and much, much more." **

Jiraya opened another scroll and pulled out a spear. He thrust his weapon forward, only to have it blocked by the blade. Jiraya and the child vessel continued parrying and attacking. Finally, Jiraya's weapon managed to scratch the boy's shoulder, to which he grinned. However, the boy did not feel it and landed a double jump kick to the Sanin's face. Jiraya spun, and dealt the boy a surprise. "Rasengan!" The Rasengan hit the boy square in the chest and sent him spinning. However, unlike most enemies, he rose up again. "Shit. That boy really is nothing more than a vessel." The child then swung his blade wildly; he didn't even seem to be aiming for Jiraya. "What is he trying to…" Suddenly, he heard an intense whistling sound. One so intense, that Jiraya had to hold his ears shut. Even keeping his eyes open was a struggle. It wasn't long before his stomach began to churn. "What's…happening…to me…" Jiraya fell over in pain, without even being touched.

"**The rings on my blade emit a special sound, too. They throw off your equilibrium. The tone is so loud that your head will feel like it's about to explode. And the sound waves can turn your organs into mush. As long as this blade swings, you'll never counter attack!!" **

Akkisebire lifted the weapon that was his father and began to beat Jiraya with the blunt end. And all he could do was scream in pain.

* * *

Konohamaru yelled "Suiton!! Dohajikeru no Jutsu!!" A wave of water went right for Lei Gong, but instead of knocking him off balance, the water simply seeped into the ground.

"Ah, it's been years since I saw that trick…" the elder swordsman thought. The ground suddenly burst in an explosion of water.

"All right!!" Konohamaru yelled with joy. "If that doesn't knock him off his feet, nothing will!!"

"The latter is quite correct." Before Konohamaru could turn around and face him, he heard "Doton! Supaikudorine on Jutsu!"

The ground beneath Konohamaru crumbled, and the chunin fell. He only caught a glimpse of what awaited him, but it was all he needed to see: A pit of spikes. Instinctively, he threw his scarf up, and just his luck it wrapped around the swordsman's throat. Lei Gong gagged in surprise, and Konohamaru used his body to launch himself out of the pit. As soon as he was out, he kicked the old man right under the chin, and landed back on solid ground. Konohamaru spun around to face him again, but was not prepared for what Lei Gong did next: He threw one of his swords within the curve of another and slashed, using the extra-long reach.

Konohamaru stepped away in time to avoid being sliced in half, but judging by the pain he felt, he would be lucky if his guts didn't spill out. Lei Gong grabbed the debilitated Sarutobi and pounded him mercilessly. "How does it feel, young one!? To be disgraced!? Perhaps as soon as this village burns to the ground, I should let you live!! Everyone will question how you survived while I still live!! You'll be hated, disgraced, you will have failed to live up to the standards of a shinobi!!" Lei Gong finally sent a kick to Konohamaru and smacked him into the water wall.

Konohamaru just sat there, gripping his stomach and panted. "I kinda doubt that." He whispered hoarsely. "Unlike the village from which you hailed, we think of ourselves as more than tools for war. We know we can have both strength and our souls. You thought of your people as nothing but an army under your personal command. And when they saw you defeated, they saw an opportunity to take power into their own hands. Here, it's different. We're family, and we stand by one another, no matter what. We don't view the death of a shinobi as a failure; it's a tragedy for us all, one we do our best to never repeat. But I guess that's something you'll never understand."

As he said that, Lei Gong saw the image of the Sandaime Hokage as well. His eyes widened in fright, and he gritted his teeth. "Even today that fool still curses me!! I'll end it here!!" He threw his swords on both sides of the arena he created.

"What's he doing!?" Konohamaru thought.

Lei Gong made his hand seals, and sneered. "Well, I suppose to get you to show the true strength of the Sarutobi, a penalty of instant death should you not defeat me will have to suffice. Tsuchi no Ingatekimen!!" The sky around them lit up, almost as bright as day. Then, lightning came down on all sides. Konohamaru couldn't be too sure, but it seemed like the sky was moving down. "Here is your ultimatum: Defeat me before that chakra ceiling comes crashing down on us. If I am not defeated before it does, not only will you loose your life; your friend and baby relative will go as well. I, of course, will remain unharmed."

Konohamaru struggled up, ignoring his pain. "Moegi…I swear…I will protect you…"

* * *

Moegi lay on her back, sweating profusely. She didn't know how much longer she could take this, but at least Asuma was safe. And her thoughts turned to Konohamaru as well. "It's so silly. He was so mean to me…and yet…"

Moegi panted, fearing it would be her last breath. "I can't stop thinking about you. I can't stay mad at you. If I get out of this…I suppose I could give you another chance…" With that, she finally passed out, giving into the heat.

* * *

"Summoning no Jutsu!!" Naruto stood atop Gamabunta, as Sasuke stood atop Manda.

"**How dare you summon me!?"** Manda yelled. **"Where are my sacrifices?!" **

Sasuke simply flew down and looked him right in one eye. Manda immediately calmed down, and Sasuke resumed his position. "I'm afraid snakes are not as good summons as other animals. Bigger ones like this require hypnotism to be brought under complete control."

Naruto gritted his teeth, and looked down on Gamabunta. "Got a problem facing off against him, chief?"

"None at all. I've actually been looking forward to a rematch with that bastard. It was embarrassing being saved by Katsuya." Gamabunta unsheathed his sword and took to the air. Manda launched a sword from his mouth and collided his blade with the toads. Both dropped their weapons at the sudden impact, but Gamabunta was quick to react. As soon as he landed, he flipped over and double-kicked Manda across the face. The giant snake went down hard, much to Sasuke's dismay.

"Damn it, you piece of shit!! Get up!! Get the fuck up!!" The snake complied, and began to move toward Gamabunta again. The two fired water bullets, dodging each one and launching a counter attack. Finally, using another bullet as a distraction, Gamabunta leapt behind Manda and wrapped his tongue around its neck. Manda thrashed around frantically trying to break its grip, but Gamabunta held on tight.

"What's wrong, teme? It seems your summon isn't good for much after all." Naruto, however, would regret saying that. Manda suddenly grew nine heads and struck the toad behind them. Gamabunta screamed in pain, while Naruto held on for dear life. Sasuke grew his wings and used the opportunity to fly. The Uchiha tackled Naruto and slammed him to the ground.

"Let the summons have their fun." Sasuke growled as he choked his former best friend. "This is OUR battle."

"Sasuke…please stop…I don't want to hurt you…"

Sasuke looked at him strangely. Then, he laughed menacingly. "Hurt me!? HURT ME!?" Sasuke lifted Naruto and threw him into one of the buildings. "You should be the one worried about getting hurt!!" Naruto suddenly came threw the wall with an Oodama Rasengan in his palm. Quickly, Sasuke formed his Chidori, and flew right towards him. The two techniques collided…and Naruto was blown away. Sasuke flew around and kicked the jinchuriki sky high. "Hidden Snake Hands!!" Snakes popped out of his arms, wrapped around Naruto, and slammed him back down.

Naruto only briefly fought Sasuke's Curse Mark 2 form. Back then, he was a child, untrained…but his power was incredible. And his training and maturity have increased it significantly. "I could use…no, not the Rasenshuriken…"

Sasuke ran up and grabbed Naruto's head, squeezing tightly. Naruto let out a small groan in response. Sasuke lifted him up and pounded his body. "What kind of friend takes away one's destiny!? To leave him in disgrace!?" Sasuke slammed him down and kicked him. "I should have killed you at the Valley of The End."

Naruto gripped his side and spat blood. He turned around, and looked Sasuke in the eye. "Sasuke…your brother didn't want to kill your clan. Akatsuki forced him into it."

Sasuke just stood there, like someone had slapped him. "What?" His voice sounded both confused and angry at the same time.

"Itachi was forced to make a choice…between having the village destroyed and killing your family, in exchange for sparing your life." Naruto, on his shaky legs stood up. "Itachi loved you. And this village. He turned himself over as a slave to the Akatsuki to protect us both."

Sasuke's mind was reeling at the concept. Protect? Impossible! He spared him only because he wasn't worth killing, the look on his eyes alone showed it enough. But then…Itachi was always a good actor; he had to be. His brother was notorious for operating under all sorts of cover. And he always kept his emotions in check. Could it be…? Sasuke then snapped back to reality and looked at his proclaimed nemesis. "No. I will not be denied what is rightfully mine!!"

Sasuke punched the black and blue Naruto across the face and sent him to the ground again. "Liar!! You saw my brother back at the hotel!! He tried to kidnap you!!" Sasuke planted his foot onto Naruto's gut, and forced him to scream. "If you're going to beg for your life, at least tell the truth about what happened!!" Sasuke continued to torture him, but he got the same answer. Dissatisfied, Sasuke picked him up, and flew straight up.

Naruto chocked as he was placed into a headlock. Despite his depleting air, his eyes widened in horror as he got a good look at his village: Ruins. Some buildings were still intact, but it was clear that any moment now their village would be reduced to ruble.

"Take a good look, Naruto. Without government or money, your village will stay like this forever. And you are going to watch as it happens. You'll know the true meaning of helplessness. The inability to protect your dream."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke from his side, then at the destruction below him. Naruto closed his eyes. No choice. "Sasuke…I'm sorry…but I must stop you now."

Sasuke looked at his prey incredulously. "Kukuku. Stop me? I hate to break this to you, but that's what you just tried."

"No. I was holding back. All I was trying to do was restrain you. I wanted you to come back to us, even if it meant spending a good portion of your life in the dungeon. But to save my home…Naruto clenched his fist, and with the intent to kill looked at Sasuke and said "I will kill you!!"

Sasuke only laughed some more. "And how do you propose to do that!?"

Naruto, despite the situation, spoke calmly. "I'm not the same knuckle-head you once knew. Now, I'm one with the wind."

* * *

"Uggh!!" Tsunade took another punch from Orochimaru. She did have a jutsu that could cleanse the poison right out of her body. But it required concentration, something she would not get in this battle. And Orochimaru was not giving her the opportunity to use her Souzou Saizei.

"Well, it's been fun, Tsunade-hime. I would have liked to have done this when you were at your best. But with the way things are looking right now, I'm not taking any chances. Regrettably, it's time to end this." Snakes sprouted from the dark sanin's arms, wrapped around Tsunade, and lifted her off the ground. Orochimaru opened his mouth…but before he got a chance to do anything, something burst through the roof between them. Orochimaru looked as he saw a pink-haired woman gently lay the Hokage on her side. Orochimaru's eyes widened. Sakura turned to face him. "Ah. I remember you. You're that useless little girl back at the chunin exams. I was surprised you were even allowed to go with Naruto-kun to retrieve Sasuke. You were no threat to me…until now. I saw your fight with Kabuto. I was very impressed. But without help, you haven't got a chance against me."

Sakura was barely paying attention to what he was saying. She quickly checked her master's vital signs. It was similar to the poison Sasori used…but it wasn't fatal. Healing her would have to wait. "Hang in there, Shishou." Sakura turned around and prepared to fight the evil Sanin.

"I did say I was impressed…but not concerned. You may be her apprentice, but you have no chance against me." Sakura audibly gulped, internally agreeing with what he said.

Tsunade looked over her side, and smiled. "Oh, Orochimaru, neither you nor she knows what she is capable of."

* * *

There you have it!! Next time: Can Naruto really take Sasuke down? Will Konohamaru, Jiraya, and Shikamaru survive? Will Kakashi and the others make it in time? Plus, Sakura vs. Orochimaru! The night is darkest just before the dawn, but the dawn may never come.

Dokudokushi Isoginchaku-Venomous Anemone

Chuuten Houmatsu-Rising Bubble

Todo Gouon-Sea Lion Roar

Kosui no Jigokudo-Lake of Hell

KamiKarento-Divine Current

Karyukyuu-Fire Dragonball

Tsu-Spit

Fushido no Rentan-Bed of Coals

Kage Joku-Shadow Cushion

Seiya-Starlight Night

Anton-Dark Release/Dark Style

Ingei no Eidan!-Hand of Judgment

Shachi Gaikotsu-Orca Skeleton

Dohajikeru-Ground Burst

Supaikudorine-Spiked Sinkhole

Tsuchi no Ingatekimen-Hammer of Swift Justice

Hiiro Hakumei-Scarlet Dusk


	24. Like the Rush of the Wind

Hello! I'm almost done with school, and hopefully, it will be straight to a good job! Nothing much else going on...I'm just happy that Kishimoto decided to make Itachi a good guy after all. I'm also a bit sad that the anime industry in America is dying...it also makes me mad so many fans don't care. These companies are really trying to make anime accessible for everyone, and I'd rather watch anime on a TV than on Youtube. Besides, shoot me if you must, but I prefer dubs. It's still the same show, it's easier to relax and enjoy it, and if you've got a friend you're trying to get into anime, dubs are generally the best way to go (because most want to watch movies, not read them). So please, if a series is distributed here, and you like it, buy it. This is the best time to buy anime right now. I just got the entire first half of Gundam Seed for forty bucks! It won't cost you much, and should easily be within reach of your allowence.

Alright. I'm done preaching.

Mrfipp: Yeah, from what I have seen, there are no fight scenes involving Konohamaru. If he's going to be a ninja, none of these ridiculous filler villans I've heard about should be accepted. As for that line, I'm not much of a Charlton Heston fan, but I figured given his passing at this time, a lot of people would enjoy the reference.

Pirogeth: Yeah, cliffhangers are like a drug. Sorry, but they are neccesary.

bfavregb1: I'm sure this chapter will make give you ten orgasims if you liked the last one that much. And Akatsuki won't show up yet...but soon!

animeforever1: And you shall be rewarded!

H.I.M.-Jon-White: I'm flattered. I'm very busy right now writing this fic, checking out others...and with life in general. But I'll make a note of it.

Disclaimer: God...let's skip it just this once...please?

* * *

Sasuke stared at Naruto quizzically. Just how did he expect to defeat him now? "Sorry, dobe. I kinda doubt that you got what it takes to beat me." The Uchiha brought the jinchuriki to face him, and noted that his face was unusually serious. "But, then again…I've been wrong about a lot things concerning you before. So show me, Naruto!!"

Sasuke dropped his former friend and watched him fall. He wasn't worried that Naruto would die; he survived many things that should've killed him before, even with the fox locked away. Naruto turned around and formed a seal…

* * *

"I just have one question." Orochimaru said as he reached down his throat and retrieved another one of his swords. "Just how did you get inside? This is a new type of barrier. There's no way that even the ANBU could have figured out how to crack it."

Sakura, her expression dead serious, said "True. There's nothing about this barrier on our records. But no matter what kind of barrier you erect, they all follow some common rules. When you assassinated the Sandaime, you had your henchmen erect the barrier. To get around that one, someone had to get really high and over the top to get past it, which unfortunately no one got an opportunity to. This time, you used seals to erect it. They are weakest not on the top, but at the bottom. Or to be more precise, underground. So, I got a well known Doton user to form a tunnel."

Orochimaru was actually quite impressed. He turned to Tsunade and grinned. "My, your apprentice keeps amazing me every second!! I should congratulate you!! If you asked me for advice whether to mentor her or not, I would've told you that you're wasting your time!!" Orochimaru took a second to lick his sword and grinned madly. "Well, you've come very far, but I believe you may have forgotten one thing about this barrier!!"

Sakura sweated, but answered for him. "I know. Once a tunnel opens up underneath, there's not much time to get through."

* * *

_Shiguri finished his seals. It took him some convincing to help them. He was still bitter about his disqualification back at the exams. However, when Yuji urged him to, he finally gave in to their demands and did it. "Doton! Mole Tunnel no Jutsu!!" Like the name suggested, a tunnel formed. Shiguri kept at it for a good minute, understanding that it needed to be deep underground, and finally, collapsed from exhaustion. "That's all I've got. Hurry." _

_Sakura then led her comrades down through the tunnel, hoping to overpower Orochimaru with sheer numbers. Though she wanted to finish off the sanin herself, she knew that such a task was suicide. She looked back to her comrades, feeling a brief sense of calm flow throughout her body. However, at the midpoint, she heard one of the ANBU scream. She turned around to see that the barrier descended and separated her from her comrades. "Hake! Are you alright!?" _

_Hake, otherwise known as Sai, got up, after the others put out the fire around his body. "I'll be fine. We'll get Naka to-" _

_Sakura nodded no. "He is one of the best Doton users here, but he used up all of his chakra. And Yamato is with Kakashi. I'm sorry…but it looks like I'm going to have to do this alone. The fight will end one way or another. If I'm not alive…you and the squad stand by to take Orochimaru down." Sakura was about to take off, but something stopped her. "Hake. I need you to give a message to Naruto, should anything happen to me." Hake nodded, indicating that he was listening. "Tell Naruto I-" Some lump caught her throat. At first, she couldn't say it. Then her mind told her she forgot what it was she wanted to say. She then felt more confusion and uncertainty than she ever had before. Then, she realized she wasted too much time. "Forget it." she told Sai. With that out of the way, Sakura ran ahead…_

* * *

"I see." Orochimaru said, rubbing his chin. "I'm not ungrateful with this turn of events, but you should have waited to find a way to get back-up. Alone, you can't win."

Sakura coldly replied "If I did wait, our Hokage would probably be dead by now."

Orochimaru snickered. "True enough. Now, let's see just how far you've come!!" Orochimaru's neck extended and headed right for Sakura…

* * *

Shikamaru collapsed as he took another slash to his back.

"Hahaha. Please tell me you're powerless!! I'll make your death so much slower!!"

Shikamaru struggled to get up. Just how many cuts did he have on him? "By now, I must be the spitting image of my old man." He thought. Shikamaru got up, but instead of begging, he released his Kage Mane again.

Shumokuzame, however, saw it coming and leaped straight up. Before he touched down, he spat a shuriken from his mouth. Its point lodged itself in Shikamaru's shoulder, who knelt down in pain. "Face it, Shadow boy! You're out of tricks! It's time for you to become my trophy!!" Shumokuzame paused to lick his fingers. "After you, there's the other two. I'll have to record my fight with the fat guy; it's getting hard to prove that someone with his build is tough these days. And I actually saw a picture of this Ino…" Shumokuzame started to chuckle in the most disgusting manner Shikamaru ever heard. "Oh, I've got to make sure she's alive at least for a few minutes before I kill her…"

Romantic love didn't drive him to do it, but anger surged through Shikamaru, causing him to shoot up and punch one of the swordsmen, for all the good it would do him. The other kicked him in the head, and the bladed one stabbed him right in the leg. Shikamaru stumbled back, confused and panicked. For once, he didn't know what to do.

"Oh stop it. You stopped being fun a while ago." Shumokuzame raised his arm. "Goodbye. It was fun while it lasted. If you're ever reincarnated and put in a similar situation…I suggest you make it last if you want to keep your life." He swung…and was suddenly blown away.

"What the hell?" Shikamaru asked.

"I can't believe you would loose to a guy like this!"

Shikamaru looked to his side, and found Temari on top one of the buildings, with her fan open. For a second, he smiled….and then scowled. "I hate to break it to ya, but that's a frikin' mist swordsman right there!!"

Temari rode on her fan towards him. Touching down, she also gave him a look of annoyance "So? If I remember correctly, you've taken out a member of the Akatsuki before you even met this guy." Shikamaru mumbled in response. "What?" Temari asked. "Am I being troublesome again?"

"You pick the weirdest time to tease." Shikamaru thought. He then told Temari "Right now everything has crossed that point. You wouldn't believe what kind of day I had."

Shikamaru suddenly grabbed Temari and spun her around. Several kunai were pinned in the area where she was standing just a second ago. "I'm getting careless." Temari thought as she berated herself.

Shikamaru took the opportunity to attack again. "Kage Mane!"

A Shumokuzame duplicate got caught in the shadow, and was forced to punch the other. "You ass!" the other one shouted. Shikamaru disconnected himself from his victim before the two got into a full-blown fist fight.

The real Shumokuzame stood on a water tower, amused. Who was that kunoichi? "Hmm. That's not Ino. But she's still quite a looker." The swordsman touched down, and faced the kunoichi, who unconsciously scooted closer to Shikamaru. Shumokuzame put on the best smile he could without looking like a total freak (arguably impossible to do) and smoothed out his hair. "Hello there." He said in the smoothest voice possible. He then held out his hand, as if asking for a dance. "May I request the pleasure of fighting with you?"

Temari smirked at him and said "Of course. But on one condition."

"Oh?"

Temari pointed her fan at Shikamaru. "You fight us both!"

Shumokuzame laughed, as if rejecting a ridiculous proposal. "Suit yourself! I don't know what you see in that looser, but if you're the one in the middle, threesomes suit me just fine!!"

The leaf and sand nin just gave looks of disgust in response to that statement, which they couldn't be sure was intentional or not. "That is wrong on so many levels." Temari groaned.

"Now you see why I stopped saying troublesome for today."

The two got ready for battle, a kunai and fan in hand. "So," Temari asked, "think you can think up a way to beat this guy?"

Shikamaru at first struggled to find the answer. Then he reminded himself that this was an ally he could trust. He replied "I haven't thought of one yet, but with your help, an opportunity might present itself."

* * *

"Umph!" Jiraya grunted from a kick he received by Akkisebre.

"**I'm disappointed. I thought fighting a sanin would be a thrill. It looks like I was wrong."** The rings on Shachi rang again, causing Jiraya to wince in pain.

"If only I could block that sound. I can't fight it so long as I hear it, but earplugs won't do any good." The sanin was kicked again, and landed in a pile of mud. He really wasn't having a good day."Great, how am I going to find the time to get this gunk out of….wait, that's it!" Jiraya struggled up, feeling like he would hurl any minute. "Focus." he told himself. Jiraya finally stood, and stared the boy down. Then, he yelled "Gamayudan!!" Instead of shooting his gunk forward, he shot it straight up.

"**Hah!! You missed!!"** The oil finally reached its peak, and fell right on top of Jiraya. Akkisebre swung his father wildly once more. **"Bah!!"** shouted Shachi. **"I've always heard you were the clown of the group, but this is ridiculous!! I'm going to make your death as painful as possible!!"** Jiraya held his head and screamed as the sound tortured him. **"Now, Akkisebire, cut his limbs, but leave the body intact!!" **Akkisebire began to do what he was told…and was immediately kicked in the opposite direction. As he struggled up, his father screamed **"How!? How is that possible!?"** A moment of silence passed, and the mist nin figured it out. **"So, you didn't miss after all." **

Jiraya, covered in oil, just smirked. He put his hand to his ear and shouted "What's that!? I can't hear you!!"

Akkisebre simply twirled his blade and got into a guard.

"**So, round two begins."** Shachi seethed.

* * *

Lei Gong and Konohamaru continued to trade punches, both getting tired. Konohamaru's strikes were stronger and faster than that of the aging swordsman's. But the swordsman was more experienced, and his strikes were more precise. On top of that, he could predict what Konohamaru would do next. Soon, he caught the chunin on the side of the neck. Konohamaru staggered, and was thrown across the ground.

Lei Gong then prepared another jutsu. "Suiton!! Suinishikihebi!!"

Konohamaru was immediately constricted by a tentacle of water that felt more like iron, and brought him to his knees, screaming in pain. "There's got to be a way outta this!! Normal attack jutsus won't do much good!! I need help!!" Konohamaru thought desperately about how to contact help from the outside.

"I suggest you hurry up and either think of a way out of that jutsu or die! The chakra ceiling is already half-way down!!" Lei Gong shouted.

When it occurred to the young Sarutobi that help was not coming from outside, he would have to use a different source. He bit his thumb and got ready…

* * *

Udon breathed one final fireball into the water wall and collapsed. It was still there, and even if Udon managed to get rid of it, he would be completely out of chakra, which he was at that very moment. "What do I do now…"

"Udon!"

Udon turned to his side to find feet coming towards him. The anonymous person squatted down to his field of vision, and Udon saw a blood-stained Ebisu. "Hey." Udon replied weakly. "Konohamaru's in a bit of a pickle right now."

Ebisu didn't have his usual sunglasses on, so he just stared at the wall. He then stood up. Udon expected him to panic, but to his surprise, he remained calm. "Yes, I can see that. It's going to take time, but I may have a way of getting in."

* * *

"Please…" Konohamaru pleaded to no one in particular. "Come out!!" Konohamaru stretched his arm, and placed his bleeding thumb on the ground, shouting "Summoning jutsu!!" A puff of smoke formed, revealing three monkeys. All three were white, but differed in size and clothing. The largest had extremely spiky hair, and wore some kanji symbol that was indecipherable to Konohamaru. It also carried a bow staff. The middle one wore a cape that appeared to have armor underneath it, and only the front end of his hair stuck out. The smallest was about as big as Konohamaru, but he had a feeling power radiated from this one too. Its hair seemed to be in a buzz cut, and only wore a dark vest with gold trimmings.

"It's been a while since we were summoned, dad." The middle one said.

"It's been a while since YOU TWO were summoned!!" the little one screamed. "This is MY first time!" he emphasized, pointing to himself.

"This could be either a good thing or a really bad thing." Konohamaru thought grimly. He heard the more talkative summons were the most trouble.

"Trust me, son, you're going to like this." The large one said, beating his chest and smiling. It then turned around to Konohamaru. "First thing's first." It walked over, gripped the water rope around Konohamaru, and ripped it.

"Thanks." Konohamaru wheezed, clutching his side.

Hmph." The large one said. "You should have summoned us before you were injured. Summons fight WITH their master, not FOR them."

"My apologies. But I'm not hurt that bad." Konohamaru got in line with them and into a fighting stance. "So, you three ready to help me kick this guy's ass?" The three only roared and beat the ground in response. But that was all Konohamaru needed. He smiled and said "I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

Naruto finished his last seal. "I'll show you, Sasuke; whether you're a human or a demon, I have what it takes to stop you! Futon! Gyakufunsha no Jutsu!!" Naruto's body expanded to an inhuman width, and the jinchuriki shot fourth a huge blast of air towards the ground. It didn't damage anything down there, let alone Sasuke up above. Instead the gust made him shoot straight up. Fast.

"What the-!?" Sasuke dodged the incoming Naruto only by an inch. All of the air Naruto shot out eventually expired, and he fell like a stone once more. Normally, he would have panicked at the supposed lack of foresight, but he had a plan. He tried to reach for Sasuke, but the rouge nin kicked him away before he could touch him. But Naruto, just like back in the day, was excellent at improvising.

"Kage Bushin!" A make shift rope of Narutos immediately grabbed onto Sasuke's foot, and if he was using his new form of teleportation, Naruto was probably the one on top. Sure enough, the top one got on top of Sasuke as the other bushins fell. Naruto pulled on the Uchiha's wings and veered him toward the earth.

"Hey! Get off of me!!" Sasuke rotated in an attempt to shake Naruto off, but by then they were at a safe height, so Naruto simply jumped down.

The blonde' s head turned as he saw Gamabunta in the coils of Manda. The toad screamed when the giant snake spat an acidic substance into his eye. Naruto was momentarily distracted by the battle when he sensed Sasuke beginning to pounce on him. Naruto pulled out a three-pronged kunai and shouted "Fusansensa!" Sasuke stumbled back, feeling something cut him. Whatever it was, he wasn't bleeding, but the wound was there just the same.

Sasuke held his wound and looked at Naruto's weapon. "It's the type of weapon I've heard the Yodaime use!" he thought. Wind chakra stretched from the ends, making it look like a cross between a trident and a sai.

Normally, the two would have engaged in battle by now. But Naruto wasn't the type to leave a friend, even a summon, to fight when it meant certain death."I'll be right back." Naruto said. The jinchuriki ran toward the summons battle, hoping he would make it in time. Due to the imbalance of chakra within his system, he had to make another bushin to form his Rasengan. A small annoyance. Naruto ran up Gamabunta's head and hit Sasuke's summon right in the stomach. It didn't hurt enough to make it collapse, but it did loosen its hold on its prey. Naruto slapped Gamabunta's head, signaling it was him."Chief, give me some oil!!" The toad did so, and Naruto added some fire to it. "Gamyuendan!!" This time Manda did not have enough time to shed his skin and escape. The snake burned up, but he didn't die. Naruto was mentally preparing to fight with his summon, but he soon learned Sasuke would have none of it. He turned around and ducked a slice from Sasuke's sword in the nick of time. He was at the edge of his toad's head, so Naruto had to flip down from parts of the giant amphibian's body until he reached ground level. At the same time, Sasuke touched down, and attacked. Naruto continued to back away, with Sasuke catching up to him quick. The avenger found an opening, and thrust!! Little did he know, that's exactly what Naruto wanted. "Futon!! Kaze Harichiryou no Jutsu!!"

Naruto opened his mouth and concentrated air shot out towards Sasuke, stopping him dead in his tracks. He wasn't blown away…he felt like he got into a second round with Haku, but there were no physical needles to block. "Arrrgghhh!!" Sasuke stumbled backward, planting his sword to keep him on his feet.

"I learned that my affinity turned out to be Wind." Naruto said. "And I knew I would have to learn more than just Rasengan combos."

Sasuke got up and smiled, although inside he was nervous. The wind element, depending on how he planned to attack, would either be a perfect opportunity or a huge mistake on his part. "I'm not worried at all. Even if my affinity is lightning, I have learned plenty of fire jutsus as well."

Naruto just stared back. "Don't you know, teme? It's not your affinity that matters; it's how you use it." Kakashi relayed the story of his encounter with Sasuke to his students earlier, and Naruto himself was aware that even elemental affinities could backfire against his rival.

Sasuke simply chuckled in response. "True. But then again you're not known for your cleverness!! Only your dumb luck!!" Sasuke, without making a seal, swiped his hand. "Katon!! Hicross no Jutsu!!" Like extended claws, fire erupted from the air where Sasuke's fingernails had just been. Naruto received a burn on his thigh, but ignored it. He continued dodging the fire whips for dear life. "Go ahead, strike with your wind jutsus, Naruto!! Make these claws of fire even stronger!!"

Naruto made his hand signs and faced forward. On the last one, as he got ready to blow, Sasuke launched them forward. However, the wind never came, and Naruto crouched down to avoid the claws. "Futon!! Fugyasa!!" He blew right into the ground, and the next thing Sasuke knew, he was involuntarily flying in the air. The pressure from the wind hurt, and he could not concentrate to fly. Still reeling from the pain, a second later he kissed dirt.

The Uchiha struggled up, unwilling to go to down in such a humiliating way. "Why don't you just bow down like the dog you are!?" Sasuke grabbed his sword and charged it with his Chidori. Naruto immediately responded by pulling out another three-pronged kunai and infused it with his wind-chakra. The two slashed their blades, and engaged in a sword-fight.

Sometimes the blades collided. But other times, between the evading and blocking, each one managed to make a minor wound in the opponent. Sasuke's Chidori sword was able to inflict enormous amounts of pain, which even Naruto would scream at upon contact. But Naruto's blade made more efficient and deeper cuts.

Soon, Sasuke realized he would loose this battle by conventional means. He had to improvise! When Naruto leapt into the air and got ready to cut him down, Sasuke side-stepped at the last minute. He then took his sheath and swiped it underneath Naruto's leg. The fall caused Naruto to drop his kunai, and was left defenseless. "Let's see you use those fancy jutsus without any arms!!" Sasuke brought his sword down, but was met with another surprise.

"Futon!! Futoku Suihou no Jutsu!!" Wind surrounded Naruto in a perfect bubble, distorting his image. Sasuke couldn't stop his thrust in time, and hit it. The force was incredible!

"No! I will not miss this chance!!" He had enough of this struggle! It was now or never!! The only way to make Naruto watch Konoha's destruction was to cripple him!! Sasuke felt his sword vibrate, but continued to push! Then something gave, and Sasuke realized his mistake too late. Half of his sword flew straight up! "No…"

Naruto dissipated his shield and punched Sasuke away. It didn't hurt him much, but it was enough to make him stumble backwards. All Naruto needed for his next technique "Futon!! Amano Momiryouji no Jutsu!!" A tornado engulfed Sasuke, and threw him up in the middle. Sasuke roared in pain as some force raced up his back in different directions. It finally passed, and Sasuke dropped like a stone, unconscious.

Naruto was about to prepare another jutsu…but nearly collapsed himself. He felt exhausted. "Why? I've used these jutsus many times before, and I could keep going until…" Naruto then remembered what Sasuke did as soon as he transformed. "Kyuubi!!" he shouted. Then, in a moment of frustration, muttered "Of course." Even though Naruto these days had been training and focusing on using his chakra alone, the fact was that the Kyuubi involuntarily would always give him a little bit of chakra. Besides, the Kyuubi was apart of him for so long that it was naturally in tune with his chakra circulation. Naruto breathed quickly, evaluating his body. He needed to know what his limits were. "I'm tired. But I can still fight. I just need to watch my chakra."

Sasuke, in the mean time, woke up and got back on his feet. He nearly stumbled over again when he felt a sharp pain in his side. "This is the longest I've ever been in at level 2. I can't go on like this." Both were disrupted out of their thoughts when they felt a massive shockwave disrupt the earth. Gamabunta and Manda retrieved their weapons, and continued duking it out. Both ninjas ran toward their summons. Naruto rejoined Gamabunta, while Sasuke touched down on Manda.

"Chief, let's end it with that jutsu!" Naruto yelled.

"I couldn't agree more, kid!" the toad responded.

Sasuke stood atop Manda. "Let's kill that vermin first!" Both Naruto and Sasuke made their seals.

"Baku Gamumi!"

"Denkiunagi Semeku!!"

Manda wrapped his coils around Gamabunta, whose cheek sacs began to expand. Lightning travelled down Manda and onto Gamabunta, which caused Naruto to fall off. However, despite the pain he was in Gamabunta released his technique, and some kind of pus to fly everywhere. Sasuke avoided it, but Manda became covered in it, and began screaming in pain.

"Gah!! What is this!?" The skin on Manda began to dissolve, and all he could do was howl in pain. "Nooo!! Gamabunta, I swear…." His skull dissolved before he could finish.

Naruto got up himself, walking to Gamabunta, who laid on his side. "You still with me, Chief?"

The giant toad wheezed. "Yeah. I think it's time I really thought about retirement." With that, the toad vanished.

Naruto was relieved he was okay, but at the same time, felt great sadness from what the toad told him. He wasn't surprised; Gamabunta WAS old. He would have had to say goodbye anyway…

"Rai-"

Naruto turned around and instinctively prepared another jutsu. "Futon! Furyudan no Jutsu!!"

"Katon! Rasenryuushinkokyuu!!" A tornado of fire erupted from Sasuke's mouth, and Naruto realized his mistake too late. The fire passed through his air dragon, and became bigger. The fire scored a direct hit on Naruto. Naruto blocked, using his arms as a shield, but he may as well have taken the blow; the clothing was burned off, and his arms were black all over. Naruto winced in pain and collapsed. "Kukuku. You impressed me for a minute there Naruto. Indeed, your mastery of the wind element is impressive. But we Uchiha are known for our command of fire." Naruto gritted his teeth and managed to move his arms. With sheer will power, he formed a Rasengan and charged. However, Sasuke flew straight up before it could hit him.

"Like I said back then, you are strong. I acknowledge that." Sasuke began flying circles around him. "But as long as I remain up here, you won't land a scratch on me. Your mastery of the wind is not mastery at all if you can't fly!!" Naruto could only wait for the worst as he saw the familiar hand signs."Katon!! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!"

* * *

Orochimaru made a lunge for Sakura's neck. His fangs almost reached her, but her hand caught his neck in time. Still, he was a hair's width from biting her, and despite her great strength, she struggled to keep him away. Finally, using leverage, she jerked his head up and punched him across the jaw. However, the Dark Sanin's tongue wrapped around her neck, and used the momentum of his throw to launch her across the roof.

Orochimaru followed up by releasing several snakes, each carrying a sword in its mouth, heading straight for her. Sakura jumped straight up, and let loose several explosive kunai, obliterating the snakes. Sakura landed right near Orochimaru, and engaged him in hand to hand combat. Though she was a capable fighter who could give the likes of Rock Lee for his money, Orochimaru had far greater experience.

Sakura threw a punch, which the sanin side-stepped. Grabbing her wrist and kicking her legs from under her, he sent her falling on her back. Orochimaru looked her right in the face, and intended to impale her with the sword in his throat. Sakura reacted in time, and counterattacked. "Doku Kiri Jutsu!!" A purple haze shot from her mouth, covering the head of the Sanin. Orochimaru doubled back, wheezing. "Damn, he didn't inhale enough." Sakura growled. If he did, he would have collapsed without making a sound.

"So…it seems you know more than just brute strength."

Sakura simply replied "Medic-nins know more than how to heal and super strength. We must know an extensive knowledge of poisons and how the body works." Sakura ran forward again. "And I will use that knowledge against you!!" Sakura prepared to hit him with a massive power punch…but she instead met a Rashoumon. The door bent under her fist, but refused to break.

Orochimaru emerged from the other side, chuckling softly. Definitive scales started to form on his skin. Soon, he was covered in spike-like skin."Hebi Kawa Shuriken no Jutsu!" The scales launched right at Sakura, and she cart wheeled out of the way as fast as she could. Her body armor gave her some protection, but she was still cut badly. She reached into her thighs and threw several needles.

Orochimaru, in turn, ducked and weaved in between all of them. One nicked his hand though, and he felt it go numb immediately. "Shit!" Good thing he was right handed. Orochimaru retrieved his kusunagi and thrust. Sakura parried with a gauntlet, but it went right through. Sakura screamed in both pain and surprise at having her main means of defense shatter. Orochimaru pushed, forcing Sakura on her back. "It's true: the first priority of a medic-nin is to evade and protect themselves so they can heal their comrades. But the downside is, they avoid too many hits that by the time one does connect, they are overcome with pain."

Sakura winced, and glared at the Sanin in pure hatred. "You don't know a thing about medic-nins!" She grabbed the blade, forced herself up and once she was standing again, she used her free hand to reach over and grab Orochimaru's earring. Before he could utter a word, Sakura ripped in clean off. Orochimaru screamed and stumbled away, pulling his sword out of her hand as well. Sakura clutched her disabled hand, and began healing it immediately. She did not have enough time to do it completely; she'd have to leave it with a nasty scar for now.

Orochimaru pressed his left hand, having just recovered from the mild anesthetic, against the side of his head in rage. "AUGH!!" Orochimaru swung wildly, and this time, Sakura pulled out a scroll that contained her ANBU sword. She parried it, but upon first contact, when Orochimaru grazed her cheek, she knew that sword fighting was not an option; Orochimaru had far too much experience in swordsmanship for her to conquer. She jumped back and threw pellets at the sanin. They each exploded with concentrated hydrochloric acid. It wouldn't eat him up, but it was enough to cause parts of his skin to melt, which it was doing.

Orochimaru looked at her in sheer hatred…and smiled. His mouth expanded an impossible length, and a seemingly new, unharmed Orochimaru stepped out. "Nice try. But I can regenerate indefinitely."

Sakura simply smirked back. "Nice try, but I know you're bluffing. You've lost a good deal of strength, I know it. You used that move twice when fighting Naruto. After your second time, you retreated. Yamato restrained him by then, and you had an opportunity to get rid of a potential threat."

Orochimaru stepped back, stunned that someone as young as her could know. "She has too good of a memory. Uzumaki would've fell for it!!" Orochimaru hissed "You may be Tsunade's perfect apprentice… but you're not strong enough to defeat a Sanin!"

Orochimaru bit his thumb and preformed a summoning jutsu. It wasn't a big summon…a gold, two headed cobra, perhaps 30 feet long. "Even if Sasuke-kun allowed me to summon Manda, in this barrier that would be impossible." Orochimaru walked towards the snake's side and stroked it with a sense of pride. "But this one is perfectly capable of doing its true master's bidding."

Sakura responded by summoning a slug. Her summons were never very exotic looking, but the red stripes on this one were a nice touch. Not that it really mattered. Orochimaru directed his summon towards the kunoichi, and her summon got ready to defend. The slug shot needles straight at the snake, but the hood of one of the heads acted like a shield and deflected them. In a surprise attack, the cobra's tail blind-sided them both and sent them rolling on the roof. The two-headed serpent lunged again, but the slug started a chemical reaction on its stripes that formed a blinding light. The snake, having no eyelids to protect it from light, went berserk.

Orochimaru growled "Oh, for the love of-" He ran up to the summon, as Sakura did hers. Snakes erupted out of Orochimaru's arms and wrapped themselves around the cobra's neck. It looked like he was strangling it, but Sakura knew better. She didn't know exactly what he was doing, but she knew it would be bad news for her. Simultaneously, her slug became bloated, almost as if it were ready to burst. The snakes, suddenly, bored themselves into the cobras' necks. Then, what looked like a cob of corn erupted from each of their mouths. "Gatapishi no Jutsu!" The rattles shook, and made a deafening sound. Sakura grabbed her head immediately and crouched down. It was painful, but it didn't cripple her. She punched her own slug…and it burst.

Thousands of smaller slugs landed on the cobra and Orochimaru. At first neither one paid it any heed, but then Orochimaru realized what was happening. Quickly he brushed the slugs off. His summon, however, convulsed and thrashed around. The slugs bored into its skin and melted it away.

Sakura dispelled her initial summon and jumped right in Orochimaru's face. After a round kick to each arm, she smashed the Sanin through the roof. For the longest time, she stared through the roof. She doubted that Orochimaru was dead…but there was a good chance he was knocked out. She hoped, at least. Her attention shifted when she heard Tsunade cough. "Shishou!!" The blonde Sanin was struggling to rise, but clearly, looking at the way she was stumbling, that was not going to happen anytime soon unless she got some help. Sakura had to cleanse her of the poison now!! In prime fighting condition, they could beat Orochimaru together!! She was almost upon her…and the next thing she knew she was sent sky high. "Wha-" Her exclamation was interrupted by a cough of blood. When she looked down, she would've gasped in horror if she could: a sword was impaled in her stomach.

Orochimaru's head, which had the long sword protruding out, emerged. "Snakes are the ultimate predators, despite the fact they have no limbs to tear their prey apart." He said, the sword still protruding. He retracted it, and Sakura hit the roof hard. She almost cried from the pain of being stabbed in the stomach, and felt her own blood seep onto the roof. But it wouldn't last for long. Orochimaru would kill her before lack of blood did.

She was about to put her palms to her wound…but two hands grabbed them before they could touch her target. Orochimaru held them behind her back. He must've used his shedding technique to regenerate his body again! His grip was a bit weak, but in her condition, it was more than enough to restrain her. "It's time to end this, Haruno. You've done your master proud, more so than Shizune. But I have always been the best of the Sanin, and you have not reached your peak!!" Orochimaru let go of her arms, only to grab hold of her neck. "And you never will."

Tsunade woke up, and saw what was going on. "No!! I've lost Shizune, but I will not loose Sakura!!" She immediately began to utilize her Souzou Saizei…but her hand immediately went to the surface of the roof and was pinned down by another of Orochimaru's swords. Tsunade struggled to get the sword off her hand, but she didn't have the strength to pull it out. If anything, she was beginning to feel weaker, and her whole body felt like it was on fire!

"YOU just stay there and be quiet!!" Orochimaru seethed. Then a huge grin appeared on his face. "That last sword I just used contains a poison that kills within an hour. You don't have very long to live. So…" He then threw Sakura in front of him, never releasing his hold. "I'll make your last moments your worse!! Watch as the last person you hold dear dies, realizing that you've done nothing to prevent it!!" He resumed choking Sakura, and the look he was getting from Tsunade was to his utmost satisfaction.

* * *

"Suiton!! Howaiaizame Kubi no Jutsu!!" At the speed of a falcon, a white blast of water in the shape of a shark jettisoned forward from where Shumokuzame stood.

"Fuuken Oogama!!" Temari shot her fan out, and a visible blade made of air cut the head off. It was still flying towards them, just not as fast as before.

"Kage Toku!" Shikamaru transformed his shadow into a shield, protecting them both from the water. As soon as it dispelled, Shikamaru reached for a spare kunai. Shumokuzame was gone! Their search for him didn't take long however; soon the two clones he fought earlier were upon them! The lights on their skin distorted both of the nins, but neither one of them faltered in their defenses. "How are you holding in their, Temari?" Shikamaru called as he shin-kicked one of the clones.

"I'm managing!" Temari beat her opponent across the head, not realizing just how elastic he was.

"My my, I thought you were just cute! But now that I know you pack a punch, I think you're fucking HOT!!"

Temari gave a face of shock for a split second, and quickly spread her fan. "Sanjuhikihanatsu!!" Three tornadoes shot out from her direction towards her opponent. The ends sucked his head, arm and leg in. The next thing he knew, he was screaming in pain. The parts of his body within the twisters were ripped off, leaving his corpse on the ground.

"You idiot!!" Shikamaru cried. "His body…" Shikamaru took a good look at the remains: it wasn't spawning anything new! "His original body is the only one that can multiply!!" Shikamaru went down as the other clone kicked him from behind.

"We might as well just fight her!! The last of the flames have been extinguished!! You're nothing but dead wait to her!!" Shikamaru backed off while the other clone hurled shuriken at him. "What a man you are!! A real heartbreaker, no!?" Suddenly, he stopped. "What!? What's going on!? I can't move!?"

Shikamaru smirked. "A technique I don't get to show off very often: Kage Shuriken." He pointed to the floor a few feet away from where his assailant stood. The clone looked down, and saw that a kunai covered in chakra pinned his shadow. Wait a minute…a shadow!? "You haven't been keeping good track of time, have you?" Shikamaru pointed eastward, which the clone could do only by moving his eyes. The sun! It was dawn! "I think the tables have just turned." Shikamaru snickered. He extended his own shadow to make contact with the clone's and control him. Shikamaru ran forward, taking his opponent with him. Suddenly, on his command, the two leapt and dived. This would've normally been a bad move for Shikamaru, as a complete jump disconnects whoever his shadow caught. However, the clone probably could not react in time to take control of his body, and probably landed wrong. And Shikamaru directed him into an abandoned building, which separated the two. The jonin then pinned kunai with explosive tags all over the base and roof of the building.

"You bastard!!" the clone shouted from inside. "I'll kill…" The weapons exploded, and the building collapsed. Shikamaru got a weapon out, just in case this clone survived the calamity.

He suddenly heard the same voice, but not from the building. "Don't worry. That spawn of mine is dead." Shumokuzame walked forward, grinning wickedly. "But be careful. Pierce me like that again, and you'll have to start all over."

Shikamaru just growled, while Temari came to his side. Shikamaru didn't see it coming, but the sand ninja whacked him over the head. "OW!!" Shikamaru screamed, clutching his head. "What the hell was that for!?"

Temari pulled the shadow nin to her face, looking pissed. In fact, if you asked Shikamaru, he would've sworn he stared death in the face. "That's for calling me an idiot!!" Temari seethed.

Shikamaru abandoned his calm demeanor and waved his hands frantically. "I'm sorry, alright!? I just wasn't sure you saw my fight with this guy, particularly the part where my shadow stabbed him!! And I didn't know his clones didn't possess the same ability as him!!" A moment of silence hung in the air between the two. Finally, Shikamaru sighed. "I panicked, and I called you something I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

Temari finally let him down on his feet. "Fair enough." she muttered.

"Uh, hello, guys?" Shumokuzame said waving his hand. "I'm getting fucking bored over here!!" His two opponents finally acknowledged him, and faced him smiling.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Temari replied sweetly. They rushed upon him, and Shumokuzame was forced to use his blades both as shields and weapons. He slashed at them, they dodged, they took a jab at him, and he jumped out of the way.

The swordsman spun around to block an incoming strike from Temari's closed fan. "Ohh, so strong!! I'm beginning to like you more and more!!" Shumokuzame pushed, forcing Temari back a few meters.

"If that's what you consider a turn-on, you should meet Haruno." Temari swung her fan, knocking the swordsman off-balance. "Fuusajin!" She swung once again, turning the ground under Shumokuzame's feet into sand.

The swordsman lost his balance, and fell in a way that could not possibly be considered ninja grace. "You bitch!!" The swordsman got up to attack once more, but did not notice in time the wire that shot between them. He touched it, and an explosion sent him flying backwards. Lying on the ground, the Kiri ninja just stared at Shikamaru, who launched the trap.

"What?" the shadow nin asked.

Shumokuzame just grinned, despite his embarrassing position. "You can't use anymore shadow techniques, can you?"

Shikamaru let his emotions slip, and his eyes widened. A normal person wouldn't have caught it, but ninja were good at finding things normal people can't. Shumokuzame shot up and fired another white water shark. Temari pushed him out of the way and took the attack herself. "Temari!!" Shikamaru ran over to the soaked sand-nin. She was stunned, but not badly hurt.

As he helped her up, she asked "Is it true? You can't do anymore shadow techniques?"

Shikamaru looked away in shame. Their opponent already knew the truth, and he had nothing to loose by telling her. "I've fought for a while now, using advanced shadow techniques." He mumbled. "Maybe…"

Shikamaru reached into his pocket. Even halfway out, Temari recognized what it was. "No!!" She pushed his hand down.

"You can't fight him alone, and without this, I'll be of no use to you!!" Shikamaru shouted.

"You're the idiot here!!" Temari screamed. "This isn't about you being any used to me." Shikamaru looked her right in the eye, and was shocked at what he saw: She was crying. "Just rest." she pleaded. She then let go of his hand, seemingly reluctantly, and leapt to face off with Shumokuzame.

The swordsman swung his bladed body at her, never getting in a killing blow, but she would not come out of it unscarred. Temari swung her fan back, blowing the man away. At first, it seemed evenly matched, but the kunoichi was tiring. And the swordsman knew it. All Shikamaru could do was watch. And for some reason, this formed a pit in his stomach, the likes of which he never felt before…

* * *

"Keikan!!" Jiraya formed his pin hair again, but this time, the individual hairs shot straight out. Akkisebire blocked them with his father-turned weapon and charged. He was fast, and Jiraya was unable to block the incoming kick. He stumbled, but Jiraya was still a big man. He grabbed the kid and slammed him to the ground. Akkisebire made a slash at the Sanin's legs, but Jiraya jumped straight up in order to keep his legs. Suddenly, the kid felt something fleshy wrap around his waist. Akkisebire looked behind him to see a red toad, and what was wrapped around him was his tongue. "Summons. The most famous jutsu of The Legendary Three!" Jiraya shouted as he gave a thumbs up.

"**Use it, son!!"**

Akkisebire made his signs. "Anton!! Han'Ya Ookami no Jutsu!!" An urethral wolf formed out of the ground, and charged at the toad. The ground dissolved in its paw prints.

Jiraya acted quickly and dispelled his summon in time. However, the energy wolf did not dissolve; it turned around and headed for him. "Shit!!" Jiraya leapt away from the wolf as its body melted the building behind him.

"Anton!! Raifu Vacuum no Jutsu!!" Bursts of black energy surged from the ground and combined in the sky.

"Why do I have a feeling that thing is aimed at me?" Jiraya moaned. Indeed it shot straightforward at him.

"**Enjoy your last few seconds alive, old man!!" **Shachi bellowed. **"That tube of dark energy will suck every ounce of your life force away!! You'll be nothing but a decayed body!! HAHAHA…"** He felt the stolen life energy flow through their bodies…and it ended. **"What!? There should be more!!" **Human bodies generated much more life energy than what he was getting.

When the technique dissipated, he found out why: some sort of cocoon stood where Jiraya had been. It crumbled, revealing a shaken toad sage. "Shit, that was close!!" he shouted. He regained his composure and stared his two opponents down. "Well, I'm sorry, but this battle has gone on for too long. So, I'd say we finish it!!"

"**For once, I couldn't agree more."** The blade replied.

Jiraya shot his hair out, trying to trap them again. Akkisebire released several dark techniques Jiraya had never seen, but he dodged them all. Then, Jiraya crouched down. "Yomi Numa!!" The ground beneath the child immediately turned mucky and sucked him in. Jiraya was hoping for a string of curse words, but instead he got laughter.

"**Perfect!! This is the perfect medium for our best technique!! Anton!! Akumu no Kuiaratame!!"** A black oil oozed out of the mud hole at an incredibly fast rate. Had Jiraya knew it was coming, he would've dodged it by only a hair. But he didn't anticipate it, and it consumed him…

* * *

"_Where am I?" Jiraya asked. As far as he could see, there was nothing but a black void. Then, he heard sobbing. He turned around and was shocked at what he saw. "Tsunade!?" Something wasn't right, he could tell that much immediately. Not only was her being here impossible…she looked eighteen. Jiraya's first instinct was to dispel the genjutsu…if this was genjutsu at all. No genjutsu that he knew of was combined with some elemental release, which he knew he was attacked with. _

"_How could you?" the supposedly fake Tsunade asked. _

"_What?" _

"_You never cared a thing about me, did you!?" she shrieked. Jiraya stumbled at a loss of words. Just what was going on? "You were oblivious to how I felt!! Back when my brother died, you went off to do your own thing!! And you never did anything to protect Dan when I couldn't save him!!" The young, tear-stained Tsunade turned to stare at him with a face of fury. "What kind of teammate are you!!" Jiraya couldn't say anything. Everything she said…_

"_Kuku. You've cared more about pretty girls then you did being a true shinobi, Jiraya." Jiraya spun to face a young Orochimaru. "You've missed having me as a comrade and friend, haven't you? And you keep whining about how you failed to bring me back, didn't you? Face it, you've just had your priorities elsewhere!!" _

"_You've always been a disappointment, Jiraya." The Sanin spun around again to face his deceased sensei. He was starting to believe that he was actually sent to hell! "It took you so long to truly understand __ninjutsu, and since then you've hardly applied it where it matters most!! You could have become a great Hokage, but you've done nothing but squander your gifts!!" _

"_You've failed me and my family most of all." _

_Jiraya, despite what he was seeing, could not believe he heard that voice. Slower than the other three times, he turned. And there he was: Namikaze Minato. "It can't be…" _

_Indeed, he was there, wearing his Hokage robes. And instead of the usual happy face he had, his face showed pure hatred."You make me sick. I looked up to you. You used to be there for me. I named my own son after a fictional character you created. I trusted you to look after my wife and son after I gave my life to the village." Then, there was perhaps the most unsettling pause between two people in history. "AND WHAT DO YOU DO!? You loose her, and you don't even take my son with you!! You didn't even stop by to visit him!!" The Yodaime was visibly crying. "I'm ashamed to have ever called you my sensei." _

_Then, visions assaulted Jiraya all at once. The tragedies of Tsunade, the death of his sensei, the terrible things Orochimaru had done, and watching his student's only child suffer from loneliness…_

* * *

"**My personal favorite. It's a jutsu that magnifies the regrets the victim has over his lifetime."** Shachi bragged. **"He will be tormented by those he held dear, visions of his failings will invade his mind. At best, he will be alive but insane. At worst…well, it's over either way."**

* * *

"Let's begin!!" Konohamaru yelled he and the three monkeys charged ahead.

"Suiryudan!!" Lei shot several water dragons at them, but the summons protected Konohamaru. The young Sarutobi leaped on top of the big one and threw some shuriken. Lei Gong dodged it, but was caught off guard by the bo-staff the big ape yielded. The former Mizukage avoided a direct hit, but still, his side was badly bruised. He turned around too late to see the caped one roar. It's eyes glowed red, and its fur became spiked. It attacked him in an onslaught of punches, stronger than what the old man estimated. Then the little one came at him with indecipherable but effective attacks that left several scratches on him.

The swordsman backed away, preparing an attack, but stopped. He began to breathe heavily, and gripped his heart. "Curses! Hold in there just a little longer!! I can go to my grave happily knowing that my revenge is fulfilled!!"

Konohamaru saw him struggling, and despite their impending doom, he couldn't help but feel sorry for this man. "We must attack!" The large ape said.

Konohamaru bit his lip and said "Yeah…I know." Konohamaru prepared his seals. "Tooboe Zangetsu!!" The three monkeys plus Konohamaru gathered up their chakra within their mouths, and fired towards the ceiling, which was now about a quarter of the way down. The chakra blasts were reflected off, and landed in all directions.

Lei raced furiously to dodge them all. In his youth, these things couldn't have hoped to touch him. Today that was a different matter. The blasts were managing to singe his clothes, reminding him of the very large possibility that he would be hit. Cart wheeling backwards, Lei dodged one blast, and noticed to too late another one was coming straight at him. It hit full force, and the former Mizukage landed in a heap.

Konohamaru breathed. "Did we get him?" Before his apes could reply, water like tendrils erupted and pierced them all.

Lei Gong, with one arm limp, rose and smiled, ignoring his predicament. "Suiton. Satsuika no Jutsu." He chuckled, relishing Konohamaru's gut injury and the crippled summons. "Any good kage must learn one-handed signs. For example…" He demonstrated another jutsu with only one hand. "Koishi shuriken no Jutsu!!" Rocks of random sizes on the ground flew straight at Konohamaru and his three companions. There was nothing any of them could do other than just bear the pain. Konohamaru collapsed, as the pebbles made tiny but damaging holes in his body. His summons were in the same predicament as well.

Lei Gong began to chuckle, which then became a mad laugh. "Hahahaha….This is it!! This is the fight I wanted!!" Lei Gong looked up. The ceiling was only about six meters in the sky. Lei Gong cricked his neck and shrugged. "I could just go and leave you to your doom. But I'd much rather have the satisfaction of your blood on my hands." Almost by magic, one of his hookswords came to his good arm. "You have fought well, and as much as I hate to admit it, a shinobi like you deserves an honorable death." As he walked over, Konohamaru struggled to get up. His summons were not dispelled yet. Each of them could still fight!

"Boy." The eldest grunted. "Can you move?"

"No choice." Konohamaru grunted. "I have to. I don't care what happens to me, but I won't let Moegi die!!" Screaming, Konohamaru struggled up.

The big ape just had to smile. "Your old man saw a lot in you, and I'd say he has good eyes." Soon, the main ape arose himself, and gave orders to his sons. "You two, transform!! Don't let the ceiling sink any lower than it has!!"

The other two stood up and yelled "Yes sir!" They ran to opposite sides of the water wall and yelled "Transform!!" The two apes transformed into staffs similar to what Enma did, and stretched to the incoming electrical ceiling. They bent a bit under the pressure, sparks flew, but in a few seconds they stabilized.

"My turn!!" the remaining ape yelled. "Transform!!" In a puff of smoke, he changed into a giant three sectioned staff, and landed in the hands of Konohamaru.

Konohamaru closed his eyes, just to clear his mind the best he could. He took the moment to remember all those close to him: his teammates. Naruto. Sakura. Even Ebisu. But for some reason, the memory of 

his dead grandfather came to mind. The image became clear, almost like he was really in front of him, with his back turned. For some reason, instead of the hokage robes he remembered him wearing, he was in his ninja attire. Suddenly, the image turned around, and Konohamaru saw that he was much younger than he remembered him. But he could tell it was him, no mistake. Despite the fact that he looked ready for battle, he seemed to have a warm smile on his face, just like he remembered. Konohamaru nearly jerked back when he actually felt his grandfather's ghost place his hands his shoulders. "Do not be afraid, Konohamaru." He said. "Ninjas, no matter how skilled, always walk on the edge of death. And no matter what you hear about how shinobi must not show fear, we are all afraid." Konohamaru was only stunned silent. "But," his grandfather continued. "we still fight. Fights for honor are worthless, and will lead to one's downfall. But, fighting to protect those you love…" His grandfather seemed to disappear and reappear behind him. Konohamaru felt his touch again. It was almost felt almost as if a father was wishing his son luck. "It's time, grandson. Show him our Will of Fire will always burn bright!!"

Konohamaru's eyes snapped back to reality, and saw Lei charge forward with his sword. As it came down, Konohamaru used the center-piece to block it. He parried it, twisted, and struck one of the end sticks in the back of the old man's neck. The former kage skidded across the floor and hit the wall. As he was struggling up, Konohamaru twirled his summon-turned-weapon. "Sorry, old man." Konohamaru said. He stopped spinning his weapon and got into a proper fighting position. "But this is far from over."

* * *

"Aren't you finished yet!?" Udon shouted at Ebisu. "Konohamaru is fighting a mist swordsman in case you have forgotten, and Moegi could die any minute now!!" It was so unlike Udon to yell, but given the circumstances, this was completely understandable. Then there was his own frustration at being unable to do anything. He trained hard for a long time, but in the end, he was always the least powerful of his teammates.

"I assure you, Udon, I'm just as mad about my progress than you are." Ebisu said, finishing his hand signs. He focused his chakra, and managed to form a small break in the water wall. However, it only lasted for a second.

"Damn it! This barrier is Kage level. Even if I do open it, I'll have used up most of my chakra. The only other way I can think of to pass through is if the fiend uses this wall as a weapon. That should weaken the outside for me in order to slip in." Ebisu breathed deeply, and prepared to break it on his own again. "But not only is that wishful thinking; it could kill him! I must do this on my own!!" He made more signs, and tried again…

* * *

Temari smashed her closed fan against Shumokuzame's bladed arms. The swordsman doubled back and made a spinning motion towards her. Temari blocked it from tearing out a vital organ, but she still got a bad cut on her arm. She stared him down again when he landed. What could she do? Simply blowing him away and smashing him would do no good. If she cut him up, she would have to deal with three of him. She could summon…no, Kamatachi sliced things up as well. In the end, Shikamaru was the ninja most capable of defeating this guy. But he used his best techniques, and he was out of chakra now. There was one way he could regain it, but there was a very good chance it would cost him his life. She hung out with him and his team before, and she got to know them and their abilities quite well. Finally, she came up with a strategy that MIGHT work. The timing would have to be precise, and there was absolutely no room for error. She looked up to the building where Shikamaru laid perched, watching her. Temari could clearly see that his face was contorted in frustration. The frustration of being helpless in itself was bad enough, but the frustration of watching a comrade fight unable to help must have been terrible. Even she was in that position a couple of times. Suna had its share of S-class criminals as well. Temari gave a slight smile towards him, even if he couldn't see. She just wanted to let him know it would be alright. "Time to get to work." she whispered.

She ran forward, letting out a battle cry. Shumokuzame chuckled, and ran towards her. "Fool!! "

Just when she was within arm's reach, she opened her fan and smashed it into the ground. Shumokuzame fell back out of instinct, and realized his mistake too late. Temari jumped over the fan and attacked. Most shinobi would at least have a kunai on them, but Shumokuzame had to give her credit; she learned from a mistake her comrade made. But even so, neither bare hands nor futon jutsus that cut up their targets would work against him! He dodged a few strikes Temari threw at him, deciding to have some fun. He then began to slash, making Temari take the defensive.

"What's the matter, cutey-pie!? Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you!! I'm just trying to relieve you of those annoying clothes is all!!" One of his blades finally connected with the upper portion of her uniform, leaving a scratch that did not break the skin.

"Well, that makes sense." Temari muttered under her breath in disgust. She KNEW his strikes were slowing down, but she couldn't figure out why! A shinobi of his level shouldn't have tired out at this point in time!! Then Temari grinned. "I think I know of a way to make my plan even better!" she thought to herself.

Shumokuzame prepared another slash, hoping to take her entire top off. The next second, he connected with something, but he was shocked with what, and even more shocked with why. Temari was impaled by the arm blade! It wasn't that his precision was off and caused him to put too much force into it; she threw herself onto it!!

Shumokuzame growled in disgust. "Stupid bitch!! I admit, you may not have enjoyed the results, but it was not worth suicide!!" Then, she vanished in a puff of smoke, and before the swordsman could say the most common response to this predicament, his body was wrapped with wires. And upon closer inspection, he saw they were lined with explosive tags.

The real Temari rose behind the fan, smiling. "The instant you couldn't see me for even one second, you should have known I was using a clone."

Shumokuzame was taken back by this, but chuckled despite himself. "Of course. The basics are the simplest concepts to grasp, yet the hardest to remember."

Temari wasted enough time, and threw a kunai onto one of the tags. "Goodbye." She said coldly. The tag exploded, and the others followed.

"Oh, we've still got time." Shumokuzame cackled and dissolved into a puddle of water.

"A Mizubushin!!" The sand kunoichi cursed. She prepared for an ambush, but then something occurred to her. She didn't know how she knew; she just did. In horror, she shouted "Shikamaru!!" She retrieved her fan and used it to fly towards him.

* * *

Shikamaru realized what was going on: Shumokuzame now targeted him!! Shikamaru quickly scanned his surroundings, but was not prepared to find the swordsman an inch from his face in that same instant! Too close to react, Shikamaru was clenched and took the force of a knee to his ribs. Shumokuzame then threw him to the other side of the roof, knocking the wind out of him. Cackling madly, the swordsman yelled "Don't take this too personal! I'm just eliminating the competition!!"

He charged, and Shikamaru knew his one chance of survival could very well kill him as well. Shikamaru closed his eyes…and felt a trickle of blood splash on his face. He opened his eyes, and his face conveyed nothing but pure horror; he couldn't even scream in shock. Temari had taken the blow for him! The blade must have been at least three inches in her stomach!

Shumokuzame wasn't pleased himself. "Well, damn girl. I was planning on killing him and making you go all emo and stuff. But you had to spoil it all." The swordsman yanked his arm away, and it's serrated edge caused a much more serious injury than a normal blade would have.

Temari collapsed, and Shikamaru ran to her. "Temari! Temari!!" Temari, whose face seemed frozen throughout the ordeal, blinked. She slowly turned her head towards Shikamaru, and despite her predicament, smiled. Slowly, she brought her hand up to Shikamaru's face, caressing his cheek. Shikamaru didn't know what was going on, but it made him feel warm. At the same time, he felt his heart break into thousands of pieces. When her hand fell to the ground, Shikamaru finally realized why the kunoichi was always on his mind, whether she be near or far. Shikamaru hurriedly checked her vital signs; she was alive, but she wouldn't last unless she got some help. Right now, the whole village had gone to shit, so there was no point in hoping for that. Quickly, he tore off the top portion of his Shinobi outfit, and tied it tightly around her wound. Doing the best job he could, he gently picked her up, and laid her at the side of the building. "Wait for me." he whispered. He couldn't say what he just realized yet; she HAD to be awake for him to say it.

Shikamaru got up, and glared at the swordsman, who leaned against a door with his arms crossed. "You may find this hard to believe," the mist nin said "but I tend to get sentimental with these sorts of things. I kill, I betray…and yet moments like that always get to me." Shumokuzame finally stood straight and stretched. "So, you ready to go at it again? You can shout all the revenge for your love nonsense all you want; it ain't happening."

Shikamaru just shrugged. "Despite the fact that you're a fucking mad-man…you are kind of cool." Shikamaru reached into his pockets. "Ready whenever you are." Shumokuzame's mad grin revived, and the swordsman charged once more…

* * *

"Housenka no Jutsu!!" Sasuke, flying in the air, fired a volley of fireballs, leaving Naruto on the defensive. The blonde was running low on chakra, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have noticed his fatigue. His arms, though still mobile, felt like pins and needles. Naruto threw shuriken at his former teammate, but none of them could hope to reach the Uchiha at his height. "Face it Naruto. In the end, I'm the superior one!!" Sasuke formed his chidori, and launched his chidori senbon.

Naruto continued to run for it, but one of the projectiles scratched his back. The jinchuriki screamed in pain, the electricity running down his spine and across his body. He struggled to turn over to his side…and Sasuke stomped down on him. When the Uchiha brought his hands around Naruto's neck, Naruto managed to get something out. "Sasuke…do you hate me that much? What about the memories we had together?"

For some reason, this made Sasuke think back to the past. Back when they were kids. They barely spoke to one another. And yet, some unspoken bond formed between them. They were both all alone, and no one understood them. But in the end, it was their abilities that divided them. He was the prodigy, and everything came natural to him. Naruto, on the other hand, worked for everything, and still failed. By some miracle, he finally became a genin, and Sasuke was stuck with him as a partner. All he asked was that neither he nor the girl would get in his way. His revenge was for him and for him alone. However, as time went on, he found that he couldn't imagine his life without them. Their jonin instructor, Kakashi, taught him so much, including the one technique that would become his signature move. Sakura could be annoying. But it was still nice to have someone care about him. Naruto…he couldn't put his finger on it. At first, he did think of him as an annoyance. But since their mission into Wave Country, he began to respect him more and more. Even though he would never admit it, it was actually fun watching the idiot trying to surpass him. And whether it was a mission of respectable level or the chunin exam, he always had their best interests in mind. When he was incapacitated for whatever reason, Naruto could always get the job done. Soon, he did consider him as both a friend and as a worthy adversary.

But when he saw Naruto battle that…thing, during the chunin exams, his hopes of becoming stronger had been shattered. Then he finally saw him again…the reason why his clan was gone, the reason he lived his whole life in hate: his brother, Itachi. Sasuke attacked, believing destiny had rewarded him for all of his hard work…but he found that comparing himself to his brother was like comparing a candle to the sun. As soon as he awoke from the Tsukiyomi, he couldn't conceive it: He just knew there was no way in hell Itachi could have beaten that creature. But Naruto did. And Naruto…his thoughts jumped to their fight on the rooftop. Though it seemed Sasuke had an edge, Naruto proved he could stand up to him. Then, they formed their best techniques. Kakashi broke up the fight before it could go any further. Sasuke was at first satisfied, but then he saw the damage Naruto's technique could have done. He got no sympathy from Kakashi. At first, he thought he would have some friends to keep him company, if nothing else. But it was then that he realized no one understood him. Except Orochimaru, even if his motives were for his own self-interests. Then the sound four came, and found out against them he was nothing. That was when he made the decision to go to Orochimaru. They said in obtaining the ability to reach the curse mark 2, he would loose his free will. But when he finally awoke, he laughed: Nothing changed!! Except for the incredible power that flowed within him. At the Valley of the End, Sasuke began to realize the truth about him and Naruto: Naruto was his dearest and only friend. And to beat Itachi, he would acquire the Magenkyo. But as they fought, Naruto proved that whenever he became stronger, Naruto could match it. At the peak of their powers, Sasuke finally defeated him. But he couldn't bring himself to kill him; no, he would not succumb to his brother's wishes.

Finally, his years of training with Orochimaru had paid off. But fate would deal him a humiliation worse than defeat: the man he had sought to kill his whole life was dispatched. And it was Naruto who was to blame. "You've spoken of bonds, right?" Sasuke asked, snapping back to reality and tightening his hold. "I just realized: there is something both you and Itachi have in common. I have had bonds of love with the both of you. And in the very end, both of you betrayed me. At least with bonds of hate…those you have such a bond with would do something you'd expect them to." Sasuke flung Naruto into another building that looked like it would collapse. The Uchiha flung his wires around the building. "Ryuuka no Jutsu!!" Breathing fire on them, he lit the entire block on fire. He then stared into the sky. "Gouryuka no Jutsu!!" He fired another dragon head straight up. At first, it looked like he just wasted chakra. But no. While the preparations cost him a good amount of chakra, everything was in place. He was about to fly up again, but nearly doubled over in pain. Instinctively, he gripped the side of his shoulder. "The cursed seal." He muttered. "I have to finish this. Now." Naruto always mucked up his plans, and this time was no exception; he was too strong to simply disable. Sasuke realized that at this point, he would have to kill him. He stood up and took to the air once more.

At the same time, Naruto came bursting through the nightstand as the building burned. He looked frantically around for Sasuke, but found his opponent up in the air laughing. "This is it Naruto!! I initially was going to use this technique on you back when you and that replacement came!! Orochimaru was right about one thing though; back then, using this jutsu on you would have been a waste. Now, it's a different story. Consider yourself honored, Naruto; I was saving this just for Itachi." He raised his hand toward the sky. "I've warmed the atmosphere in order to create a storm. Then I use my chakra to control the lighting. Not only will I control a power beyond that of any ninja…it's impossible to avoid." The lightning crackled above him. "I call it Kirin. Goodbye, Naruto." The lighting, faster than any human eye could see, took the shape of a chimera and headed straight for him…

* * *

Lei made another slash at the young Sarutobi, but Konohamaru blocked once more the middle section. He then spun around and wacked the swordsman with another end of the weapon again. Lei stumbled, and clenched his teeth. That weapon was too unpredictable, and fast! If only he had been young again…"I suppose you have…delayed my goal…but once I kill you, I will rest, and return to finish what I've started!!"

Konohamaru twirled his weapon once more. He wanted the fight over now!! Even though his summons have managed to hold off what would have been his death, Moegi was still in danger. She might already…"No!!" Refusing to think about it any longer, Konohamaru charged right at the former Mizukage. The sound of sticks against metal rang throughout the battlefield. Konohamaru made another swipe with his three-sectioned-staff, which Lei dodged. Or so he thought. It wrapped around his body and pulled him in towards the chunin, who used the opportunity to have his knee meet the old man's stomach.

At first, it looked like Konohamaru was truly gaining the upper hand. But unseen to him, the old man smiled. "Mizushuriken no Jutsu!!"

Suddenly, something came straight out of the water wall and attacked Konohamaru. "AAAHHH!!" The chunin thought the guy had some henchmen lying in wait. But as soon as he fell to the floor, he realized it wasn't a sneak attack by other ninja. He saw one of the weapons become transparent and turn into a small drop of water. He made his own barrier a weapon!

"This wall isn't just a barrier to prevent escape or infiltration." Lei whispered. "It can also serve as a weapon. Normally, I prefer not to use such methods, but you left me little choice." He raised his weapon, expecting this to be the last blow. "Goodbye."

Konohamaru, feeling defeated, closed his eyes. He didn't know how they managed to fall before the sword, but he could feel himself crying. Sure, he was afraid to die. His grandfather just told him everyone does. But what it was that was getting to him was the shame that he could not even become a great ninja. He would not be able to take this one opponent with him. Worse…he let his teammate down. No matter how valiant his effort was, it was a shame he could not cope with. Just then, he realized something: He had a lot of time to think about all of this. In fact, too much. Even with relativity, he should've been long dead. He finally felt something warm on his head. He slowly opened his eyes, and tapped it. Blood! But he wasn't in any pain. Not even adrenaline could do that, not in his state!! He finally looked forward, and saw that blood was not his own. Ebisu was struggling with Lei, gripping the old man's neck and driving a kunai into his shoulder! Just when Konohamaru's hopes elated, he screamed in horror. Lei's sword pierced right through Ebisu's torso!! It was his blood that splattered on Konohamaru's face!! "Ebisu!!"

"How!?" Lei growled.

"I believe you forgot one important thing about barriers…like these…" Ebisu wheezed. "When you used it…as a….weapon…you weakened its defensive abilities, and I took the opportunity to jump inside." Ebisu, despite his predicament, managed to push the swordsman forward. He probably could not have done that had the swordsman was well-rested.

"You insignificant….!" Lei Gong let go of his weapon and back-handed the jonin. Before Ebisu flew too far away, the swordsman grabbed his weapon and pulled it out, widening the man's wound. Ebisu landed with a thud, the blood flowing freely on the ground.

Konohamaru shot up and shouted "Ebisu! Ebisu!!" Konohamaru nearly ran to him, but somehow, despite the emotional situation, his ninja instincts kicked in. He couldn't help Ebisu. Not yet. Going to him would get them both killed. To save him, he needed to end this fight. Konohamaru whispered dangerously to his summon "Call your sons now."

* * *

_Jiraya at this point was gripping his head in agony. The taunts from Orochimaru, he could take. At least in short term. But the scorn he got from the people he still held dear…he realized they were right. He failed each of them. He would've defended what he did before, but the fact was his inner demons prevented him from doing what had to be done when the going got tough. As he traveled the world, he became somewhat detached to his sensei. He was distraught when Minato died, and the grief of loosing his student made it too much for him to stay in Konoha on a long term basis. And Tsunade…suddenly, he remembered Naruto. _

_He thought back to when they met again, although in Naruto's memory that was the first time they met. It was a pain teaching him, but it was worth it. When they were searching for Tsunade, he genuinely did want the blonde to learn the Rasengan. However, he didn't expect him to be able to use it in such a short amount of time. When he did, the Sanin felt the same feeling pride when he had Minato as his student. And the journey they had together when Sasuke defected…even though the reason behind it was completely serious, it was a lot of fun. Jiraya found himself to be a lot like Naruto. Or, more precisely, Naruto was in many ways what he wished to be. The kid had a lot of faults, but accepted them and simply tried harder. That's when something clicked in Jiraya. _

"_For too long…I've ran away." Slowly, Jiraya managed to stand. "This time I'll face my demons." _

_The first one he turned to was his former teacher. "Sensei…you're right. I've taken your lessons as scorn. Even if you may have been a bit strict, it was wrong of me to resent you for it. I don't regret my journeys, as I've learned a lot. But I do regret my attitude towards you. For that, I'm sorry." Slowly, the image of the Sandaime faded. _

_Jiraya then turned to Minato. "I'm so sorry. You were like a son to me, and it was too much for me to bear. I figured Naruto would be safe with Kushina. When she disappeared, I felt ashamed again and it started a vicious cycle where I just kept running away. But I met Naruto again, taught him things even I felt he wouldn't be able to do…and all I can say is that I wish you were there with me. To watch him grow. I'm sorry…but from now on, I'll always be there for Naruto." Soon, his image faded as well. _

_Then he turned to the young Tsunade. For some reason…this would be awkward as hell. "Tsunade…I honestly don't know how to say this…but…I tried. I tried to be there for you. I know I'm making this sound like none of it is my fault…but hear me out…please. I tried to cheer you up after your brother died. I guess __I came on a bit too strong with my antics. Then you met Dan. I don't know why, but for some reason…it angered me. I told myself that I did it because you were happy, but looking back, I was trying to get back at you. After he died, I tried to cheer you up again, but you still pushed me away. Even though we continued to work together, you just seemed to grow more and more distant. You didn't exactly make it easy for me. But I realize that didn't mean I should've stopped trying. I wanted you to be happy. I wanted you to know you were worth something. It's the reason why I looked for you when the council was looking for a new Hokage. You may not believe this coming from me…but I've always wanted you to be happy." Tsunade's shadow finally vanished. "One day." Jiraya whispered to himself. _

_Then, he looked at Orochimaru. "As for you…I've got nothing to say to you."_

* * *

Akkisebire and Shachi walked close to the black essence that surrounded Jiraya. **"It should be done by now."** Shachi said. But then, it began to fade. **"What!? Impossible!! That technique turns ones greatest regrets against them!! It should be impossible to break!!" **

Finally, the black ether evaporated, and Jiraya stood with his head hanging low. His head rose, and he said "For most people, it is impossible to confront one's deepest regrets. But I know someone. Someone who inspires me to do my best, despite my faults. So, nothing is impossible!!" Jiraya smirked like he usually did, and pulled a scroll from his pants. "I was hoping to save this for a different occasion, but I'm afraid I've got no choice!"

Akkisebire stepped back, not wanting to be in the path of whatever weapon he pulled out. But something was odd: he didn't open it. **"What's inside?" **Shachi asked dangerously.

Jiraya smirked and curled his finger. "Come and see."

If Shachi had his body, he would've sneered. **"You're bluffing!! Any ninja with a brain would know that if something was inside, you would have used it by now!!" **The child and his father ran forward, preparing to slice him in half. **"And even if there is a weapon, this close I can easily block it!!" **

Just when it looked like one of the great sanin would be lost…the scroll opened, and black flames erupted. Akkisebire dropped his weapon and stumbled back screaming. "I knew Itachi's Amaterasu would come in handy." Jiraya whispered. Soon, both the weapon and the child turned to ash. Jiraya threw the scroll to the ground, knowing it was useless now. He felt a small twinge of guilt killing the child. But he knew that this child truly was evil to the core. He was too dangerous to be left alive. "No time to think about that now." Jiraya then turned his stare to the Hokage tower. The barrier was enough to let him know she was in danger. "Hang in there, Tsunade. I'm coming." The white-haired ninja leapt into the direction where both of his former teammates were…

* * *

Shikamaru ducked under the blades of Shumokuzame. It was all he could do with his chakra depleted. Despite his emotional state, Shikamaru was scared about what he was going to do. Temari would be pissed at him for that. Shikamaru doubled back when one of the blades grazed his face again. This was not the time to think of things that were out of his hands. It was now or never.

"Come on!" Shumokuzame yelled. "I'm trying to fight here, not dance! Where's the pathetic 'MY LOVE, NOO!' attitude!?"

Shikamaru didn't respond. Instead, he pulled out a compartment of three pills: one green, one yellow, and one red. "They belong to my best friend." He told him. "He loaned me a couple, although he made me swore never to use them." Shikamaru went straight for the red pill and swallowed it.

Shumokuzame charged again, planning to slice his head clean off. But Shikamaru's hand shot out and grabbed his throat. And it was causing the swordsman's head to nearly explode. He focused his vision and saw that Shikamaru's muscles had expanded greatly. In fact, the guy looked like he was on steroids! And he had antlers, antlers made of chakra!

"No more." The shadow nin said, in a voice much darker than normal. He slammed the swordsman through the roof onto the ground floor. Shikamaru dropped down with him, and landed on him like a deranged animal. While he was down, Shikamaru continued to pound him. Shumokuzame's fluid-like body didn't break, but the fluid traveled in mass to various parts of his body to the point of almost exploding.

For the first time in his life, he was beginning to panic. "I've got to get out of here!!" Shumokuzame managed to swing his bladed arm again, and nailed Shikamaru in the side. Not wanting to claim any prize, he scampered onto his feet. If he stuck around, he would've realized he was still in danger.

The cut wasn't deep. It didn't even pierce his lung. Shikamaru responded to the attack by making signs for a jutsu that he had yet to perfect, one he could call his own. "Kage Essen no Jutsu!!" His shadow didn't extend; it leaped right onto his opponent's.

Shumokuzame stood there, paralyzed both physically and with fear. Then, a shape, much like a dragon's head, emerged. And Shumokuzame was in the middle of it. "NOOOOO!!" The jaws closed, and faded into the ground.

Shikamaru panted, satisfied for now. "I've got to get Temari and…" However, his body returned to normal shape, and he felt terribly sick. "Oh shit…I should've known not to go straight to the red…" He collapsed on the floor head first. "Temari…"

* * *

"But you'll risk death!!"

"I don't care!" Konohamaru yelled. "Do it!!" The two staffs that held the electric chakra ceiling up turned back into their monkey selves. Before it could descend, they ran to their father and transformed once again. The main summon remained a three-sectioned staff, but at the end of each stick this time, there were two huge blades. Despite their apparent bulk, Konohamaru had no trouble wielding them. He swung around madly and cried "This is it!!"

Lei Gong looked up at the ceiling, then at the chunin. "He's strong." He said. "But his mind is a wreck. I can easily get the final blow in and win!!" The two combatants charged. Konohamaru spun his weapon so fast that an ordinary person would not be able to even see the bladed ends. But Lei Gong saw several openings. "You're right!! This is the end!!" Suddenly, Konohamaru was right upon him. The swordsman's instincts kicked in, and he slashed. Too late. The bushin dissipated, and the real Konohamaru sliced the swordsman's arms off.

Konohamaru didn't hear the swordsman's scream of pain. Nor did he realize the barrier and the ceiling that would've killed him vanished from their lack of chakra input. He dispelled his summons and ran straight to Ebisu. Konohamaru came to his senses, and realized he was free. "Udon!!" His friend ran right to him and embraced him. Konohamaru tapped his back, showing there was no time to waste, but the gesture was appreciated. "Which way did Moegi go again!?" Udon led the way, with Konohamaru carrying Ebisu on his back.

* * *

Kakashi and the other jonin were loosing their patience. They could easily leap across 3 trees in a second, and it still was not fast enough!! However, they found landmarks signaling to them that they were close to Konoha. "Everyone…hang in there."

Suddenly, several large snakes appeared. Kakashi readied his Raikiri, but something got to them first. A giant man slammed one of the snakes into the floor. Then suddenly, another snake attacked its comrade. Kakashi then took the opportunity to impale the final snake. "Chouji! Ino!! Am I ever glad to see you!!"

Chouji returned to normal size, and Ino emerged behind a tree. "We were on our way back from business, and we saw those things!" Chouji shouted. "Is Orochimaru attacking again!?"

Kakashi remained silent for a minute. It was a simple yes or no question, with an explanation too painful to try "I wish that were the case."

Ino was about scream at him, not knowing the true meaning behind his answer. Then, another large snake appeared. Before the three of them could react, another ninja stepped in front of Kakashi and held out his hand. The snake convulsed, and eventually collapsed. It was still alive…but those who knew of the technique knew it would not be getting up anytime soon. The man who preformed the jutsu wrapped his hand again. Kakashi replied "Thank you…Haruno-san." The man who was Sakura's father said nothing. Instead, he leaped off to Konoha. "And that is why I was a bit reluctant to take his daughter under my wing." Kakashi looked back and said "Let's go." The jonin continued onwards…

* * *

Tsunade tried to struggle the best she could, but in her weakened state, she couldn't pull the sword out. Nor could she form the seals necessary for her mitotic cell regeneration jutsu. She could feel her body starting to fail. Tears slid down her face as she watched Sakura start to weaken under Orochimaru's hold. The young girl might have already been technically dead by then. She had finally given up. She lost her little brother. She lost Dan. Not even a day ago did she find out she lost Shizune. And now Sakura…it was too much for her.

"That's it Tsunade! Learn that no matter what, whether you continue fighting or simply stand back and watch, you can't save anybody!!"

Sakura 's arms suddenly shot towards her abdomen. She was waiting for Orochimaru to let his guard down and pull a fast one! She applied just enough chakra to her abdomen to close up the wound, but there was still significant organ damage. Orochimaru saw it, and tightened his squeeze. She was going to pass out again at any second! "There's still a way out. I've only…got…one…chance." Sakura reached with her last ounce of strength, made a small jump from her knees and tapped Orochimaru's forehead. He did not take any notice of this, and continued his choke hold.

But Tsunade realized what she was doing. "Of course!!" It alleviated the pain in her heart: Sakura was going to use the one ability she had that, without her knowing (mostly because Tsunade did not want to tell her) allowed her to surpass her mentor, and perhaps would have allowed her to take on even Itachi!

Orochimaru felt the young woman's body begin to go slack once more, and smiled with glee. No way she was faking it now! Then, he felt someone tighten a grip around his shoulders. Orochimaru instinctively let go of his prey and sent a spinning back fist to his opponent. However, all his fist hit was air, and Orochimaru found no one in sight. Before he could question what was going on, hands reached through the roof and grabbed him, trying to pull him down. The Sanin frantically ran from the hands, only to find they were following him everywhere. When he looked back at his prey, he saw they had vanished. But there was nowhere to go. "It's genjutsu!!" Orochimaru held his hands together and yelled "Kai!!" The hands vanished, and Orochimaru could clearly see Sakura healing her abdomen. "There you are!!" Orochimaru, having just realized how dangerous Tsunade's new apprentice was, realized that he could not afford to waste anymore time. He had to kill them both now!! He fired two swords from his mouth, and they fatally impaled their targets. Orochimaru exhaled…and nearly forgot to inhale when he saw the bodies fade into nothing. "Impossible!!" Orochimaru screamed. "I dispelled the illusion!!"

"You preformed the counter correctly." It was Tsunade's voice! It was hoarse, yet he could hear it clearly, and all the anger within it. "But you didn't use the strength necessary. All you have been doing these years, Orochimaru, is grabbing whatever bodies and jutsus you can…and never perfecting those you already had. You're just like a factory, Orochimaru: In the end, you chose quantity over quality."

His hands turned into those of Tsunade's, and shot towards his neck and choked him. "No!!"

Orochimaru then felt a sword drive through his back. He couldn't look behind him, but when the voice spoke, he knew who it was. "I will never forgive you for your deception, Orochimaru!!" The Sandaime!! "You've brought nothing but shame to this village!! I will personally put you through the same hell you did with me!!"

Orochimaru then felt his own snakes either squeezing the life out of him, or pumping poison into his veins. Then, the world around Orochimaru became distorted. His vision seemed to make the world literally spin round and round. The roof began to feel more like quicksand. He was beginning to feel the life out of his body slip away…then something struck him. The illusion faded, and Orochimaru felt the pain subside. He looked to his side, and saw Tsunade and Sakura. Tsunade laid down, nearly unconscious, and Sakura was kneeling, finishing the job on her body. Orochimaru growled "You fools." Slowly, he stood up. "By dispelling that genjutsu for me, your one hope of victory has gone with the wind."

"Actually, that genjutsu would've only made you pass out." Sakura answered. "So, I took the time to deliver the killing blow."

Orochimaru looked at her incredulously, then down to his stomach. Several kunai with explosive tags were embedded in his flesh. The stress from the genjutsu blocked the pain he should have felt! "Oh-" A large explosion went off, nearly knocking Sakura and Tsunade to the barrier. Orochimaru's upper torso flew into the air and hit the upper part of the barrier, lighting him on fire. Snakes from beneath his belly shot out in an attempt to reconnect the two halves, but disintegrated quickly. Orochimaru had used almost all of his chakra from the two sheddings. "No!" his mind screamed. "I am one of the three Sanin! This can't be happening!!" His upper torso smashed through the roof, and straight into the floor. Not only where his bones broken, his guts were spilling out. Orochimaru's life flashed before his eyes as he lay there. He always bragged about how he was the strongest, and would only continue to get stronger. But looking back, he realized that wasn't true. When he was in Konoha, both Tsunade and Jiraya had strengths even he was envious of. When he battled the Sandaime, he lost his arms, despite his teacher's old age. Even if he wasn't in the best condition, Jiraya and Tsunade still forced him to retreat in the end, and the fight would have been over much faster if he didn't have Kabuto with him. And Naruto used his inner demon to throw a wrench in his plans yet again. Now, the one to ultimately defeat him came out of nowhere. That was when he realized that everything the Sandaime taught him was true. It was that girl's will of fire that allowed her to gain strength and defeat him. It was odd how that trio of misfit children he found in the forest would ultimately seal his demise. Naruto delayed his wish for immortality, Sasuke crushed it, and Sakura brought death right to him. If it wasn't for the fact that the nerves in his body stopped working, he would have laughed at the absurdity of it all. The Sanin stopped struggling, and waited for death to come…

* * *

The lightning crackled, and smoldered the ground. Sasuke tried to force a smile. "Why should I be trying to FORCE a smile?" he asked himself. He just got his revenge on the one who stole his revenge! Yet, he felt no piece of mind. Why? It made no sense. He was even starting to feel terrible, like he did something he knew he shouldn't have. He hadn't felt such a thing since he was a little kid! Sasuke, doing his best to put these thoughts in the back of his mind, took another good look down to his target…and his mouth gaped in horror.

Naruto, though singed, rose. Even the building, or at least the portion he stood on, was still standing! The blonde looked up at him. "You might be able to control lightning, but you forgot that it has an affinity for certain targets over others. Like tall, metal objects."

Sasuke looked to the jinchuriki's side, and saw a giant lightning rod. Then, it changed back into hundreds of clones, and they all collapsed onto the ground in poofs. Sasuke screamed like a mad animal in response to this. "Fine!! My bare hands will have to do!!"

Sasuke dived bombed towards Naruto, who made one seal. "Ookoumori no Jutsu." Suddenly, wings of chakra erupted from Naruto's back, closely resembling bat wings. Naruto took to the air, leaving Sasuke to kiss the roof of the building.

"What!? He can fly!? Just what has he been learning!?" The same feeling he felt when he saw the power of Naruto's Rasengan surged through his body once more. Sasuke roared in rage, and flew up to tackle Naruto in the air. Just when he was upon the blonde…he vanished. Sasuke looked to his side, and saw Naruto flying towards him at an impossible speed! Naruto's fist slammed into the Uchiha's face, sending him spinning. Sasuke spun in mid-air, and managed to regain control. But he felt his back was attacked, and flew forward. Sasuke attempted to counter, but Naruto was just too fast! Blow after blow, Sasuke saw the whole world spinning. "You said my affinity for wind means nothing if I don't have wings!!" Naruto yelled. "Well, I think this jutsu solves the problem!!" Naruto finally extended both fists and slammed into Sasuke's gut.

The two flew straight through the air, and Sasuke fell to the ground below. "I will…" Sasuke tried to think of all the possible ways to beat him. But before he could reach a conclusion, he felt something in his body change. He began to turn back to normal! Sasuke panicked, and commanded his body to change back. It wasn't happening. Even with the risk his transformation carried, it would only fade when he either commanded it to, or wound up dead. But there was a third way: killing Orochimaru! But who could have done such a thing? He knew Orochimaru was going to fight the Hokage, but he figured the Dark Sanin would use underhanded tactics to secure a victory! Soon, he was back to normal, and out of breath. "It probably wouldn't have mattered; I could have possibly wound up dead in a few minutes anyway." He stood up, intending to continue his fight, despite the hopeless situation. But something caught his eye. It was a woman. Sasuke limped towards her, and turned her over. She was dead, attacked by a bladed weapon!! "No!! This can't be!! I ordered only the death of the Hokage and the council!! What happened here!?" Sasuke turned when he heard someone panting. Lei Gong, with both of his hands missing, lurched forward. "Lei…did you do this?"

Lei spat to the side. "Of course, you fool."

"I gave you orders to only go after the council and the treasury!! I paid you all of Orochimaru's fortune…"

"You think we're all about money? You claim to know what the heart of darkness is. But you don't. It's not about hate. Nor money. It's something impossible to describe in words. Between us, there was no alliance nor contract. You provided each of us with an opportunity, and no words could've stopped us from taking them. We will use any methods to get what we desire. Honor…is a joke. Had you hired more run-of-the-mill mercenaries, they might have obeyed you. But we're not. In true evil, only betrayal exists. By now, Orochimaru has probably commanded his snakes to eat several people. I found out what he was planning to do and said nothing…because quite frankly it didn't concern me."

Sasuke was rendered speechless. Yes, he wanted Konoha destroyed, but not the people who resided in it. They were innocent! A new hatred began to fill his heart. And this time he would quench it. He started an electric current in his palm, and ran right up to the crippled swordsman. He slapped his palm onto the old man's chest, and Lei collapsed from a massive heart attack. Sasuke's mind was thrown into confusion. He just stood there, frozen. He didn't know what he was. An avenger…or a murderer? Misunderstood….or truly evil? His mind was at crossroads with itself, questioning everything her ever believed and did. Then he heard something above him. Naruto was hovering, waiting for him to make a move. Sasuke realized before all else, something had to be settled. He leaped off some random rubble and onto a rooftop. "Let's end it now, Naruto!!" He leaped towards the intended target of his revenge, and Naruto flew forward. In the end, it was Naruto's punch that connected, leaving Sasuke falling. "I…lost."

Naruto landed, his chakra wings disappearing. Naruto collapsed onto his knees, panting. That technique took a lot of chakra out of him, and was almost as dangerous as his Rasenshuriken. With the last bit of strength he could muster, he stood, and walked to Sasuke. "Sasuke." Naruto held his hand out, walking towards Sasuke. The Uchiha could only look at him in disbelief. "Come on. It's going to be okay."

Okay!? He tried to destroy the entire village, and he nearly killed him when things started to go bad!! And he would still forgive him!? It wasn't right!! It contradicted everything he believed!! Somehow, Sasuke managed to feel for a weapon, and found his broken kusunagi. "Keep away from me!!" Sasuke slashed Naruto across the side, and ran.

Naruto gripped his wound, trying his best to stop the blood from pouring out. It was deep, but he could take care of it for now. Naruto tore off his pant leg, and used the makeshift rag to close up the wound. A crude job, but it would have to do for now. Fast as he could, he took off to the tower…

* * *

Sakura, using water from a broken pipe and a clean trashcan as a bucket, extracted the last of the poison out of Tsunade. "There." Sakura flung it into the container. The exhaustion of her battle had taken its toll; her chakra was depleted completely, and she passed out. Tsunade caught her, and eased her onto the floor.

The Godaime began a healing jutsu similar to her Souzou Saizei , but smaller and did not cause her any long term damage.

"Hokage-sama!!"

The barrier must have disappeared!! The mechanics were unknown, but she knew it must have meant the invasion was over. Soon, the ANBU surrounded her. "I'm alright." She replied. "It was a close call. Damage report!"

"Our village is in ruins right now! We have sustained many casualties and injuries as well. Almost all chunin. However, the council and civilians are safe."

Tsunade was about to breathe a sigh of relief, when Yamato, in a normal jonin outfit, ran forward and kneeled. "Hokage-sama!! Kakashi-sempai and the others have returned!! Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji, as well as their clans, are with them as well!!"

Tsunade commanded "Send Kakashi and Ino here immediately!" The copy ninja and blonde kunoichi ran forward and bowed. "Ino, Sakura's out of commission right now! You will be my second in command in the emergency aid!"

Ino asked "What about Shizune-sempai?"

Tsunade looked away. Kakashi understood the meaning behind it immediately. He nudged Ino out of the way and changed the subject. "Tsunade-sama…is it true…that Sasuke…" Tsunade gave the slightest nod, and Kakashi's arms went limp with disbelief.

"I expect a full report from you once we get everything in order." Tsunade looked outside, and her eyes showed great sadness. "If."

"Tsunade!" The old woman spun, and saw her true teammate right behind her, panting. "Are you alright!?" Jiraya asked.

Strange. He seemed unusually anxious. About her, of all people. "I'm okay, but it was too close for comfort." Tsunade answered. Jiraya let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

Naruto finally got to the tower, in less than ninja speed. He had to know Sakura and Ba-chan were okay!! "Sakura-chan!! Ba-chan!!" he screamed as he opened the doors with what little strength he had. The look inside didn't soothe his fear…it was a mess!

"Hey, is this…"

"It is!! Orochimaru's dead!!"

There was a chorus of joyous screams. This soothed Naruto's fear slightly. Naruto then grabbed a random ANBU, who he soon recognized as Sai. "Please! How are Sakura and the Hokage!?"

Sai responded "They're both alive. Let me go. I have to give a full damage report." The tone was a bit rude, but with everything going on, even Naruto couldn't blame him.

He made his way toward the crowd, but shot up, hobbling when his foot stepped on a piece of glass. "Shit!!" Naruto was about to go on on one foot, but he looked down to see it was a picture with a broken frame. For some reason he was curious, and picked it up to inspect it more closely. Naruto's eyes widened. The man inside looked just like him! Blonde hair, blue eyes…most of his features were nearly identical to his own. "Who is this? My…" Naruto hesitated to say it, evidenced by his gulp. "…father?" He looked at the bottom of the frame, and nearly dropped the picture. On it was written "The Yodaime Hokage. Namikaze Minato."

* * *

And there you go! I hope you enjoyed it! The next few chapters will move a bit slower, but hopefully you enjoy them just as much!

Next time, everyone attempts to rebuild the village, but Naruto can't get over the photograph he saw. When he confronts those who know the truth, what will happen? Also, Deidra, Tobi, and Hidan get word that Konoha is in shambles. What will they plan? And Sasuke confronts his worst enemy...himself.

Suinishikihebi-Water Python

Gyakufunsha-Reverse Thrust

Fusansensa-Wind Trident Dagger

Kaze Harichiryou-Wind Acupuncture

Hicross-Fire Cross

Fugyasa-Wind Geyser

Futoku Suihou-Windshield Bubble

Amano Momiryouji-Heavenly Massage

Baku Gamumi-Exploding Toad Pus

Denkiunagi Semeku-Electric Eel Torture

Furyudan-Air Dragon Missile

Rasenryuushinkokyuu-Spiraling Dragon Breath

Hebi Kawa Shuriken-Snake Skin Shuriken

Gatapishi-Rattling Sound

Howaiaizame Kubi-White Shark Head

Fuuken Oogama-Wind Blade Scythe

Kage Toku-Shadow Shield

Sanjuhikihanatsu-Triple Pull

Keikan-Crown of Thorns

Han'Ya Ookami-Midnight Wolf

Raifu Vacumu-Life Vacuum

Akumu no Kuiaratame-Nightmare of Repentance

Tooboe Zangetsu-Howling at the Moon

Satsuika-Killer Squid

Koishi Shuriken-Pebble Shuriken

Mizu Shuriken-Water Shuriken

Kage Essen-Shadow Meal

Ookoumori-Flying Fox

Hake-Paint Brush


	25. Only You Know If We Shall Last

Hi again! It's been quite crazy for me! For one, finally graduating from college. I'm still doing summer classes though, as well as looking for work. How this will affect my writing...I don't know. Still, it feels damn good.

Also, some of you have requested me to read your stories. Truthfully, I would like to, but I'm so busy with other things that I find it difficult just to stick with the fics I'm already reading. I'll try to get around to it, but I can't make any guarantees.

Now for reviewer appreciation!

tennisdesi91: Feels good to leave readers flabbergasted

H.I.M-Jon-White: When I can, but that may be a while. If you need inspiration, I'd recommend Koorikage and Shinobi Wars (Naruto), Dead or Alive 4: The Devil Factor (Dead or Alive X Devil May Cry) and SWAT Kats: Endgame. Those are fics I'm currently reading which I think are awesome!

Mrfipp: I guess Ino would become more pig-like, but I'm not going to explore that. She'd probably kill me...As for Sasuke, you'll see. His role in the story is still in development.

HawkofNavarre: Damn, we need Microsoft word to check sentences, not just words! But I'm glad my chapter had such high reread value for you!

animeforever1: Glad to live up to all your expectations.

nurse-nin2008: I don't think it's that good, but I appreciate it when someone else does!

The Graceless Jedi: It is one m. I goofed.

Pirogeth: Man, I hope you're feeling better, cause it sounds like you've had a really shitty month. Thanks for sticking with me, and I'm glad you think I've improved over time.

Kalle533: In hindsight, I do have to agree with you about Konohamaru being too strong. However, remember that ability does not necessarily determine rank, and Lei Gong was in even worse condition than the Sandaime Hokage. Hope that clears things up a bit.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, except 1 DVD Boxset, 1 movie and 2 volumes.

* * *

Chouji ran as fast as he could, carrying two people with him. Strapped to his back was Shikamaru, and in his arms was Temari. Normally, he would have been leaping from the rooftops, but he knew she was like this for a while. He had to be extra careful and make sure she wouldn't loose anymore blood. Finally, he reached the make-shift-tent where everyone was checked out and healed. The hospital was overcrowded, and only the very young or old were admitted inside there. "Ino! I need you here right now!! Shikamaru's in trouble!!"

Ino came running in, lucky that so far everyone was out of danger and that she was able to conserve her chakra. "Shikamaru!!" Hang on, I'll-"

"It's the pills I gave him." Chouji said, turning around so Ino could pick him up and lay him down on the bed. "I told him not to, but deep down we both knew he would need them someday. Listen, get to work on Temari first; she's lost a lot of blood, and I need to find Shikaku before you can get to work on Shikamaru anyway. Besides, I don't want to know how he would react if we gave him priority over Temari."

Ino, despite the high stress situation, smiled slightly. She was happy that Shikamaru finally found someone for him, and she knew the feeling was mutual between him and the person of interest, even if neither of them knew it. "Right!" Ino laid Temari down on an adjacent bed, and Chouji went off to find the shadow nin's parents. Ino began to work on Temari immediately. She applied chakra to the kunoichi's wound, and soon, it closed up. She was in no immediate danger, but she needed a blood transfusion. For now, though, there were others with needs as great as her.

"Someone, help!!" It sounded like a couple of kids! Ino immediately ran towards the sound and saw Konohamaru and his friend carrying two people. One was their teammate, the other their sensei. She could see that Ebisu was bleeding profusely. Moegi, she wasn't sure what was wrong. She had to take a closer look at her, but Ebisu had priority.

Ino immediately found a couple of medics passing her way. "You two! Get to work on this man!!" The two medics carefully picked him up, and took him to another room. Konohamaru then gave Moegi to Ino, who inspected her quickly. "Heat Stroke." she muttered It was the worst case she had ever seen! It was as if someone shoved her into an oven and miraculously she did not suffer any burns. But she could still have significant brain damage…"Someone!! Get me some ice!! Lots of it!!"

* * *

Konohamaru sat outside, hugging his knees. He fought well against a shinobi who was once a mizukage, and defeated him (even if he did have a little help). And yet, he still felt like a failure. He couldn't protect either one of them, his sensei or his teammate. The chunin was brought out of his thoughts when he sensed someone…no, if his training was as good as Ebisu said, two people, coming near him. He looked up, and saw Kurenai walking towards him. She was carrying her son, who was sleeping, and judging by the looks of her eyes, she cried a lot as well.

"Konohamaru." She said.

Konohamaru turned away, feeling ashamed. He couldn't save her cousin; how could this conversation possibly go well? But he had a feeling she wouldn't leave him alone just because of the way he was acting. He decided to say something at least. He had to get something off his chest. "I'm sorry…about your cousin."

He expected her to turn away, scorn him, maybe even slap him. But instead she walked towards him and sat with him. "I'm more sorry about what happened to your teammate and sensei. I hope they make it." Konohamaru didn't flinch. "I know better than anyone what it's like to lose your precious people. My teammates before me were killed a long time ago. Asuma died before our baby here was born." Kurenai took the moment to kiss her child on the forehead. "And this time my cousin's gone. Konohamaru…I feel the pain every time, and you never do get used to it. It is so hard being a shinobi. We tell our kids about it repeatedly, we go over it at the academy…but nothing ever gets you prepared until you experience it for yourself."

"I thought I did." Konohamaru replied. "I thought when Grandpa and Uncle Asuma died, I knew what it meant being a shinobi. But it was different this time. I may have sent Moegi to her death. And Ebisu…I should have never put myself in a position where I needed to be saved."

Kurenai wrapped one arm around the teen. "It's going to be one of the most difficult things for you to do…and it may only get worse. I've seen some people suffer from so much death that they couldn't take it anymore. For others, it strengthens their resolve." An uncomfortable moment of silence hung between the two. "Konohamaru…remember that the village is the reason why we become shinobi. We protect it and the people within it with our lives. That is the choice we make. And you chose to save someone very dear to me." Konohamaru looked up, visibly crying. He took a glance at Asuma Jr., and stroked his hair. Even he had to admit…this child's life was more valuable than those of his comrades. Kurenai knew then there was nothing more she could say. "If you ever need to talk to me, come see me. And thank you so much." She kissed his forehead to show her gratitude.

As Kurenai got up to leave, the medics came out of the tent. Konohamaru looked up, dreading the news. "Your sensei wants to see you." For a minute, Konohamaru felt a twinge of hope. But it faded once he saw the somber looks on their faces.

* * *

Konohamaru walked slowly, afraid of what he might find. He finally reached Ebisu's bed, and realized how hopeless the situation was. He looked so weak, and wires delivering fluids were attached to his body everywhere…"Young Master?"

Konohamaru couldn't believe how much this hurt him. When he was younger, the thought of it made him laugh. He was a fool. The young Sarutobi didn't even sense Udon come in. "I'm here."

Ebisu weakly flailed his arm. "Forgive me, young master. I can't see." Konohamaru lightly touched his arm. "Is Moegi safe?"

"Yes." Udon said. "They said she will live, but they don't know the full extent of the damage she suffered."

Ebisu rasped "She'll make it."

Konohamaru was feeling a piece of himself breaking. He thought back to all the times he and his team spent with him. He used to think of him as annoying, he didn't see the point of his training, and he hated how Ebisu denied them the most dangerous missions…but now it was all starting to come together. All the training, nagging, and the missions he did allow…paid off, and gave him the strength to win. And now the man who helped give him that strength was dying.

"Please don't cry." Ebisu whispered. "I would have gladly given my life for either one of you, no matter how good or bad you were." He breathed hoarsely, and continued speaking. "Konohamaru, I didn't train you solely because you were the third's grandson. I trained you because in many ways, you reminded me of myself. I came from a noble family, and people only acknowledged me because of them. As a result, my teachers went easy on me...and I didn't become the ninja I always wanted to be. I know what it's like when no one acknowledges you for being you. And I wanted to help you become a great ninja."

Konohamaru couldn't believe it. He asked to train him because they were similar? Under normal circumstances, this bit of information would have been outrageous.

"I gave you the training regimen that worked for me, and you surpassed my expectations…and let me assure you, they were very high to begin with." Ebisu slightly turned his head, this time to address Udon. "Udon, I know the frustration you're going through. Being weaker than your two teammates. But you can always change that, and I know you will. Even if that doesn't come true, remember that you always were a vital member of the team."

Udon sniffled, and nodded.

"I don't think…I'm going to…before Moegi wakes up. Tell her…it was an honor. She helped me keep the team together…and she will grow up to be an amazing kunoichi." His breathing was becoming more hitched and irregular. "You will make your grandfather proud." He finally collapsed, and the EKG made a high-pitched scream. Ebisu had died.

Konohamaru turned away and gripped the nearest table for support. And he cried. Udon hugged him and cried with him as well.

* * *

Shikamaru woke up, and felt his head throbbing. It was like he had a terrible hang-over "Oh, what happened?"

"It was close, son. It looks like these swordsmen forced you at wits end. I thought Chouji made it clear NOT to use those pills."

Shikamaru's vision blurred, and finally, it focused on two familiar figures. "Mom? Dad?"

His parents stood directly above him. His dad seemed to be worried but relieved. His mom, as usual looked mad. Meaning she was worried out of her mind. "Shikamaru! How could you do something so stupid!! I can't believe you really were serious about using those pills!! If something happened to you…" Yoshino couldn't finish the last part. Her eyes began to tear, and she grabbed onto Shikaku, crying into his chest.

Shikaku whispered reassurances to his wife, and patted her back. "Your mother can't get over how you've grown up." Shikaku said to Shikamaru. Though his voice was calm, like Shikamaru would expect from his father, the look in his eyes showed he was just as worried.

Shikamaru, though his body still felt like crap, managed to get out of the bed, pull out the most confining of the wires, and hugged both of his parents. "Sorry to worry you two." The Nara family shared this embrace for a full five minutes, until…

"Shikamaru!" The family turned around to see Ino and Chouji walk up to them. Ino in particular seemed to have circles under her eyes. "You're awake and the first thing you do is start my work all over again!!" The kunoichi looked unusually cranky, and forced Shikamaru down on the bed, inserting all the wires back in, much to her teammate's distaste. "You were always the most troublesome of us all." she muttered before going the other way to leave.

"She's just tired, Shikamaru." Chouji whispered. "You've been out for almost a full day. We've had some losses, and pretty much everyone is in bad condition."

Shikamaru nodded in understanding. How could things possibly turn out well with what those swordsmen did? Then, something else occurred to him…"Temari!"

Shikamaru shot up, but Chouji held him down. "Relax. She's okay. She lost a lot of blood, but we got Kakashi-sensei to donate some. She should wake up anytime now."

Shikamaru relaxed, and lay back down on the bed. "I finally realized something."

Chouji just smirked at this thought, knowing exactly what he was talking about. His feelings for the sand kunoichi were that obvious.

* * *

_Sakura found herself in a field, filled with cherry blossoms. "Odd…it's not the time of year the Sakura blossoms bloom." _

"_Why?" _

_Sakura turned around, and saw Naruto facing the other way, his back turned to her. His fists were clenched too. Sakura stepped forward, and put her hands on his shoulders. He must've been grieving over the fact that it was Sasuke who led the invasion. "Naruto…" Sakura began to embrace him in a hug…but Naruto walked out of it. _

_What was wrong? The Naruto she knew wouldn't have pushed her away…especially when considering they were a couple now. "Naruto…please…tell me what's wrong!" _

_Naruto's fists clenched even tighter. He finally turned to face her…and Sakura could not believe what she saw. Naruto had tears on his face, like she expected him. However, his eyes were enraged. And they were directed at her. "Why didn't you tell me!?" _

_The field immediately turned into a wasteland, and Naruto faded away. Sakura gripped and rubbed her arms; she never felt so cold before…_

* * *

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, and she bolted up and gasped "Naruto!"

A set of strong hands gently eased her back into the bed; Tsunade! "Take it easy. You've had quite a battle."

This relaxed Sakura for a second…then she remembered the battle. Frantically, she searched for a weapon. "Orochimaru!..."

"He's dead. You killed him." Tsunade eased the Sakura back into bed. "But you've depleted your chakra once you began healing me."

Sakura finally breathed, and lay down. "Orochimaru's dead…" When the thought began circulating through her mind, she realized how impossible it sounded. There was no way she could have killed a Sanin, especially Orochimaru! But she remembered everything about the battle... "But you weakened him."

Tsunade chuckled slightly, and nodded no. "I was poisoned from the start. Orochimaru's demise…that was all you." She expected her apprentice to beam with joy. Well, at first at least. She saw Sakura turn her face away from her.

"There should have been another way."

Tsunade sighed and leaned next to Sakura. "There always should be." she whispered in response. Many would've considered Sakura's compassion and love of life to be childish and a hindrance for a shinobi. But Tsunade knew herself that such compassion was essential for medical ninja like themselves. She herself hated it every time she was forced to kill someone. Though she did not let the death of those she killed weigh her down, she always resolved to try harder to spare her enemies lives…at least, until her depression. She then patted the young woman's shoulder. "Don't kill yourself over it…Orochimaru was over the deep end already. He was shown mercy before…if you showed him mercy then, he would have most certainly killed you."

Sakura muttered "I know. But I just wish I was given another option."

Tsunade smiled, and told her to get some rest. "You know, if only the little girl you used to be could see this now. You've grown so much Sakura. Not even in my wildest dreams could I imagine you defeating Orochimaru. I'm so proud of you."

Sakura blushed slightly in response. "I got lucky, that's all."

"Whatever you say." the old woman responded. Tsunade decided that was enough talk. There were other patients, and besides... she needed some time alone. "By the way." She said. "Naruto stopped by to see you."

This got Sakura's attention. She bolted up yet again and yelled "Naruto! How-"

"He's fine." Tsunade humphed as she eased Sakura back into the bed a third time. "Just like Naruto." Tsunade then explained the situation. "He was beaten up pretty bad, and he actually stepped on a piece of glass on his way to see us…but you know him. But something seems to be bothering him."

Sakura replied "What about Sasuke?" Tsunade stared at her with a look that screamed "Are you kidding me!?" "No, NOT like that!" she shouted. "I know he was the one that led the attack, because Naruto killed Itachi before he did. But Naruto hasn't given up on him this whole time…but I know. He's finally given into his hate, and he's irredeemable. And I know that Naruto would never accept that. Besides…" Sakura sat up and turned to her master, wanting to face her. "What I really wanted to know whether Sasuke was dead or alive. For our own safety."

Tsunade nodded, and mentally slapped herself. Not even her younger self fawned over Sasuke that much! "According to Naruto, he ran away. But he says he doubts Sasuke will come back anytime soon." Tsunade got up to leave, and muttered "Not that it really matters one way or another."

* * *

Tsunade sat down and sighed. It was too much for even a kage to deal with. She felt responsible for it all too; she let her guard down and allowed Orochimaru to poison her. Even though Orochimaru would be a challenge for her even in her prime, she could've still defeated him and found a way to help the others before too much damage was done.

"Are you hanging in there?"

Tsunade spun around and saw Jiraya leaning against the wall. "Oh, it's you." she sounded particularly annoyed.

But then again, Jiraya didn't expect her to be in a good mood. "I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing…also, the ANBU have finally found Shizune." Jiraya grimaced at what he just said. "What's left of her." Tsunade just shuffled some papers, as if she didn't hear him. Jiraya knew the loss of Shizune and the village's destruction was making her turn back to the state she was in when he and Naruto left to find her. He walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. Jiraya simply couldn't let things go as they were. Tsunade shot up immediately as if to attack him…but once she looked at him, she calmed down, and eased herself back into her chair.

"I'm sorry." she said. "I know…you're trying to help."

"I feel as though I haven't done enough." That unusual genjutsu was still getting to him, but a part of him felt that even if he hadn't experienced it, he still should have gotten to the tower sooner.

Tsunade looked at him again, and gave him a weary smile. "You were battling a mist swordsman. I'd say you done more than your part." The truth was, next to Sakura and Naruto, there was no one she trusted m ore.

Jiraya just shrugged, his way of calmly disagreeing with her. "Anyway…is there anything else I can do to help?"

Tsunade stopped what she was doing, and rubbed her chin. "There is." Her voice sounded affirmative and confident.

"Good." Jiraya thought to himself.

"I would like you to get your spy network to take a break from gathering information on Akatsuki and survey all other possible threats to Konoha. We're vulnerable now, and we need to be prepared for anything."

"Akatsuki is still a major threat. But I can get half of them working on what you requested."

"Very well. But before you do that, I need you to see if you can do me a quick favor: I've been trying to clean up the tower the best I could, but there's something I can't find; something I want no one else finding out about."

"Oh?"

"Orochimaru fell right from the roof and made all the floors a mess. Documents, classifieds…personal items…" Tsunade's cheeks flushed when she said that, and Jiraya quirked his eyebrows in response. "Crap, I shouldn't have said something like that!"

The toad sage tried his best to hold in his laughter. However, it kept sputtering out, and soon he was on the floor laughing and pounding his fist. "HAHAHA!! Oh man!! What is it you've got!? Baby pictures? Dirty books? Or…" Jiraya leaned against the wall like he was posing for a girl's pornographic magazine. "…perhaps you've been peaking on me in the springs and made some little mementoes of the moment?"

Tsunade's response to this was smashing a bookshelf over the sanin's head. "NO, YOU IDIOT!!" Tsunade counted to ten, while Jiraya tried crawling away before he would make her mad again. "I need you to find Minato's picture!"

Jiraya stopped and looked at her. Minato's picture was missing!? The Sandaime gave specific orders to keep them classified until he or another Hokage judged that Naruto was ready to know. That meant, of course, that no one of his generation would ever learn it either. But if someone did find it, it wouldn't be hard for others to figure out there was a connection between the two. Naruto couldn't find out yet! "Sure!"Jiraya got up and began his search immediately.

* * *

"There! That should do it!" Naruto hammered the last of the boards into a gaping hole in his apartment. The entire complex was a mess. No one's home from the attack was left unscarred. Luckily for Naruto, he had little belongings, his pictures were still intact, and the electricity had just come back on. It was still damn cold though, and he had to throw out his bed and replace it with a futon. But Konoha was attacked before; before they knew it, it would be back in its prime again. Or so he told himself. Naruto tossed his toolbox to the floor and took a seat on a pillow, standing in place of a chair. He then pulled out a scroll, and stared at the item within: The photograph of the Yodaime Hokage. Confused emotions began to swirl within the jinchuriki all over again. He always wondered what the man who sealed the Kyuubi within him looked like. He always questioned why he chose him to be its container. However, once he found out what the yellow flash looked like, he felt distraught beyond belief. How could the similarities be possible? The most likely explanation he could come up with was that he was his son. But the frame and history books read "Namikaze Minato". Wouldn't he have inherited his father's surname? There were just too many questions. But if the Yodaime had been his father…a feeling of rage swept within Naruto. Before it could peak, the blonde heard a knock on his door. Quickly, he put the photo back in the scroll and went to the door. When Naruto opened it, he was a bit surprised. "Iori?"

Iori stood there, scratching her head and trying her best to cover up some apparent embarrassment. "Um…hi, sensei. I hope I'm not bothering you or anything."

"Of course not. Why?" Naruto then looked closer and saw that Iori was carrying a hammer in her right hand, and once she let her left hand down, he noticed her fingers were covered in band-aids.

"Well…those things made a mess of my apartment, and I'm not good with repair and things. Is it okay if…you help me out?"

Naruto could only smile in response. "I'd be glad to help, Iori." He couldn't refuse anyone in need. Naruto even asked the landlord earlier if anyone needed help repairing their apartments. But the landlord simply slammed the door on him, as usual. It seemed not even when they were in clear need of help would they even consider his aid, which hurt the young jonin even more. Not only did Iori's request make him feel happy…it would help take his mind off the photograph he found. "Show me what you need."

* * *

Sasuke ran and ran. He was out of breath, but still he pushed his body to full capacity. He must have been running for days; he didn't recall stopping for anything, ever. He wanted Konoha to be destroyed; 

that much was certain. He wanted it to become impossible for Naruto to achieve his dream in a way that was worse than death. To do that, he accepted the fact that he would have to kill its government and those who would run for a spot on the council when the old members were gone. He even accepted the fact that he would have to destroy the ninjas who would protect them as well. But not the civilians nor ninja that were protecting those who couldn't fight! Sure, they would've been thrown into poverty and despair. But they would survive; people, even those who were neither ninja nor samurai could prove to be extremely resilient when the occasion called for it. He told himself he was not Orochimaru, that he would not take pleasure in harming innocent people…"I'm a fool."

Finally Sasuke collapsed near a stream. He just lay there, breathing heavily. All verbal thoughts from his mind were now gone. Instinctively, he crawled towards the water's edge and threw his head into the water, drinking greedily. No matter how much he took in, the thirst only seemed to get worse. Finally, he came up to breathe. When he looked down, he almost jumped back in horror. It was his reflection, and yet it was not. Instead of the face of a young man was the face of a monster. His Curse Mark 2 Form.

"What?" it said. Sasuke nearly choked again. The pseudo-reflection seemed to roll its eyes. "Oh, please! Let's not go through the whole 'Who are you?' routine! You know damn well who I am." The creature pointed at Sasuke.

"No." the Uchiha responded. "I'm not a monster."

"Hmph. Beyond predictable. But there's really no difference between man and monster. Both betray, both hate, and both…murder."

Sasuke's life seemed to flash before him. The time he left Konoha and went straight to the Sound Four. To the time he destroyed a small group of mercenaries to test his progress. The times he tried new techniques on the prisoners Orochimaru had provided him. Torturing that kind man into making Konoha's best leave their village… everything that led up to his attack on Konoha. "I really had done all that…" He didn't even notice the reflection stepping out of the water.

"You once said that you would not become like Itachi. That you would find your own path to power. And you know what? You didn't. But you did become like a certain shinobi. One of our family."

Sasuke just stared at him blankly. Then he felt himself travel back through time again. It was in the Uchiha temple. Or below it anyway. He was eight years old again, reading the scroll detailing the dark history of the Uchiha clan:

_Though we of the Uchiha clan today are thought of as heroes, this has not always been true. It is not pride that drives us, but repentance. The founder of our clan, Uchiha Madara, unleashed an unspeakable evil onto the world, nearly destroying the village we held dear. The Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju, challenged him, and lost. Because of that, our clan was hunted down by the entire Fire Country. Madara's betrayal did not end there, however. In killing the Shodai Hokage, his dearest friend, Madara discovered the Magenkyo Sharingan; a Sharingan with almost unstoppable power. He began to slowly wipe out Konoha's forces, and no ninja nor lord could stop him. Then, one of our own arose to stop him. She was the youngest daughter of Madara, Uchiha Mitsukai. She admitted to helping him create the evil biju that plagued the land. For that, she was shunned by even the Uchiha clan. Despite her isolation, she volunteered to fight Madara, wishing to repent for what she had done. Mitsukai, refusing to allow any more needless deaths, fought Madara alone. Though she died in battle, a damaged Sharingan and severed arm indicated she had won the battle. The Nidaime Hokage, despite his immeasurable loss, had declared the Uchiha to be pardoned. Mitsukai was given a hero's funeral, and left behind an infant child. It was decided from that day forward that this child's lineage would be heir to the entire clan. Shortly afterwards, we became Konoha's official police force, and have vowed since then to protect those our founding father had betrayed to honor her memory. We shall never forget Madara's treachery, nor Mitsukai's brave sacrifice._

Sasuke was brought out of the memory of reading that scroll. He didn't even feel his other self wrap his arms around him. "Brings back memories, huh? You concluded that Itachi learned of the Magenkyo from that scroll, and that he wanted to carry out Madara's will to destroy Konoha. You told yourself it wasn't just revenge; it was to prevent that same tragedy of long ago from occurring again. And on that same day, you learned you were a direct descendant of Mitsukai. Because of that, you believed you were destined to battle Itachi." Suddenly, a village burning appeared beneath Sasuke's feet, almost as if he was hovering over it. "Yet the one to carry out Madara's will…" Sasuke seemed to have spun around, and faced a mirror with his true reflection. He seemed to have trouble registering that this reflection was him either. His eyes were bloodshot with fear, his skin was pale…overall, he looked pathetic. "Quite a looker here." The other Sasuke said, caressing the washed-out Uchiha's chin. "Too bad Orochimaru's dead. You could've been like me forever."

Sasuke pulled away, and gripped his broken sword. "No!! I'm not like you!!"

The demonic Sasuke just sighed in a bored manner. "I really don't feel like arguing about this."

Sasuke lunged forward, attempting to slash his alter ego's throat. But the hand wings came and blocked it. With one flap, Sasuke's weapon was sent sailing away. The demon Sasuke punched his counterpart square in the face, sending him flying across the void. The real Sasuke rose up, and tried his best to block the cursed form's blows. Sasuke felt the power of his other self flow within him. But he never knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of that power. His arms were already bruised…it would only be a matter of time before the were broken. He cart wheeled away, and decided to bring his ninjutsu into the fight. "Katon!! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!"

"Katon!! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" An orange flame and a blue flame collided, struggling for power. Eventually, the orange one was overcome, and Sasuke was seemingly burned to a crisp. Seemingly. The Dark Sasuke turned around to see his other self throw a windmill shuriken at him. He just sneered, and threw an identical shuriken with serrated edges. It forced the other weapon out of the way, and grazed Sasuke's shoulder.

"Hidden Snake Hands!!" Sasuke shot several snakes from his sleeve and wrapped the Dark Sasuke in a tight embrace.

"Chidori Nasagi!" Electricity surrounded him, and the real Sasuke screamed in pain. "You can't beat me! After all, I'm you!!" Dark Sasuke ran up and squeezed his human self around the neck. "Or rather…you will be me!!"

Sasuke then felt strange. He held up his hand, and saw it turning green! Sasuke fought desperately to stop the transformation, but only managed to slow it down. "Nooo!!" Without making a single sign, Sasuke's Chidori formed. The real Uchiha thrust it straight through his opponent's chest, ending the surreal fight. Or so it seemed.

"Hehe. Did you think it would be that easy?" Dark Sasuke suddenly faded, then reappeared. Only this time, there was two of him. Sasuke gawked in response.

"Gouryuuka no Jutsu!!" Sasuke fired several dragon heads and each Dark Sasuke. And each one duplicated.

"You know it's impossible to destroy a part of your soul." one of them said. Sasuke summoned shuriken out of his tattoos, and in desperation, launched them at his assailants (if he could call them that). But with each hit, they only duplicated. Soon, Sasuke was surrounded by thousands of his darker self. "Don't try to fight us, Sasuke-kun."

"You can't beat us…"

"…because you ARE us." Millions of snakes seemingly struck the real Sasuke and strangled him. Then, Sasuke heard himself scream again: He was turning into one of them…

* * *

Danzo looked outside in awe of the destruction. "Hn. I knew I was right in ordering Sai to kill Uchiha."

"Or, you could've stopped this yourself by telling the Godaime Hokage the truth, the truth that one of her apprentices was really Orochimaru in disguise." Danzo spun around and faced Kizu, the Akatsuki leader. "A little birdie told me." A crow landed on the mysterious man's shoulder, which he gave a treat.

Danzo, though visibly startled, did his best to maintain his composure. "Tsunade will eventually be this village's downfall. It was a necessary sacrifice…both as an example of her policies, and to one day insure that I will become Hokage. And once I do, Konoha will…"

"Yes, yes, of course." Kizu leaned against one of the cracked walls, indicating he had no interest in the man's political goals. "Either way, this shall be good for us. You see, I have a plan that shall draw your hated jinchuriki away from this village. The best part of all…if it goes as planned, he will come peacefully."

For a minute, Danzo was about to yell "Preposterous!" But then, something in his mind clicked. "Haruno. You're planning to use her against him."

"You always had to give away the best parts!" Kizu nearly shouted in frustration. He then regained his composure. "There's more to it then that though. We need to ensure that this will work. We need an army."

Danzo realized Kizu was staring right at him. "I can't possibly get Konoha's forces to-"

"Who said anything about Konoha? You've had other ninjas doing your dirty deeds. Like Iwa" Danzo backed away, sweating. "Yes, I know it was you who started the Third Shinobi War in an attempt to discredit Sarutobi. And I would bet what little money I have that you were hoping it would kill him as well. You were the mysterious client that paid Iwagakure to attack Konoha. And because of this village's struggle with Iwa, Kiri took the opportunity to attack as well. Soon, Suna and Kumo joined the fray. And before you say 'How?...' I have my ways."

Danzo finally breathed. "I see. You need a battle. One which will draw away any possibility of help. And one that will justify sending in Haruno. I think I can arrange that."

"And my men are making the preparations." Kizu licked his lips in anticipation.

* * *

Hidan was happier than ever to have a body. Even if it belonged to a heathen. But still, after living in that dark pit for years…normal prisons were better than that! They allowed at least some light and movement. He even began loosing faith in his own religion! But like all good faiths, his God delivered him salvation…and gave him some compensation. He didn't like to admit it, but Kakuzu's abilities were pretty kick-ass. Hidan reached down to pick up a rock, and tossed it across the wasteland. The wasteland of Earth country. "I'm fucking bored!! I can see why Iwa nins are so land greedy!!" Deidra, above in a clay bird, rolled his eyes and pretended he didn't hear that. "I guess this is what they get for not following the will of Jashin!!"

Now, that statement Deidra refused to take. "Hidan!?" he called from above. "Just HOW MANY MORONS WOULD FOLLOW YOUR FAITH!?" Hidan looked up and spun his kusarigama, gritting his teeth. "Don't give me any of that!!" Deidra yelled. He was too high up anyway to worry. Deidra then focused his camera on the landscape ahead of him, and found what he was looking for. "Ah, there it is. It's been a long time since I've been home." Deidra smiled at the memories. They were not memories of happiness…at least, not by most standards. "Tobi!!"

Tobi stirred from his sleep and took a fighting position. "What!? We're under attack!?" Tobi quickly jumped from one position to another, scanning the horizon for danger and flinging his arms all over.

And as usual, it annoyed Deidra to no end. The former Iwa nin walked up to him, and landed a solid punch across his head. "No, you idiot!! We're home!!"

Tobi looked around again, surveying his surroundings in a much more relaxed manner. "No we're not."

"Yes we are."

"No we're not."

"We're at MY HOME!! WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE!!" Deidra breathed deep, and counted to ten…he wondered why he never complained about Tobi, or anyone for that matter, being his partner. He always got the worst of the bunch to deal with. "I'm going to go at this alone, Tobi. The Tsuchikage and I have quite a history together."

Tobi just stared at him blankly for one good minute. "That's bad, right?"

For perhaps the first time in history, Deidra smirked at something Tobi said. "In my case, yes. But I think I've just the thing for him to hear me out." Deidra tapped the suitcase behind him with his foot. Deidra got the clay bird to land, and let Tobi off. "Keep our partner entertained." Deidra took off once more, leaving perhaps Akatsuki's strangest members behind.

Meanwhile, Tobi was sweating underneath his mask. Entertain Hidan? How was he supposed to do that!? He tried to get Deidra to laugh, and he got hurt each time. Hidan would probably kill him! But Deidra told him to do it!! Desperately, he tried to think of a plan…and it came to him. "Um, knock knock."

* * *

The Tsuchikage downed another cup of sake. Several used bottles littered the entire floor. For someone who was supposed to be a kage, he looked terribly out of shape. But no one questioned him. The few that did were tortured, even put to death. The same went for those who criticized his job. But it wasn't the job he wanted in the first place; it was the power. And with that power, he surrounded himself with riches, at the cost of the welfare of his own people. It was starting to affect even him. But he hated the administrative work required to solve the problem. And the power…it was just too good to give up. The Tsuchikage wiped his hands through his long brown hair, and poured another bottle. "Good thing I had that bothersome assistant executed." So long as he was the one living good, he could care less about his people.

"Tsuchikage-sama!!"

The Tsuchikage angrily smacked his cup on his desk. "Fool! I told you I do not wish to be bothered about matters of the state!!"

"But sir, it's Deidra!!"

This made the Tsuchikage stop cold, causing him to drop his cup. Deidra!? As in his former teammate!? Their sensei had initially chosen Deidra as the new Tsuchikage. In response, Mutsugorou, now the current Tsuchikage, poisoned him and framed Deidra for the attack. If he was here…trouble was too mild a word to describe what awaited him. After what seemed to be an eternity, the so-called kage rose up and screamed "Alert the troops immediately!! Get the archers ready, and order all the ground troops to be ready to kill!!"

"But sir, you don't understand, he's-"

Before the guard could complete his sentence, his head exploded. As the headless body fell to the floor, it revealed Deidra, standing right at the doorway, carrying only a briefcase and that same evil smirk. "It's been a long time, Mutsugorou-chan." The Tsuchikage, or Mutsugorou, a name he refused to use anymore, screamed and crawled backwards into the wall. He was never a match for his former comrade, and that certainly hadn't changed now! Deidra could not help but roll his eyes at the pathetic sight. "This is exactly why I became a missing-nin: Our village is lead by incompetents!!" Mudskipper, in the meantime, was jittering nonsensically, too scared to form one word, or even call for help.

Deidra just grinned and walked forward. "Relax. I'm not going to kill you. Well, depending on how you answer anyway." Mutsugorou was showing no signs of calming down whatsoever. It looked like Deidra would have to find a way other than his usual tactics. The missing-nin searched around…and saw a very delicious bottle of sake on the desk. "Ah, the hakubai brand. Very expensive, and for good reason." Deidra took a sip, and tilted his head back in ecstasy. Oh, how he wanted to have more! But business was at hand, and for professional reasons, as well as for his own safety, now was not a good time to get drunk. Deidra walked back to Mutsugorou, and offered him a cup. Like a frightened animal, the man eyed him suspiciously, and the cup.

After what was too long by Deidra's standards, with a trembling hand he took the cup, and gulped it down. "Wh-What do you want?"

Deidra sat back, confident that he had won the man over. "Well, let's cut to the chase. I've a proposal for you." Mutsugorou said nothing, but leaned forward, showing he was interested. Deidra continued, pouring another cup for himself. "You remember back when we fought Konoha, don't you?" Mudskipper nodded vigorously. "Yes, the cursed Yellow Flash humiliated us. But we haven't the man-power to get our revenge."

"Well, from what my boss has told me, it has been attacked again. Much worse than the sand-sound invasion. Right now, the jonin are taking as many missions as possible to stimulate the village's economy and neutralize any surprise threats. At the same time, it seems that many chunin have been dispatched as well. Wouldn't you say that now would be a perfect opportunity to attack?"

Mutsugorou narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Your…boss…wants us to attack Konoha while it is weak and in chaos."

"Correct. It is actually the wish of our client. You might be familiar with him. Someone who goes by the alias of the Jissei Kage."

Mutsugorou's eyes widened. The Jissei Kage, as preposterous a name it was, was a valuable ally. He provided many funds for Earth Country during the 3rd Shinobi War, and gave information on Konoha that was almost impossible to obtain by other means. His true identity, however, was a mystery."And what do I get out of this?" This was Deidra he was talking to after all.

Deidra sighed, and walked back to the briefcase he left on the floor. "A real kage you are. You drink to your heart's content until you're nothing but a fat pig, surround yourself with riches to the point that everyone but you lives in poverty…and you don't give a damn about the honor of this village." Deidra didn't either, but he believed that a kage should. Deidra kicked the briefcase towards Mutsugorou, and gestured him to open it.

Cautiously, Mutsugorou opened it, and his eyes widened in surprise. Bars of Gold! Combined, it must have been even more money than even he had. He immediately lunged for them…and jumped back, screaming in fright. A clay spider, crawling with terrifying speed, went up his chest and began to pry open his mouth. The "Tsuchikage" slapped the floor furiously, hoping his nemesis would spare him.

"You think I would just show money like that to a pig like you?" Deidra collected the bars, ignoring the crying man, and shut the case closed. The clay spider immediately disintegrated, and the Tsuchikage let out a cry of relief. "Invade Konoha. And all that will be yours. So long as you do what my master commands. If you try to double-cross us, I have been ordered by my master to kill you." Deidra leaned towards the fat man, now paralyzed with fear. Almost like a lover, Deidra placed his hand on his cheek and delicately stroked it. The Tsuchikage nearly screamed again when what felt like a tongue slid across his face. "And it will be one of the greatest pleasures for me to kill you. Keep that in mind." Deidra twisted and walked out of the office with the briefcase in hand.

The Tsuchikage just stood there in shock. Finally, he managed to speak to himself. "I better change my pants."

* * *

Temari moaned as she woke up. Her vision was out of focus. "Damn." As she got her bearings straight, she realized this wasn't her room. "Damn, Shikamaru must have…" Suddenly, her memory was flooded with the images of the battle she and Shikamaru shared, and she realized why she lost consciousness. She shot up in horror screaming his name. "Shikamaru! Shikamaru!!" Temari stumbled out of the bed, falling down and taking an IV with her. Determined not to let anything stop her, she yanked it out and continued to crawl forward. Just then, someone ran inside and picked her up. She didn't notice that this stranger was being gentle with her. Instead, Temari lashed out at this stranger. Now way he would keep her from Shikamaru!! "Let me go, you jackass!!" She hit him furiously, but the blows were poor form 

even for academy students. Truth be told, they were the exact same techniques a three-year old throwing a tantrum would use.

"Alright, alright!!"

Temari was immediately dropped onto the bed which she woke up in. Upon recognizing that voice, she immediately calmed down, and her vision finally focused. "Sh-Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru was right there, standing beside her. But instead of looking relieved, he appeared annoyed. Temari grabbed the sheets in concern. She thought he would be worried about her! But then again…perhaps it was the fact that she lost, and Shikamaru was ashamed of her.

Temari looked away, and felt something wet on her hand. She looked down, and saw it was a tiny droplet of water. She brought that same hand to her face…and realized she was crying. "No! I can't cry! I won't!" But no matter what she commanded herself, the tears wouldn't stop.

Shikamaru noticed it too, and leaned in. "Okay, just why are you crying?"

Temari sniffled before answering. "I get it. You don't like weak women."

"Huh?"

"You're right. I couldn't stop him. And because of that…I'm too troublesome to be around."

"What!?"

"It's okay Shikamaru. I know you have more important things to do than worry about me."

Suddenly, Shikamaru spun her around to face him. "You idiot, I was only annoyed because you started hitting me like a child!"

Temari's eyes widened in surprise. She figured Shikamaru to be the practical type, not the romantic type. Not that this moment disproved that…though she hoped it would.

Shikamaru's expression then softened, and he took a seat with her on the bed. "Temari, during our battle, there's something I realized. Something I have to tell you." Temari didn't say a word, but adjusted herself so that she could listen as clearly as possible. "We haven't seen each other that much over the years. But I've gotten to know you so well during those short periods. When we fought during the chunin exams, I thought you were one of the smartest people I've ever met."

"Next to you, anyway." Temari replied, a bit annoyed and suspicious that he was just sucking up to her.

"Temari, please. Let me finish. I was also amazed at how strong you were. At first, I thought you were just another one of those talented but stuck up kunoichis. But when you became the ambassador for Suna, I realized I was wrong. Even though you always act cold and sarcastic all of the time, you're also very kind. You always put your comrades first, whether they're from your home village or here. You 

always try to come up with the best possible solutions for everyone. And…" Shikamaru stopped. His face turned red as a cherry, and he fumbled with his words.

Temari huffed and crossed her arms, showing she was not amused. "Shikamaru…" she said, annoyance clear in her voice. "If this is a confession, you're not doing a very good job."

In response, Shikamaru blurted out "And I think you're beautiful!!" The shadow nin's blush didn't go away; he didn't intend to say it that loud and it only embarrassed him further. He didn't even notice that Temari's eyes widened in shock and a blush crept across her face as well. Shikamaru finally worked up the courage to continue. "Lately, I've found that I can't think straight whenever you're not around. And after all this time, I've finally figured it out." There was a long pause between the two, who did nothing more than look into each other's eyes. Finally, Shikamaru placed his hand over Temari's. "I love you."

For Temari, time stopped. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt the same way, ever since he defeated her in the chunin exams. Officially, she won, but that was only because Shikamaru forfeited the match. Every real ninja knew that if that were a real battle, she would have been dead. She was never into pretty boys or buff guys much…they all tried to court her back in Suna, and ever since an incident that involved her loosing her temper, they all stopped altogether. But when she fought Shikamaru, she realized how different he was. A boy had managed to impress her for the first time in her life, and it had nothing to do with proving his strength or charm. He used his cunning for battle, like a real ninja was supposed to. She wanted to get to know him better, and became more and more fascinated by his character, though he could be annoying at times. Temari snapped out of the past and looked at him. His face showed that he clearly needed an answer, but he was not scared enough to turn away. "Hm, he's also grown into quite a man." Temari thought. Slowly, she leaned her body towards him. This did not go unnoticed by Shikamaru, and he began to do the same. Soon, their lips met…

* * *

Konohamaru twiddled his thumbs outside the tent. It had been days since the attack, and Moegi still hadn't woken up. He couldn't bear to look at her anymore. It was still too much for him. There was a good chance that Moegi may never wake up again. Even if she did, she would still have severe brain damage.

"Konohamaru."

The young chunin turned around to see Udon standing at the tent entrance. "Udon. How's Moegi?"

Udon lowered his head, unable to look Konohamaru in the eyes. "It's serious."

* * *

Konohamaru ran like there was no tomorrow inside the tent. He would've very much liked to have simply shoved aside the nurses and patients to get to his destination faster, but some part of him managed to restrain him. "Moegi! Moegi!!" Konohamaru practically ripped the flap open, and saw Moegi lying in bed, with Sakura by her side.

She wasn't working on Moegi, and her face was sad. Sakura slowly raised her head to face him. "I'm so sorry Konohamaru…" Konohamaru didn't respond. He just stared at Moegi as his heart sunk. He didn't even notice Sakura passing him.

Almost like a zombie, he walked towards her, tears falling down his face. "Moegi…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I was worried about you, and I didn't want you to fight that swordsman! I knew no matter how much I pleaded, you would stay! So I tried to get you and hate me!" Konohamaru collapsed on his knees, crying next to her. Absently, he rubbed her hand. "For the first time in my life, I wasn't sure we would make it, so I tried to get you away. But instead, I put you in harm's way! I don't blame you if you hate me even more. A part of me…wants you to hate me like that, because I deserve it." Konohamaru rose up, and looked at Moegi's face. She never looked so peaceful before, and for a dead girl, she looked rather vibrant and pretty. "Moegi…you were the most important person in my life. You helped me through a lot of things, and when grandpa and Uncle Asuma were killed, you were the first to comfort me. You always cheered me on. And…and we had so much fun together that could never be replaced." Konohamaru was too nervous to say the last part he really wanted to say. He wasn't even sure if he really felt that way. But, he had to leave her some memento to express how he felt about her. "Goodbye, Moegi." Konohamaru's face scrunched up with an incredible sadness. He struggled to get the last part out. "I'll miss you." He moved closer to Moegi's forehead. He kneeled next to her, and moved to place a kiss on her forehead…and a pair of lips met his. Konohamaru's eyes widened to see Moegi kissing him back. "AHHHHHHH!!"

Konohamaru crawled back in horror, while Moegi just laughed. "You were right, Sakura-san!"

Sakura came back in, this time with a cheerful smile. "I'm sorry, Konohamaru! We just couldn't resist!!"

Konohamaru did nothing but gape at them for two straight minutes. Finally he figured it out. "AAAAUUUGGGHHHH! You two tricked me!? At a time like this!?" he yelled, moving an accusing finger between the two kunoichi.

Sakura's smile softened slightly, showing she understood his anger. "Sorry, Konohamaru. But Moegi was so certain that you hated her, and I told her to do this to see how you really feel." Konohamaru's face went blank, except for the red blush that crept across his face. "I should also let you know that Moegi will make a full recovery, but she should still take it easy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to tend to." Sakura disappeared, leaving an embarrassed Konohamaru and Moegi alone.

"Konohamaru…I understand why you did what you did…" Konohamaru, feeling relieved at hearing her say that, walked towards her and tried to embrace her in a hug. But at the last second, Moegi crossed her arms and turned away from him. "That doesn't mean I'm not mad about what you said to me."

Konohamaru realized the truth of the matter just then. Even though he lied when he said those things, his intentions alone told her she was worthless. "I'm sorry, Moegi. You're not weak at all; you ARE strong. But when I heard about who we were up against…I didn't want to risk losing you." Konohamaru then grabbed Moegi's hand, who yelped in surprise. "From now on, I'll trust in you. I promise." Moegi blushed slightly, and smiled, clasping Konohamaru's hand tightly. From now on, they would trust in each other fully…much like a certain blonde and pink couple…

* * *

Sasuke continued to struggle. He managed to keep the transformation at bay, but both his body and his mind were exhausted. He couldn't keep it up.

"It's only a matter of time, Sasuke-kun." His dark doppelgangers taunted as they gained another inch on his body.

Sasuke twisted and screamed, denying their accusations. But then he remembered everything that happened in the past. His betrayal, his training…and where it ultimately led him. His thoughts then turned to Naruto. At the Valley of the End, Naruto equaled his power, and could have killed him. 3 years later, Sasuke believed he was able to trump Naruto easily. But the blonde wasn't at full strength. And days ago, they fought again, with Naruto the victor. Even with the Curse Mark, Naruto took control of the fight, and Sasuke would have died if he stayed that way for too long anyway. That's when the truth hit him: Naruto became stronger than he did, stronger than he could ever hope to be. Naruto never suffered the losses he did, did not receive the training he did, nor used bonds of hate to make himself stronger. And yet he still came out on top. Not too long ago, Sasuke would have laughed at the concept, claiming only hate led to true strength. But now, he wasn't so sure. "All these years…I was wrong."

"What?" one of the Dark Sasukes asked.

"I used to think only hatred would give me strength." Soon, his face started transforming.

"So, what is right?" His face was split in half, one like a normal human being, the other a demon.

"I..I don't know." Soon, only the area around his right eye was pure; he was practically purely corrupted now. "But somehow, I will find the answer!! I will find out what true justice is, what truly makes people strong! I will find my answer for living!! And I will repent…" Electricity began to crackle around him, reversing his transformation. "…for everything I have done!!" A sudden surge of energy erupted from him, destroying all of his dark counterparts. Sasuke felt relieved, but something wasn't quite right. He also felt weightless, and cold…

* * *

"Huuaghh!!" Sasuke coughed up water, struggling to breathe. He was lying on his back, and soaking wet. He couldn't be sure, but it felt like he was lying on nothing but rock. "I must've fallen into the river. It was all a dream." He wheezed. Now that his body stopped moving, he couldn't find the energy to continue. "I guess this is it. I guess the only atonement I will ever know will be that of my own death." Sasuke relaxed slightly, accepting whatever would happen to him next. "Itachi…will I see you…in hell?"

For some reason, Sasuke hoped that if he was going where he thought he was, his brother wouldn't be there. Sasuke would've laughed if he had the energy. For years, he dedicated himself to one day killing that man. And yet he could not find it in him to wish his brother would receive the same divine punishment as himself. Sasuke's vision started to fade. Before he blacked out, he saw an odd figure standing above him…

* * *

Yuji stood above the Hokage monuments. They were all scratched and battered, but sculptors were hard at work repairing the damage. However, what grabbed Yuji's attention was the village. He still couldn't believe that something like this could have happened. His home was an utter mess. And all he did was get a few people who couldn't fight into a safe place. But he wanted to do more…

"I can't believe it either." Yuji turned around to see Shiguri behind him, staring at the landscape. Neither one of them moved for a good minute, until Shiguri finally sat down, hugging his knees to his chest. "When I was out there," Shiguri started, "I wanted to prove to everyone I was a true shinobi. I wanted to show I was strong, without mercy…I really found it hard to believe sensei's words about protecting others. I'm sure he killed some people."

"To protect others."

Shiguri said nothing, but the look on his face indicated that he agreed with that statement. "I wanted to be chunin so bad that I wanted to outshine that other guy. But more than that…" Shiguri paused. He struggled to find the words, and Yuji was beginning to lose his patience with him when Shiguri said "I wanted to make my grandfather proud of me."

Now this Yuji found hard to believe. Shiguri talked trash about his grandfather all the time, and said repeatedly that he couldn't care less about what he thought of him. "Bullshit. You tell me all the time that you hate your grandfather."

Shiguri, in a softer tone than usual, replied "I say that all the time. But…it's never what I really feel. He's the only family I've got."

Yuji took a moment to think about it. Yuji met Shiguri's grandfather before, and he was far from the list of the top ten nicest men. He also berated or demanded things of Shiguri that no ninja he knew made a big deal out of. But that didn't change the fact that when all was said and done, Danzo was always the one who cared for him in the end.

"I knew that I took things too far. But when someone you love does not acknowledge you, it hurts so much, and I wanted to do whatever it took to make him proud of me. For that, I'm sorry."

Yuji took a moment to consider everything. Shiguri, despite his rough personality, was really a nice guy.

His first day at the ninja academy, Yuji screwed up on just about everything. When class was over, he looked for a place he could hide, so that he could cry in peace. However, some bullies found him, and took advantage of their target. Yuji was caught in a full nelson and took a few punches to the face.

However, someone his age stepped in and drove them away with taijutsu that was far above average for their age. The dark haired boy turned around and yelled _"Hey, you're enrolled in the class aren't you!? Why didn't you fight back!?"_

Yuji was at a loss to explain the situation. He scratched his head, and sheepishly replied_ "Well…I'm just not very good…at anything really."_

The dark-haired boy looked at him incredulously, and stormed off. Later, Yuji noticed that everyone avoided this boy, whom he learned was named Shiguri. He decided to get to know him to find out why, and when he did, it seemed really petty in his opinion. Though Shiguri was often crude, he seemed to enjoy Yuji's company. And they didn't know when, but they pretty much accepted the fact that they became friends.

Yuji, realizing that Shiguri was still the lonely boy he met back at the academy, realized it was time to let what happened during the exams go. He would make sure his friend wouldn't make the same mistake again, and gave him a pat on the back to show that everything was alright.

* * *

The next day, the rain came. It fit the atmosphere perfectly. Every citizen was dressed in black, and gathered around the cemetery. Sasuke's attack on Konoha had left its mark, and made it a day even more infamous than the Sand Sound War. Tsunade ran the funeral, honoring the many chunin and others who were killed. Relatives spoke sadly and honorably about their loved ones, even those who were not ninja. Finally, it was Shizune's turn.

In the crowd, Sakura tried to fight back her tears. As usual, she failed miserably; she was never good at keeping her emotions in check. Shortly after she recovered, Tsunade told her the truth about Shizune. It was too much for Sakura to take that day, and she simply went home to mourn alone. The other eulogies were like a fog to her; the only thing she could think about was her deceased sempai. She remembered how Shizune helped her when she first got started with her training. Shizune explained the few things that Sakura couldn't get at first. When Sakura had a bad training day (and there were a lot of those days), Shizune would always come to comfort her and cheer her up. Before she knew it, Shizune became the sister she never had. Suddenly, her thoughts turned to Sasuke. While it was Orochimaru who killed Shizune, that didn't change the fact that Sasuke was the one who led the attack. Thinking of him began to make her stomach turn, and she had to try her hardest to not yell in anger. Before, thinking of Sasuke made her sad. As time went by, she realized he wasn't coming back, and those feelings turned into pity for a lost boy. Now, it was hatred. "Are you here, Sasuke, watching this? You attacked Konoha out of revenge, right? Let me tell you, I've avenged the death of my sempai. But there is no pleasure to be had. The fact remains that she's gone, she's never coming back, and I will always miss her. I'm ashamed that we were ever Team 7 together with you." No one could hear her, but whispering it out loud felt better than just thinking it. A little, anyway.

Finally, Tsunade got up to speak. "Shizune, as many of you probably guessed, was one of the most important people in my life. I took her in like she was family, and for a long time she was my only companion. She was also one of the most brilliant and strongest people I have ever trained. She was never afraid to call me out when she felt I was wrong about something, and as you can imagine, during my time as Hokage, she was tremendous help to me." There was nothing but a moment of silence. "Shizune, you were like a daughter to me, and your passing is just as unbearable. But I know that you would not wish for me to drown in sorrow. I will continue to protect everyone here with my will of fire as long as I live. Farewell, Shizune."

The funerals were finally over, and flowers were placed on the graves. Tsunade stared aimlessly, and then felt something light on her shoulder. Tsunade looked to her left, and smiled slightly at Jiraya, who held an umbrella over their heads. It didn't get rid of the pain she felt, but she felt stronger, knowing that someone would help her through it all.

* * *

"So, it is agreed then." Danzo said.

Tsunade nodded, though very slightly. She never imagined that there would be a day when she and the most militant man in Konoha saw eye-to-eye. Granted, her heart told her not to do this. But the risk was too great. Naruto would not be the slightest bit happy when he hears this. But even he would understand eventually. "I hereby declare Uchiha Sasuke an S-Class Criminal, and therefore, upon sight shall be executed." With that, the meeting was adjourned.

Tsunade slowly made her way back to her office, rubbing her temples. It would be a long time before she could get settle into a new routine. At first, she had it pretty good as Hokage. She had succeeded in protecting the village, until now. It was alive, but it was in shambles. To make it as strong as ever, she would have to obtain as many high-paying missions as possible. That would mean that the ninjas would have less time with their families who needed them, but it was necessary. Tsunade cleared her mind as she finally approached her door, preparing herself for more mind-numbing work. Although she did have a bad reputation as a procrastinator, she could get work done on her own when she needed to. And she would. "Let's get to it." She opened the door, and was surprised at what she saw: both Sakura and Jiraya organizing things and clearing up the office for her.

Sakura doing those things didn't surprise her that much, but Jiraya? "I was planning to surprise you, but then Jiraya-sama popped in and asked if there was anything he could do for me. He's been a lot of help, Tsunade-shishou. Did you scare him into doing this?" Sakura teased.

"I wish." That was unusual. As far as information and protection went, Jiraya was pretty reliable. Asking him to do menial tasks would be like asking him to give up writing adult fiction; impossible. Tsunade's eyebrow quirked as she said "Yes, your behavior as been unusually chivalrous. Care to explain?"

Jiraya seemed to sweat, and realized too late he was getting suspicious looks from both kunoichis. "I, I…I just thought I could be more helpful is all!" No good.

It just roused Tsunade's suspicions even more. "If you've been installing hidden cameras in here…you must really be desperate."

Jiraya clenched his fist and yelled "You've got to be kidding me! There's no way I'd peak on you in here!! Besides, if I wanted to see you undressed, I know of a bunch of other places around here to catch you in your birthday suit!!"

The sanin realized his mistake too late and before he could take that statement back, he was immediately knocked both out cold and into the ceiling from a well-placed kick by his teammate. "Sakura, remind me to make a call to fix that hole later on."

"Yes, Shishou." Sakura finished cleaning her part of the room, and walked over to her mentor. "Shishou, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No Sakura, you've been more than enough help. That will be all." Tsunade finally took her seat, only to see that Sakura stood there, looking at her with great concern.

"Shishou…will you be alright?" Tsunade just stared at her, stunned. "Shishou, Shizune told me all about your travels. You were still grieving over Dan and your little brother because of the Hokage necklace. About how your team fell apart when Orochimaru betrayed you. She said you were so hurt, and angry at the world. All you really did was gamble and drink…and that you just lost interest in the village. Shizune-sempai told me that as much as it hurt her, she stayed with you because she hoped she could get you to remember everything else that was important to you." At this point, Sakura was crying. "Shishou, you're like a mother to me. I don't know what it was really like back then for you, and I understand you only behaved like that because you were in pain…but I don't want to see you like that!" The young woman sniffled and swallowed before going on. "This village needs you. So please, if you need to let anything out, if you need a favor of me, please ask me! I want to be here for you."

Tsunade was shocked at everything she said. It shouldn't have come as a surprise to her; Tsunade thought of Sakura as the daughter she never had. The two of them together often did act like they were family. But she would've never expected Sakura to call her that. Tsunade stood, and embraced her pupil. " Thank you so much, Sakura. It's nice to know someone cares."

"You do have someone else, Shishou, even if he is a bit quirky."

The two looked up at Jiraya's apparently headless body struggling in mid-air. The two couldn't help but to giggle; it was a welcome sight after such a depressing week. "Anyway, Sakura, you can trust me. I'll be 

fine, and besides, there's still work to be done." Tsunade grabbed the Toad Sage's legs and pulled him down.

Sakura was tempted to stay, but could tell the legendary pervert and her master were developing genuine feelings for each other. They probably wanted some alone time. As she walked out the door, she ran into something. It was hard, but not rock hard. "Naruto?"

Naruto, for some reason, looked different. Though she didn't exactly expect him to be his usual cheery self under these circumstances, he seemed unusually melancholy. In fact, he looked like a lost boy. "Sakura…how are you?" Something was definitely wrong. He didn't use the "chan" like he usually did at the end of her name, and his question just came out of the blue. "Could you excuse me?" he asked softly.

"He's acting like I'm not really here." Sakura thought, her heart beating from fear of the things that could have possibly happened. Perhaps it was Sasuke's sentence? Or did someone blame the blonde for Konoha's attack itself? She looked back at Tsunade, who now seemed focused, and somewhat afraid. She nodded slightly, indicating that she would handle it. "Please be alright." Sakura whispered as she placed a quick kiss on the jinchuriki's cheek.

Tsunade noticed this look to, and one thought came to mind. She hoped she was wrong, but that was unlikely. If Naruto had indeed discovered the one existing photograph of the Yodaime, it was best to come clean and get it over with. She waited until Sakura was well out of hearing range before deciding to answer Naruto. "Naruto, what's troubling you?"

Naruto didn't say a word; he simply walked towards her, slowly, unknowingly building up the rising tension in the room. He then pulled out a scroll, and summoned something. And that's when her fear was realized: On her desk was the missing photo of Namikaze Minato. "Explain." Naruto demanded, in a soft but furious tone.

Tsunade sighed. No point in lying now. Naruto may not have been the brightest bulb in the room, but he was not a fool. Before she could do that, Jiraya walked over and answered him. "I guess you figured it out, Naruto. That is the Yodaime Hokage, and yes, he is your father."

"I figured that much. But why? Why did he put a monster inside of me?"

Jiraya simply replied "You know damn well why. He did it to save the village."

"Or so you say."

"Naruto!!" Tsunade yelled.

"Garaa, Kenji…their fathers were the leaders of their village, and put monsters inside their children as experiments!! And when they realized it was a mistake, they discarded them, even tried to kill them!! So how am I, the son of a kage whose flesh and blood put a monster inside of me, any different!?"

Jiraya and Tsunade were taken aback by this. They knew about Garaa's father, and briefly heard something mentioned about Kenji's father, but they couldn't easily refute Naruto's experiences; all jinchuriki had monsters imprisoned in them as infants, against their wills. It was all done to make living weapons, and, at least recently, their own family made it happen. While Minato's intentions were good, even with the powers he gave his son, they couldn't deny that in doing so he condemned his own son to isolation. He did clearly state that he wanted his son to be remembered as a hero, but unfortunately, as with most human beings, the villagers chose to listen to their fears instead.

" After I learned about Kyuubi being inside of me, I always questioned why he chose me. I wasn't the only orphan; why couldn't have someone else put up with the pain of being an outcast? Now I question how could someone do that to his own son!?"

"Naruto, that's enough!!" Jiraya yelled.

"No, it's not! At first, I didn't blame the villagers' attitude towards me! I figured I was just some ordinary kid they could use as a scapegoat, and I chose to forgive them! But no!! They treated the baby they knew to be the Yodaime's son as a monster!!" Naruto laughed a little, but it was not a happy laugh. It was one of disbelief. Naruto looked outside a window, showing the torn-down village. "This whole village talks about how great the Yodaime was, and yet they can't pay respect to the one thing he left behind. This look suits their true colors much better." With those last words, Naruto stormed out. Jiraya reached out to say something, but before he could, the normally hyperactive ninja growled "Keep the damn picture."

Jiraya only stood there, hurt by the reaction. The sage's head drooped down towards the floor. "I should have taken him with me when I left."

"No." Tsunade replied. She was just as hurt by his outburst as Jiraya, but she couldn't let it get to her right now. "Both Minato and Kushina wished for Naruto to grow up here, no matter what that would mean. Besides, we both had our own demons to face." The medic-nin stood and looked at the picture of her friend's deceased student. "I guess you were right. It was too much for him." She put her hand on his shoulder, comforting him. "But it will pass. Naruto could never hate anyone, no matter what their sins. Besides, he thinks of you as his own grandfather." Jiraya nodded slightly, his eyes still fixed on the door Naruto ran through.

"If finding out about his father was this hard for him…" Jiraya thought, "How am I going to explain what happened to his mother?"

* * *

Naruto sat outside on a bench, ignoring the pouring rain. Hugging one knee to his chest, he was simply indifferent to the world around him. His confrontation with Tsunade and Jiraya didn't help answer his questions; in fact he only had more. Was there any other option that his father refused to consider before sealing the Kyuubi within his only son? Was there any ulterior motive he had, even with the knowledge that he would die? Did his…mother…have any say? Too many questions…and now, after his outburst, he feared he may never find the answers.

"Naruto!" Naruto turned his head to see Sakura running up to him with an umbrella over her. Immediately, she sat down next to him and placed it over the two of them. "What's wrong with you!? Don't you know you can catch a cold like this!?" Sakura waited for a response, but was scared when all she got was the same distant look he showed back at the tower. Whatever it was, it was bad, and apparently neither Jiraya nor Tsunade could solve it. Quickly, she embraced him with one arm. "Naruto, please tell me what's wrong! I don't know if I can help, but you've got to let it out!" At this point, Sakura was crying as well. "I can't stand to see you like this. This isn't you." she begged

Finally, Naruto muttered "I found out who my father was. Sakura…this whole time…he was the Yodaime Hokage. This whole time, and no one ever told me. No one…ever loved me."

Sakura's eyes widened. She didn't know how he found out, but that was not important. Naruto was hurt and angry, and the remaining two sanin couldn't do anything to make him feel better. Perhaps she could. And even if it wouldn't work, he deserved to know what she did. "Naruto…this isn't going to make you happy…but the truth is, I knew." Slowly, Naruto faced her, his eyes fully open in disbelief. "I looked at things I wasn't supposed to, and I found out who you really were before you came back from your training. I didn't tell you, not because of the law, but I believed that Tsunade-shishou and the others were trying to protect you. If doing so only wound up hurting you, I'm sorry. But…" She didn't get a chance to finish. Naruto stood abruptly and began walking towards town. "Naruto!!"

Naruto stopped, but she could tell it was not because she ordered him to. "The Sandaime. Ero-senin. Ba-chan. Kakashi and Iruka-sensei. They've all kept secrets from me." He turned around and faced her, directing his anger at her for the first time. "And now you." His statement made Sakura freeze. It felt like someone had stabbed her, and at the same time, it was a pain she couldn't describe. In the past, she was always so mean to Naruto. And yet, all he ever did in return was smile at her. She couldn't comprehend how this could make him snap, especially after all they've been through together. "I thought we were comrades. I hoped we could become something much more." With that, Naruto began to walk away again. "I guess I should've known better."

Sakura could only stare in shock of what Naruto just said. She didn't notice that in her shock, she dropped the umbrella and let herself get drenched in the rain. All she felt was the pain wrenching her heart. It was just like when Sasuke left…only it was so much worse. Soon, her tears dropped to complement the rain.

* * *

Thanks for reading again! A lot of people often have Naruto, upon discovering his heritage, feel happy about who he is. However, I think there is also some validity to him being angry as well, so I went more for that extreme. Things will stitch up for him in time though. Next, a new war begins, and Sakura...is getting married!?

Mitsukai-Angel

Mutsugorou-Mudskipper

Jissei Kage-True Kage

Hakubai-White Plum Blossom


	26. Nothing Fills This Hole Inside Your Hear

Hi everyone! So sorry for the long wait, but I made this a pretty long chapter, and I did not have a lot of time to work on it. Finished my GEs, and I'm working part-time now. With school done, I'm planning on making my part-time job a full-time job. Sadly, I did not have time for most of the summer movies, but I am so glad I got to see the Dark Knight (RIP Heath Ledger, you EARNED it). I'm also very excited about Gundam 00 coming to the states. I saw the first few episodes on-line, but nothing beats good ol' fashioned tv, and so far, the dub sounds promising (though coming from me, that is not saying much as I prefer to watch dubs).

Just a bit of a warning for this chapter: there will be a moment from another "potential" pairing that you will absolutely despise me for doing. But it's small, and I promise you it will lead to NaruSaku. But for now, I'm setting up some other things.

Krymsom: Well, if she was, that would make solving their little predicament right now a little too easy, wouldn't it?

Sdkronon: Yeah, something like that.

DanielNeives: Oh, I think you'll love this chapter as well in that case

Mrfipp: 1) Cause perverts are sinners (myself included) 2)Won't be happening, but he's an S-class criminal, so I'd imagine he could rule a village with an iron-fist if he wanted to. 3)I doubt you do have an idea of who I'm going to hook her up with, but it's revealed this chapter, so let me know if I should take that back.

Spazzgirl: Sadly, I have to agree with you on what Sakura and Moegi did. Guess I was thinking two hard on how to bring those brats together.

LoneWolfBloodStorm: Yes, you should feel sad

Untamable: It does sound like an interesting project, but I'm too busy with this story as well, and I'm considering doing a web-comic, so I have to turn your offer down. However, I want to let you know that I'm pleased you think of my writing skills in such high regard; the offer alone makes me feel damn good

H.I.M. Jon-White: I don't know when, but in that case I will give them a look. Also, I was taking "Race and Discrimination in America", and "Writing for Proficiency (shocking as it may be, I failed my General Writing Requirement back at my old school).

SakuraSH: Yes way, and if I'm interpreting your message correctly, Sakura is going to be as happy about it as you are.

Cecixx19: Um…what makes you think that? (someone bangs wall) DEIDARA!! I TOLD YOU, DRUG HER THEN TIE HER UP!! WE NEED HER!!...Um, what's that look you're giving me?

InARealPickle: She did it because it was the law, and she was afraid of what might happen if she did tell him. It will be explained better in this chapter and future ones

Kunoichibrat: Well, here it is, and just in time. Now keep quiet unless you want me to show you what I do to people who live up to the latter part of your name

Disclaimer: The odds of me owning Naruto are the same as me becoming President of the United States this November

* * *

Sakura just ran through the rain, oblivious to the feeling of her wet clothes and skin. She kept telling herself that it was just a fight, it would be cleared up. But no matter how much she did, she realized that Naruto had essentially broken up with her. After having a crush on her forever, Naruto cut any real ties with her. As of right now, they only way they would meet again would be during shinobi duties. Finally, she reached her house, and ran straight in.

"Sakura!" her mom called. "Your father has-"

She didn't stick around to find out. Anything to do with her father didn't exactly lighten her mood. She just ran straight up the stairs into her room. Finally, she calmed down a bit, and sat on her bed. Staring out the window, she began to think coherently once more. "What's wrong with me!? I've been through this before! Hell, a lot of people in my generation have had bad break-ups!! It's nothing unusual!!" But she could hardly call her bond with Naruto ordinary. No matter how it would've turned out in the future…it was a bond that was irreplaceable. She used to want nothing to do with him, and then it evolved into true friendship. And then…it wasn't romantic love. Was it? It was too much for Sakura right now. Sakura simply lay down, and pulled the covers over her, hoping to find the answer in the morning…

* * *

To the untrained eye, it looked like silhouette figures jumped from tree to tree at the speed of light. But anyone with ninja training could clearly see Hatake Kakashi and Yamato tree hopping. "This is the last area." Kakashi whispered to Yamato. They were sent late last night on a mission to scout the perimeter. Granted, chunin could do this mission, but Tsunade did not want to take any chances. She needed the best trained eyes, and the best fighters. They couldn't risk losing anymore.

"It seems clear, Kakashi-sempai." Yamato noted. "However, there's something….ominous." The clone of the Shodai Hokage motioned his head to his left.

"Yes, you're right." Kakashi growled in agreement. The two jonin flung kunai to their sides, and they seemingly stopped in mid-air. However, they did hit something fleshy.

A ninja finally appeared, seemingly out of thin air, embedded with the kunai. "Urghh!" The ninja fell from the branch, but was saved by the hard ground by Yamato's branches. The two leaf jonin jumped down to inspect his headband.

"Iwa nin?" Kakashi muttered. Doing his best to keep his emotions in check, he addressed the scout. "It's been a while since you started conflict with us."

The kunai missed his vitals, so he was in no danger of dying. "Hmph! You leaf nin are so full of yourselves! Oh, but you'll know your place soon!!" Suddenly, they were surrounded by Iwa nins!

"Oh darn. Whatever shall we do?" Kakashi said in a mocking tone, drawing two kunai in his hands.

"I have a few ideas." Yamato replied, with exactly the same thoughts.

* * *

Tsunade put the first bit of her paperwork for the day in the "done" bin. She then turned her attention to the stack that had to be done. And it was pretty damn high. She sighed in frustration. Then, a knock came on her door. More business at hand, most likely, but talking to people was much better than paperwork "Enter."

Most would expect adult jonin to enter. However, instead, 4 genin entered. Yuji Miyamoto, Iori Myojin, Tiger Jaa, and Hanabi Hyuuga to be precise. "You wanted to see us, Hokage-sama?" Jaa asked as he bowed.

"Yes, there is something very important I need to discuss with each of you." The Godaime replied. "As you know, our village has experienced a devastating attack and we are just beginning to recover. We've lost many good ninjas as well, and we are at our most vulnerable right now." Yuji had a feeling what was coming next, but kept it to himself, tightening his fist in anticipation. After all, there was no guarantee… "I want to let you know that our decision was not made out of desperation, but that we truly believed you four had the ability to meet our expectations. So…" Tsunade stood and reached behind her desk. From there, she pulled out four chunin vests. The four now former genin eyes widened in surprise. "Congratulations." Tsunade said. "I expect great things from all of you, Chunin of Konoha."

Everyone was in shock, especially Jaa, who began crying and suddenly clasped his hands in praying fashion. "Thank you so much, Hokage-sama! I won't let you down!!" Jaa put the vest on and dashed out the door, presumably to tell his family.

Iori looked at hers in wonder, then over to Yuji. For some reason, he looked…scared. Iori was about to smack him and get him to bow, when suddenly two jonin ran in. She recognized one of them as Kakashi, and both of them showed signs of an intense battle.

"Hokage-sama!" Yamato yelled. "Iwa nins have attacked!! We've eliminated their initial attackers, but there will be more! It's…war."

Kakashi reached into his blood-stained pack, and pulled out a video cassette. "They intended to leave this with our corpses." Kakashi stated, with a hint of malice in his voice. He was probably the one ninja in Konohagakure to still hold on to his hatred of the Iwa nins.

Tsunade took the tape, staring at it as if not playing it still gave her the information she needed. "Give me a few minutes." As she stood, she turned her head to the newly appointed chunin "And the same goes for you. Yamato, get Jaa back here."

* * *

Naruto groaned as he woke up, rubbing the eyes from his sleep. He went straight to bed the other night, hoping it would calm him down. It didn't; he felt as angry as ever. Sluggishly, he got up for some breakfast, most likely ramen. Before he reached the kitchen, something caught his eye. His head turned to stare at a picture of him and Team 7. He knew he should feel angry towards Sasuke, but he just couldn't. However, he couldn't help but direct it towards Kakashi and Sakura. Kakashi knew the whole time, and never told him. Sakura didn't know as long, but as a teammate he trusted her the most. It hurt him even more, knowing that, at least temporarily, some of the feelings he had for her were returned…and those secrets in the end tore them apart. Naruto was brought out of his musings when he heard a knock on the door. He hoped it was no one who knew the details of his heritage or the Kyuubi. He opened the door, and discovered his prayers went unanswered as he observed Kakashi standing in the doorway. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" he said in the nastiest tone he could muster.

Kakashi just sighed in response. "Listen, Tsunade told me you found out. Naruto, I'm-"

"If the only thing you're here for is to apologize, stuff it up your hairy ass!"

Naruto was about to slam the door, but Kakashi caught it. "All chunin and jonin have been summoned at the tower. The details will be explained there." Kakashi's voice was calm, but carried a dangerous undertone as well.

"Forget it, I'm-"

Before Naruto could finish his sentence, Kakashi grabbed him by the collar. "Failure to show up at urgent meetings like this is considered treason. In your case, it could be much worse." Both knew what he meant by that. An out of control jinchuriki was something the council would not tolerate.

Naruto grunted reluctantly, knowing Kakashi was right. "Let me get dressed."

* * *

Sakura stepped out of the shower wearing a bathrobe and a towel around her head. She barely slept at all, yet she didn't feel tired. Unfortunately, that meant she also felt worse. She just wanted to continue to lie in bed, hoping that either the world would end or by some miracle something would make all the pain she felt go away. At the moment, she wasn't sure which she wanted more. "I've got work to do." She muttered to herself. She didn't want to go, but as a medic-nin she believed her responsibilities came first. That, and she had to make sure Tsunade was doing okay. "She has to be feeling worse than I am." Sakura reminded herself.

The kunoichi got dressed and headed downstairs. Once she poured herself a bowl of cereal, she noticed something odd. Her father was at the table with her mother making him breakfast, nothing unusual there. But he was smiling. Her father was one of the sternest men she knew, and happiness just did not coexist with him. "Father…are you alright?"

His black eyes seemed to brighten a bit and moved towards Sakura when she asked. Normally he would just ignore her."Why, this is the happiest I've been in a long time! I've arranged a husband for you!!"

Sakura nearly choked on her cereal at his exclamation. "Excuse me?" Sakura tried to hide the sudden anger she felt at being hooked up with someone she didn't even know, not to mention the fear of what kind of person she could wind up with. Not that she'd worry if he turned out to be an abusive man, for obvious reasons. "Hasn't he at least heard of matchmaking!?" she screamed inside her head. Beneath the table, she crushed her spoon.

"Yes, the fact is you've grown up." Her father replied. "Most young women in my clan were normally married at fifteen years of age. However, due to your…training…I was obligated to stand aside. Right now, I'm sure that you've had a good enough career alone, but it's time you settled down."

Finally, her mother took a seat. "Don't worry, Sakura dear. Your father assured me he has found you a good husband."

"A wealthy man." Shiroarashi replied in turn. "Part of the royal family here. You will have a good life with him, I promise."

Sakura was about to scream her lungs out, maybe even breaking a piece of furniture or two. But then, a knock at the door caught everyone's attention. "Sakura! Sakura!!"

That was Sai! Sakura got up and ran to the door. The instant she opened it, she nearly screamed "Sai! What is it!?"

"I don't know, but everyone has been summoned to the tower!"

* * *

Soon, every chunin and jonin was gathered in the meeting hall. Tsunade stood in the center of the podium, with members of the council to each side. Everyone else was seated according to rank. The four newly promoted chunin were in the back, while the ANBU was right in the front.

"I can barely see what's going on." Yuji commented. He looked to his side, saw Iori, then to his other side where he saw Hanabi, much to his disappointment. "Shiguri should be with us." He said. Even though he was the only person Shiguri formerly apologized to, to him that was enough. Besides, he was chunin level in both technique and strategy.

Iori patted his shoulder, giving him assurance. "We'll fill him in. And we'll be sure to treat him as our equal, even if technically speaking we're his superiors now."

"You don't have to worry about filling him in." Hanabi whispered, pointing to the council. Next to Danzo was Shiguri himself.

"Figures." Yuji commented. The old man probably wanted him to observe politics right from the front.

Naruto stood near the front next to Kakashi. He clearly did not want to be there, but Kakashi figured what was on the tape might catch his attention enough.

Sakura, Sai, and Yamato were in ANBU gear, right in front of the jonin. Though in theory they were equal in rank with the jonin, more often than not they were sent on the most prioritized missions, and always the first to protect the Hokage. Though her face was masked like the others, Sakura's pink hair was a dead give away to those who knew her. Sakura glanced behind her, hoping Naruto would at least look okay. She was only met with disappointment when she got a good look at Naruto's angry face.

"We are in a state of emergency." Tsunade announced. "One that endangers us more than ever, especially due to our still recovering village. It seems that another Shinobi War has begun." The hall erupted into whispers that soon drowned out Tsunade's voice. The Hokage immediately picked up a gavel and slammed it. Silence followed. "A video was delivered to us from Iwagakure. They intended to send it with the corpses of our comrades. Fortunately, our scouts turned the tables and took it back alive. What we saw was worse than we could imagine." Tsunade motioned to a ninja standing at the edge of the stage. "Play it."

A projector screen immediately descended. The first thing shown was the Tsuchikage, sitting in his throne. But what caught everyone's attention soon after were the two men beside him. Only a few knew who they were, judging by their cloaks, and Naruto was very familiar with one of them. "That's…Deidara!!"

Deidara and some masked man with the same cloak as he sat on both sides of the Tsuchikage's chair. "This is a message to the shinobi military of Konohagakure!" the Tsuchikage nearly shouted. "For too long, we were humiliated and dishonored by those we know are inferior!! Those who by all shinobi standards should never have survived, let alone live to become on of the five great nations. But today is a grand day, delivered unto us by kami himself!! I know you were under attack and took severe damage by a mere handful of ninjas! We will give you no quarter! Not even at your best could you hope to counterattack us now!! Your obliteration will be near! Enjoy the few days you have…it will be your last, and your precious will of fire shall be extinguished!!" The tape ended there, and everyone shouted random things in response.

"Silence!!" Tsunade shouted. Soon, it was as she commanded. "The fact is we are once again at war, and Iwa has formed an alliance with the Akatsuki. We have no choice but to prevent as many as possible from entering into our territory, and train ourselves with the time we have." There was a long pause before she continued. "All ANBU except for Scarlet Dusk shall head towards the border! Jonin with teams, rise!"

The rookie 9 of the previous generation, plus Lee, rose. After a good few seconds, Naruto rose as well. "In the wake of such a crisis, I have no choice but to send your teams, chunin or not, into battle! You all have one week to train them! Use it wisely! All other jonin and chunin shall guard the village entrances until further notice! Team Uzumaki and Scarlet Dusk, meet me in my office! Dismissed!"

With that said, all the ninja leaped out to complete their assigned missions.

* * *

Soon, the people Tsunade requested to have an audience with arrived. Naruto's facial expression indicated he wanted nothing to do with her. However, it caught his attention when Tsunade asked at first for only him and Iori to enter. Shiguri, Sakura, and Yuji stood outside, assured they would have an audience with her later.

Tsunade took a seat, her manners much more business-like than usual. "Iori. I assume you've been told about jinchuriki and biju." Iori nodded slightly, looking a bit nervous at the topic that would be brought up. She heard from her sensei that jinchuriki were often frowned upon, and her father received on of the harsher treatments. "After witnessing your fight with Hyuuga Hanabi, I observed you can control the power your father has left you. However, unlike your father, or Naruto, you've obtained only a fraction of the biju's power. If Naruto has an adult demon within him, yours is juvenile and will likely remain that way. And trust me when I say that there are many shinobi that can easily deal with power at that level. You must make your normal chakra before you rely on your demon chakra. Also, you need to learn to not become too dependant on it. Though that extra chakra is more natural to you than a jinchuriki, who at some point in his life had a demon forced into him after he was conceived, it still slowly erodes your body. You need to learn to fight without it, no matter what your emotional state may be. For your own good." Iori nodded, slightly. Tsunade did notice that her face turned a bit pale as well. "Probably the revelation that something so powerful and reliable could wind up killing her." she mused. "Naruto."

Naruto didn't move, but she could tell he heard her. "I need you to train Iori the best you can. See if it's possible to teach her the Kage Bushin and Rasengan. And make sure she uses as little of that power as possible. I'll expect a full report by the end of the month."

Naruto's eyes blinked in response. "A month?"

"Yes. That's all the time I can afford to give you."

"What about Shiguri and Yuji?"

"They will have trainers that I believe will be best suited for them. Iori, you're dismissed. Naruto, I'd like to speak to you for a moment, privately." Iori bowed and walked out.

Now, it was just the Godaime and Hokage hopeful. "We lied to you, Naruto. And for that, I'm sorry. If you'll let us, Jiraya and I will explain everything later. But right now, there are more important things going on. The ninja of Earth Country are murderous; the original Tshuchikage created a totalitarian government, and since then all the succeeding Tsuchikages gained their position by deceit and betrayal. They are by far the most violent of the five shinobi nations; though the Kiri earned the title 'Bloody Mist', their brutality is known only in battle. Iwa's cruelty, on the other hand, extends far beyond the battlefield."

"Such as?" Naruto asked, his curiosity peaked a bit.

Tsunade's hands clasped tightly, and simultaneously was biting her lip. "You'll find out soon enough. But I know that what they do, you would never wish on any person. Dismissed."

* * *

The next people to come inside the office were Sakura and Yuji. Both were curious why she would talk to both of them at the same time. "I know what you're both thinking," Tsunade commented, "so let's cut to the chase. Miyamoto, do you remember how you won your match during the chunin finals?" Yuji, apparently startled, quickly nodded. "Such strength is almost impossible to obtain in one month, which means that you were using mostly advanced chakra control. Tell me, how did you learn to do that?"

Yuji stumbled with his words a bit, and then finally managed to answer. "To be honest…when Naruto-sensei was training us, Sakura-san and Kakashi-san came to visit us. I asked her how she got her strength, and I imitated it a couple of times. It was just a fluke that I managed that degree of control during my match. I haven't had much chance to try it again."

Tsunade smiled slightly. "It usually takes at least a year of training to acquire such abilities." The Hokage than turned to her apprentice. "Sakura, for the next month you will train Yuji. He has an incredible affinity for chakra-enhanced strength, so make sure he can use it to the full-extent of his abilities. Also, see if he has any potential in medical ninjutsu. Another medic would be nice."

Yuji was, to say the least, stunned. He never expected to get such praise by the Hokage. And she said he was good at something! "Dismissed." Yuji nervously walked out the doorway in anticipation, failing to notice that Sakura was not following him.

Tsunade shot a look at her apprentice, who was also stunned. "You never really got over Ryu's death, have you?"

Sakura slowly shook her head. "He was the first comrade I had the power to save, and I still failed. He wasn't a troubled person who had no one…he had a family, and I failed them as well."

"Sakura, you can't save every comrade, no matter how distant or precious, and they all have something to lose. Think of Asuma; he had been married to Kurenai for less than a year, they were expecting a child…and he was killed. Ryu lived a life that many ninja could never hope for." Tsunade continued shuffling her paperwork. "If it's bothering you that much, tell Yuji. I can't say for sure what his reaction would be, but no matter what you have to get it off your chest and tell the person it would matter most to." Tsunade stamped something a random paper. "Also, I need you to evaluate that ability he had, the potential Kekkei Genkai. I didn't want to tell that when he was around." Sakura nodded, and bowed.

Before she could leave, Tsunade asked "By the way, how are things going between you and Naruto?"

Sakura stood silent before answering. "I knew the truth about the Yodaime as well."

Tsunade frowned at the answer she received. "Naruto, just how many more people will you push away?" Tsunade tried to reassure her apprentice and said "Don't worry, Sakura. Naruto will forgive all of us. He has for so many things already; how is this any different?"

"It's the one sin that galvanizes all the other wrongs we made." Finally, Sakura walked out.

Tsunade sighed, and got to her paperwork once more. "Time for Kakashi and Shiguri."

* * *

In an obscure cottage, a figure opened his eyes. "Ohh…" Sasuke grabbed his head, and sat up. He had the biggest migraine he ever imagined possible. He couldn't think straight nor feel the rest of his body. Finally it subsided, and Sasuke began breathing regularly. Finally able to think coherently, the Uchiha took his time surveying his surroundings. It seemed to be a normal wooden cottage. Above his bed was a single bulb, flickering on and off. To his side, there were some shelves with plates. But the lack of a kitchen sink indicated that there was no running water. It was small, too; Sasuke saw only one door, and feeling the breeze coming from the cracks, he could tell it led outdoors.

"_But no matter what, I will always be with you…" _

Sasuke slammed his hands over his ears in an instant. Someone was singing, and it was terribly off-tune! "Oh God, I'd rather have Itachi use Tsukiyomi on me again than put up with this!!" The Uchiha groaned and reeled, trying to block the sound out of his head. Finally, the door slammed open.

"_And forever moreeeeeeeeee!!" _

For brief moment, Sasuke leaned forward, rubbing his temples frantically.

"Ah, you got up!"

Sasuke opened his eyes in shock and stopped moving. That had to be the same singing voice, but just talking, it sounded so sweet and cute. It made him feel…at peace. Slowly, he turned his head to the door way, and his eyes widened even further. A girl was standing in the doorway, carrying a huge fish over her back. She had mid-length hair as red as fire, and crimson eyes like his sharingan. She was also wearing a red jacket and white tank-top, with black shorts much like Sakura used to wear. Her skin was nicely tanned, and at her ankles were blue tattoos. She also wore large geta on her feet. But for some reason, what really got to him were her two scars: one straight scar across each cheek, perfectly symmetrical to each other.

Suddenly, all he saw was fish in his face. And felt it. And smelled it. Tasted it, too, and for some reason this uncooked fish did not taste as good as sashimi. "Hey!!" the girl yelled. "Just what do you think you're looking at, punk!?"

Sasuke struggled, clawing the fish away from his face and finally pushing it out of his way completely. "What the hell's wrong with you!!" Sasuke screamed, his face dripping with fish oil. If Naruto could have seen him now, the laughter would have never stopped, even if Sakura punched him a thousand times.

The girl only answered by giggling, then she got serious. "Is that the way you thank someone for saving your life? It took me a lot of work to keep you alive, and I missed a lot of sleep and meals thanks to you." she asked coldly.

Sasuke blinked at the statement. He remembered seeing someone standing over him at the creek, but his vision was so out of focus that for all he was concerned, it could've been a bear. "That…that was you?" This earned Sasuke a good whack on the head by his hostess. The missing-nin noted to himself her right was strong enough to give his own a run for his money.

"Of course, you idiot!! What the hell did I just say!?" She slung the fish on her back again, and began pulling his ears hard. As if that wasn't enough, she put her mouth to one and yelled "HELLO!! IS ANYBODY DEAF HERE!?" Sasuke fell on his back, twitching from the shock. With that, she turned around and cut the fish in half. Sasuke noticed it wasn't a knife she used, but a sword. The blade was double-edged, but curved like a traditional sword. It also seemed to be gold in color. Whether it was simply painted gold or made of gold, he couldn't tell. If it was the latter, it was a poor choice as a weapon; pretty as it may be, gold was a soft metal. It would break upon impact with another weapon. What really caught his attention though was the hilt. It looked more like it belonged on a trident, with the two sharp ends curving out like a sai. "You better be good now. I went out of my way to get wet and catch this fish just for you. But if you're going to continue to be rude, well, I think I'll just keep it for myself. It will just be more for me anyway."

Sasuke decided it might be best not to answer, and simply got out of the bed, indicating that he would join her and behave…whatever that would mean in her mind. "Hey, hey!! As much as I appreciate the view, you might want to consider putting on the pants I left you on the table!!"

Sasuke froze. "Wait…pants?" He looked down, and realized he was indeed naked. Not in his underwear type naked, he was literally in nothing but his birthday suit. "AHHH!!" Due to his panicked state, it took him a while to locate the item that was left for him. He was so preoccupied, he didn't notice the girl behind him lick her lips. "S-Sorry." He stuttered, more humiliated than any of the few losses he suffered.

"Well, a little fan-service more than makes up for your stupidity. Better than Icha-Icha for Girls!" Sasuke felt his heart rate quicken. It did that several times before; as Orochimaru's apprentice, he was thrown into battle several times and felt his fear change the way his body felt. No matter how much he killed his emotions, he always had some fear going into battle. That was simply an accepted contradiction in the ninja world, and was proven to be a life-saver in dangerous situations. But this was different. He felt jumpy for reasons he couldn't understand.

As he fastened his pants, a fire started going underneath the stove. "You're lucky I found you. You were dehydrated, bruised, and exhausted. Your chest was full of water too. I couldn't quite remember what they did in CPR, so I stuck a portable hairdryer in your mouth and smashed your chest with a rock."

For a minute, Sasuke just stood there frozen, shocked at what even Naruto would call sheer stupidity. "Then again, I'm still here. That's all that counts." Finally he bowed and said "Thank you." Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he did that. "And I'm sorry for my rudeness." The Uchiha doubted he ever said that in his lifetime.

The girl's stern expression softened slightly, and then she nodded, accepting his apology. After sitting together in silence for minutes, the girl pierced the fish and lifted it off the grill. "Get the plates." Sasuke just sat there, for some reason stunned at being given an order. "WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!" she yelled. Sasuke immediately jumped up and ran to the cabinets. Getting two plates, Sasuke handed one to her, and sat down with his.

The girl threw the fish off the sword, and began slashing through the air at an incredible speed. Sasuke was amazed. Even with his sharingan, it would be hard to trace the sword's path. Soon, pieces of meat flew to his plate, as did pieces for herself. "Ikamadstu!!" she shouted. Then, to Sasuke's astonishment, she woofed down her entire bowl in less than a second. "Hey, you've barely touched yours." The girl commented, her mouth still full and with pieces of food around lips.

"This girl is a pig!!" Sasuke commented to himself. Suddenly, a handful of meat was shoved into his mouth.

"If you want me to feed you, just that one time, and that's it!!" she shouted. Sasuke spat out the food coughing. Finally, he took his chopsticks and began to eat normally. "Note to self: Act as normally as you can around this weirdo."

"So…" the girl started, "…may I ask just where you're from, and why you looked like you were on the run?"

Sasuke nearly choked on his food again. Just how was he supposed to answer THAT when he's wanted for terrorist acts!? Clearing his throat, he began to answer. "Well, I was from Konohagakure…but the truth is, I've lived most of my life elsewhere. I was just there recently…and, well, I've done something I shouldn't have."

The girl's face seemed to have went transparent, and then she muttered "I see.." She drank a cup of water and then smiled. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure you're sorry about it, so I guess all we can do is move on!!"

Sasuke fell on his back at her exclamation. "Excuse me!?" he demanded.

"Well, you ARE sorry, aren't you!? Then there's no need to scold you about it!" the girl exclaimed, smiling as though it were no big deal.

Sasuke sat right up and yelled "Waitaminute, you don't even know what I did!! For all you know, I could be a psychopathic killer who's plotting to do a bunch of things beyond your worst nightmare!!"

The girl just smiled and said "If you were, you'd be dead already."

Sasuke nearly dropped his jaw at that statement. She said it without thinking, with the utmost confidence, and without the slightest bit of fear. "What kind of cruel joke is this!?" Even though she apparently had some skill with a blade, Sasuke could not imagine being defeated by this girl.

"So, do you have a place to stay?" the girl asked as she tossed her plate into the sink without looking nor shattering the plate.

Sasuke looked away, and outside a window, staring at the full moon. "I don't have anywhere I belong." he replied.

"Well, it looks like we'll be roommates!" Sasuke nearly face-faulted again at that statement.

The Uchiha darted his head back and fourth inside the room. "Um…I'm sorry if I misunderstood, but I don't see an extra room anywhere."

"This entire room is my home. I didn't think I'd have guests, so I made it just big enough for one person." The girl replied in response, unusually cheerful at the prospect of sharing her only room with a boy.

Sasuke stood up, and began to walk away. He wasn't sure if he could take spending the night with this crazy girl. "Um, thank you for the extremely generous hospitality. But I think it's best that I-AUUGGGHH!" Sasuke stumbled after feeling a sharp pain in his sides. Before he could kiss the floor, the mysterious girl ran up to him and caught him with lightning-fast speed.

"I forgot to mention you hit a couple of very sharp rocks on your way down from the waterfall. You were bleeding pretty profusely when I found you."

Sasuke looked at his sides, and saw she wasn't lying; his sides were red, like the skin was ripped right off. There were also stitches embedded in his flesh. Crudely made, but it looked like they were enough to save his life. Sasuke wasn't so sure he wanted to ask what she used or how she did it though, if her story of giving him that most unusual method of CPR was true. Sasuke groaned "Point taken." The girl helped him up, and walked him to the bed. "Thank you. I'm sorry to trouble you with taking your only bed."

The girl eased him onto the old mattress, and chirped "Nothing to be sorry about. I've been sleeping next to you the whole time you were unconscious. I wouldn't sleep on the floor for anything!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in utter shock, which he didn't think was even possible at this point. "Wait…we've…been…sharing the SAME BED!?"

"Yes."

"BUT I'VE BEEN NAKED THE ENTIRE TIME!!"

The girl waved her hand as if it was not big deal. "So what? I wasn't touching you down there." The girl giggled, clasping her hand over her mouth and narrowing her eyes. "Would you like me to? I'm sure I can-"

"No thanks!" Sasuke shouted. Not only was this too quick by most perverts standards; if her medical skills were that fucked up, he did NOT want to explore her sexual skills or desires.

The girl huffed and mumbled "You're no fun." Taking out a shuriken, she threw it towards the light switch, and the room went dark. Finally she collapsed on the mattress, right next to him just like he said.

It was probably a good five minutes, maybe even ten, before Sasuke asked "Your name…what's your name?"

The girl opened her eyes, and took a moment to answer. "Gaikai…Gaikai Midoriiro."

Without turning, the rouge nin replied back. "I am Uchiha Sasuke." It probably wasn't the smartest move given his current predicament, but it probably wouldn't matter much anyway; if she was a hunter-nin or a bounty hunter, she would've either taken him to Konoha or kill him by now. The question in his mind now was what was he going to do when he recovered? He couldn't stay; he knew he could not possibly have reached the border yet, and he couldn't put this girl in danger, even if she did seem like a capable fighter. Once he did find a place where he was safe, what would he do then? Repentance was the word that rang in his mind. But how? Would he simply wander alone, never hurting anyone again? Would he go fight in a war he deemed a noble cause? Both solutions were too easy, and could easily be corrupted. He thought his quest for revenge was noble, after all. "And look where that got me." Sasuke continued to brainstorm, but nothing came to him. Soon, his thoughts became distorted and confused, and he drifted off into sleep…

* * *

Deidara looked out the window, observing life in Iwagakure. Life was always very strict and regimented; it seemed even more so now. "If these morons only knew how easily they can overthrow their own Tsuchikage." He mumbled to himself. That actually didn't sound like a bad idea; he would have to give it a try once he caught the nine-tails. Though he was leaning towards killing Mutsuguro himself, trying to galvanize the people into overthrowing him sounded fun to.

"Deidara-sempai, shouldn't we be hunting the Kyuubi?" Tobi asked, staring blankly at the halls across from him. That was all he ever did.

"Tobi…I told you already, we are to wait for further orders." Not that he disagreed with that statement; he would much rather blow things up, and teach that annoying brat a lesson. Hidan just kept to himself, and quite frankly, Deidra liked it that way. It still didn't do anything to alleviate the boredom though. "I suppose I can practice my jutsu on…"

Finally, someone opened the door and stepped inside. "Um…Deidara-sama?"

Deidra turned around to see a rather plain looking woman in the entrance. She wore a standard Iwa style kimono, but what made it stood out from the rest was a patch, shaped like an icicle. Looking at her light brown hair and gray irises, his suspicions were confirmed. "Perfect." Deidara thought. "I should have known Mutsuguro-chan was too cowardly to come here and see me himself. Anyway, what do you want!?"

The woman stepped back at his exclamation, fearful of the now former S-class criminal's wrath. "Um…I was ordered to inform you that your students have been located."

"Where are they?" Deidara asked, suddenly interested in the information she held.

"At…at camp 192C!"

Deidra smiled wickedly. "Guard duty? I figured those kids would've been in jail, given my former status." Deidra walked towards the doorway, and as soon as he passed the woman, he stopped. "By the way…I couldn't help noticing…you're an Ainu, aren't you?"

The woman quivered at his statement, but knew she had no choice; she had to answer him. She saw what happened to those before her when they failed to even answer a question. "Y-yes sir, I am." Deidara smiled wickedly, perhaps even more wickedly than any of the Akatsuki or Konoha nin seen him. The woman calmed down slightly…then screamed in pain as her arms were blown off.

Tobi turned around in shock. No one could tell what was going on through his mind due to his mask. But it was clear that the sight of the women writhing on the floor, missing 2 of the most important limbs, bleeding, and making the effort to scream but have nothing come out, was disturbing to him. "Deidara-sempai…why'd you do that!?"

Deidara simply giggled. "Oh, it's nothing to concern yourself with, Tobi. This has been going on for a while now." Deidara opened the door and shouted to the guards "We've got a cripple here! Dispose of it!" The guards walked in with their kunai drawn…and put and end to the poor woman's life.

* * *

A young man, probably no older than fifteen, sat on a barren field. He was enclosed in what seemed to be a prison, but he was not a prisoner; he was the guard. And he was bored out of his mind. His hair was black and long on both sides, the bangs turning downward on each side. It was hard to see his eyes because of this, but there was one thing on his face that was worth noting: his scar. Across from his lips, two hideous scars were formed, forming an extended frown. No one dared ask how he got them. "Pfft. This is so depressing. Maybe I should get one to escape…"

"Oh, I assume you're going to kill one of them right there and then? Free vacation, right?"

If one could have seen them, the boy's eyes lit up. He turned around slowly, and smiled, contradicting his scared frown. "Deidara-sensei?" the boy chimed.

Deidara just chuckled "I see you haven't changed a bit, Koungaseki. Except you're taller now." The two just stared at each other for the longest time. Deidara was "Where are the others?" Deidara asked.

Before he could receive an answer, Koungasenki grabbed on of the prisoner's hats, and tossed it. "Quick! Go get your hat!" The prisoner did as he was told, and dashed for it. "Escapee!" Koungaseki yelled. He retrieved a kunai and nailed the poor man in the back of the neck. "Finally, that should earn me a vacation from this dump." The teen said nonchalantly. He turned to face his sensei once more. "Let's get this reunion going." Koungaseki led his sensei inside the bunkers.

* * *

"So, it has the effects you've promised?" an old Iwa nin asked.

"Yes." A young girl in her teens replied. She wore a chunin vest, her hair was purple, and styled in a manner similar to Ino's. Her lips were a glossy green, and her eyes were a crimson red, and those who knew her felt that no matter what, she never looked happy, even when she smiled. "Soon, you can take the women with absolutely no resistance. In fact, they will enjoy themselves as much as you and your men will. May I suggest taking the rest of the prisoners to see what you do to their wives behind closed doors? "

"Excellent. A method where we can enjoy physical pleasure for ourselves and effectively crush the spirits of our prisoners at the same time. Well done. We expect even more new super narcotics from you soon."

At this the young woman scowled. They've been working her to the bone, and even though they say she did a great job, they wanted her to do more immediately! "This was supposed to be the part where you say 'Take the rest of the week off!'"

"See you tomorrow." The old man replied before turning away.

"You won't." She made a hand sign, and the commander immediately froze. He began gurgling incoherently, and then went limp. "You should have known that having me prepare your tea as well was a mistake. I wonder what species your mind shall regress to?" Then, he seemed to come to, but instead of the predictable response, he began to hunch over, and knuckle walk. Soon, he began making sounds like an ape. The girl laughed at the sight of her superior behaving like a monkey.

But then a voice brought her out of her joy. "Aww, so familiar. I still remember all the times you tried to use those on me, Genkakushoujou."

The girl turned around in her seat in shock, and saw that behind her was her old sensei. "Deidara-sensei! But you're a missing-nin! An S-class criminal!"

Deidara chuckled, and wiped his hair. "Well, I found a way to come back."He tapped his new headband, an Iwa headband with no scratch to cross out the symbol.

OOH-OOH-OOH!!" The old nin's behavior was becoming more and more hyper, causing Deidara to grit his teeth. The old man was banging his fists, swinging from the roof…and Deidara did not even want to know what that smell was. Not only was it even more annoying than putting up with Tobi…it was pretty sad to see a grown man in a respectable position behave like that.

"Where the hell is San!? Somebody kill that fool already!!" Deidara yelled, unable to take anymore of the sad sight in front of him.

"Done." The man froze as he stood to beat his chest, and immediately began to melt. As he melted, another young man was revealed behind him. His hair looked like Playdoh , with each part of his hair a different color, his eyes were pure gold and lacked pupils, and intricate tattoos covered his skin. Their also seemed to be a metallic looking backpack on his back, and from it two tubes ran right into his arms, and his hands had holes, dripping some sort of acid.

But what stood out most to Deidara was the jonin vest he wore. "San! It's been so long!! And you're a jonin!! It's nice to know that this village still does promote people who actually deserve it!!" Deidara patted him on the back like he was a father happy to see his son, although San remained unemotional. Nothing could be closer to the truth; San was Deidara's prized student. He was the only one that Deidara believed understood what art really was.

And this made Koungaseki and Genkakushoujou jealous to no end. They were brought out of their angsty stupor when Deidara turned around and said "Okay, kids! We're at war with Konoha right now, and there is a very special person I want you all to meet!"

* * *

Iori woke up to the sound of something banging on her door. She struggled to get her eyes open, and finally sat up.

"Iori! It's time!" her sensei's voice yelled through the door.

Iori kicked off the sheets and cried "Alright, alright! I'm coming!" She was already dressed, and was especially glad she packed the night before; she couldn't possibly manage to get all of her camping gear ready when her whole body was half-asleep. That's right, camping gear. They weren't going back to the training spot where Naruto got her team ready for the exam finals; they were going to train in one of the village's training fields. Naruto said that because of the war, they could and had to be ready to be called at an emergency's notice. As Iori strapped her pack on, she thought back to yesterday. Naruto seemed unusually angry. Not at her (at least she hoped not) but at something. It bothered her, and not just slightly. It seemed to affect him tremendously. She noticed that he seemed to be having trouble speaking with the Hokage, as well as his old teammates. She hoped that whatever it was, that it would all blow off soon.

Before she could ask herself if she should ask, the door was slammed open by Naruto.

"What are you standing there for!?" Naruto asked, clearly irritated.

"Coming, coming!"

* * *

After they set up camp, Naruto began the training session. "Okay, Iori. I want you to make a bushin."

Hearing this, Iori began to sweat. "Um, sensei, I think you should know…"

"JUST DO IT." Naruto replied sternly. He knew just what the problem was, but still, he had to see it in order to teach her properly.

Iori complied, and made the hand signs. "Bushin no Jutsu!" In a poof of smoke, a standard bushin formed. Naruto inspected in thoroughly. It was just barely passable; though it was standing, it was ghastly pale, had skin folds that a girl Iori's age shouldn't have, and it was ridiculously thin. How the clothes stayed in place was a mystery to him, and it was one he was content not to find out. Naruto turned to the real Iori, who understood the question he was asking in his head. "Iruka-sensei said it was good enough for battle; he figured in a high stress situation, a ninja wouldn't take time to look at the differences."

Naruto nodded slightly, partially agreeing with what she told him. "Okay then. Iori, do you know the difference between a normal bushin and a kage bushin?"

Iori thought about it for a minute. "Um…one's better?"

Naruto just frowned at the statement that. "Well…that's true, but it doesn't mean a thing to me if you don't understand it. The normal bushins rely on a small amount of chakra, and as a result, are not the best diversions. Normal bushins can only follow the same movements as you, and they're not solid. Not only can you not attack the enemy with bushins…you can't use them for defense either. But…" Naruto formed the seal and formed a Kage Bushin. It immediately ran behind Iori and locked her in a full nelson. "That's where the Kage Bushin comes in. Though with the right tactics it's a good battle technique, it was originally used for scouting. It can do other things as well, but first, I need to teach you how to do it."

Naruto dispelled his Kage Bushin, and Iori was released. The girl was clearly not convinced that it was something she could use. "Sensei, I have enough trouble with the bushin as it is. How can…"

Naruto then made different hand signs, the ones for a normal bushin. Suddenly, the ground was littered with malformed bushins. Iori could tell by the look in his eyes that it was no ploy to motivate her; he really gave it his all to do the technique properly. "It's a problem I have to. Our inability to create proper bushins is due to our massive amounts of chakra. The normal bushin relies more on precise chakra control as opposed to the chakra itself. Naturally, the more chakra one has, the harder it is to control…"

"And therefore, the Kage Bushin, which relies on far more chakra, is better suited for us!"

For the first time in a while, Naruto actually cracked a smile. "Wow, she's actually getting it." Naruto walked to a tree, and sat down. "Okay then. Get to work. Just remember, even I had to work really hard to master it."

Iori, smiling and free from any doubts, formed the seal, and poured her chakra into it…

* * *

Yuji made his way to the training ground Sakura had picked out for them. For some reason, he found it a bit awkward to be training under his sensei's girlfriend. It was probably just the foolish but very real fear of being known as a boy who trained under a girl. It may have been puberty, which he would never tell anyone, or he would never hear the end of it (and he might risk getting killed by a certain jonin and new chunin). Probably a bit of both, he told himself. He was told by Sakura to not bother waiting for her, just come straight into the forest. He just hoped over the gate, and ran in. Once he got to a clearing, he decided to call out her name; he really didn't feel like waiting. "Sakura-sa…Sakura-sensei." Yuji reminded himself he would have to call her that from then on. He knew Sakura's bad side, and although he anticipated that he might be on the receiving end from some of it, he did not want to risk making her blow her fuse completely, no matter how absurd the matter may appear. Suddenly, some whizzing noise caught his attention. A kunai was coming from him at an angle…and nailed him right in the foot. "AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!" Yuji rolled over frantically, gripping his ankle and crying in pain.

Finally, his new sensei came down from the trees. Sakura was wearing a standard jonin vest, since right now there was no need for her ANBU clothes. "Well, that's kunai one, kekkei genkai zero." The kunoichi said to herself. Sakura walked over, and sternly said "So far, I'm very disappointed in what I just saw. You were just promoted to chunin; you should have known damn well that this REALLY is no longer a game." She grabbed Yuji's ankle, pulled out the kunai (earning another scream from Yuji) and began healing it. Yuji panted, trying to shake the pain off. "Well, we have several things to accomplish this next month. Right now, I'm just going to focus on one. Are you aware of the possibility that you may have inherited a kekkei genkai from your father?" Sakura asked bluntly.

Yuji just stared for a moment before answering. "No…if he did, I'm sure he would have told me about it…although I've heard his friends telling him that he had reflexes no ninja could possibly have."

It was a good enough answer for Sakura. "That's it. We didn't understand how it worked back then, but we have reason to suspect you may have it: hyper-reflexes. Your father was believed to have inherited a mutation, creating a new kekkei genkai. Right now, I'm going to evaluate that." She had Yuji's full attention now. "I am going to attack you with everything I have. Fists. Shuriken. Slugs. Even traps. I'm going to use them all against you. And your job is to dodge them all."

Yuji gulped in fear. As good as he wanted to be, it was suicide to do jonin-type training right now!! Couldn't she have made some sort of training regimen that would condition him for this sort of thing!?

"And for every time you get hit, I will heal you. But once you recover, I will double the amount of shuriken I used, I will come down on you with my fists harder, I will summon more slugs, and I WILL make the traps more dangerous." If the statements before didn't turn Yuji ghostly-white, that one did. "Prepare yourself…" Sakura leaped up, and crossed her arms, her hands revealing kunai. "…Now!"

She threw them, which Yuji immediately ran away from. Though he dodged the ones that were aimed at the area he was just in, a few nailed his shoulders. "Not good enough, Miyamoto!!"

More kunai where headed his way, but this time Yuji was ready. At the last second, he saw a tall, thin sapling. He grabbed it and swung his body around, avoiding the kunai. Then, Sakura was right in his face, preparing a powerful round kick. "OH DEAR KAMI NO!!" Yuji just barely rolled away in the nick of time, as evidenced by the sound of a tree falling. Yuji immediately took to the trees, hoping to find safety there. Suddenly something emerged from the branch, bearing a toothy, caustic mouth. Yuji screamed and fell to the ground, and he realized too late it cost him. Sakura followed through with an axe-kick to the ground, but Yuji managed to turn away and avoid the impact directly. However, the shockwave and debris sent him flying. "Oh Kami, why did I have to agree to this sort of-" Yuji turned his head towards the trees, and his eyes widened immediately. There were explosive traps on the trunks! And judging by the way they were burning…he'd say he triggered them. A series of explosions followed, starting fires and causing trees to fall.

For a good while, a smoke cloud covered the forest floor. But then, Yuji leaped from the cloud and touched down on the branch of a tree that managed to survive the destruction. The new chunin was panting, but otherwise he was unharmed. "I gotta get myself together. She's going to attack me at anytime." He pulled out a kunai, and got ready for the next attack.

Little did he know, Sakura was in a tree behind him. But Sakura wasn't interested in attacking; rather, she was analyzing everything she saw. And in all honesty, she was VERY impressed. Even a taijutsu master like Lee would not have come out of such an ordeal unscathed. While Yuji had a poor start, his reflexes heightened tremendously as the battle went on. She was beginning to believe he really did posses a kekkei genkai…and she had a theory on how it was triggered. "I need more evidence though." Sakura pulled another kunai and began her next attack…

* * *

Naruto blocked a strike from Iori. And then leaped straight up to avoid a leg sweep from another. The only thing to save Naruto from an air side-kick from yet another Iori was a cross-block, and the jonin nearly panicked when he felt another version of his student land on his shoulders and press a kunai to his neck. Instinctively, he crouched down and threw her into her counterpart, dispelling them both. To finish things of, he side-kicked another Iori, but this one went down with the thud instead of a brief explosion of smoke. Having lost her concentration, the other bushin was immediately dispelled. Naruto had to smile. In five days, Iori mastered the Kage Bushin. She couldn't do nearly as many clones as Naruto; only three. And all she really did was try to dog-pile on him. But he did the same thing when he was her age. In time, she would learn better tactics; many of which had to be learned on the battle-field. Naruto felt it was time for Iori to learn his signature move. Naruto grabbed her wrist and helped her up. "Good job. I think it's time we started to learn the Rasengan."

Iori's face lit up with joy. She had seen her sensei do it and variations like it several times. She always wanted to learn it, and now she believed there really might be a god! Though her hand-to-hand combat skills were good, and that she appreciated her summons, she believed she really needed an actual ninjutsu type move. "Great!"

"Alright then. There are two steps you need to accomplish before you can even begin and try to form the Rasengan. First, let me demonstrate." Naruto held out his hand, and formed a Rasengan. "Now tell me what you see."

Iori didn't even inspect it; she just answered "It's a ball of chakra. Anyone can see that."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "Look HARDER, Iori." Although Naruto liked the idea of working with a young girl that was similar to him, he could see why all of his teachers got annoyed with him quick.

Iori rolled her eyes, and leaned closer to get a better look, expecting in all honesty to arrive to the same conclusion. However, she leaned too close, and was blown away into the hill. "NOT THAT CLOSE!!"

* * *

"So, it's chakra that's swirling into the shape of a ball?" Iori asked, trying to confirm what Naruto told her.

"That's right. How else do you think it got its name?" Iori gave him a look indicating that she was peeved at his statement, and Naruto decided to move on. "Okay. Anyway, the first step is to learn how to swirl your chakra. And to do that…" Naruto handed her a water balloon. "…you have to swirl the water in this balloon until it pops." Naruto took out another balloon, and made it burst without any visible physical method.

Iori just looked at the balloon, then him, then back to the balloon. The look on her face told him that she felt like she was being mocked. Suddenly, she transformed and unleashed her jinchuriki powers, blowing up the balloon and soaking them both.

"Okay then…let's try that again, only this time, NO DEMON POWERS."

* * *

Sakura cocked back a fist and struck. Yuji managed to dodge to the side, but just barely; his cheek still received a nasty gash. Even so, Yuji's reflexes were easily on par with a jonin's…and they seemed to be getting faster! Yuji doubled around Sakura with a spinning backfist, aiming for the back of her head. Sakura rolled away, leaving Yuji's fist to shatter nothing but a tree trunk. This week, Sakura decided to actually spar with Yuji, and hone his own monstrous strength. He had a fairly decent amount of chakra, and his control of it was incredible! Sakura cart wheeled back again to avoid being nailed in the gut by a side fist, reminding herself to watch out for his exotic taijutsu. It wasn't perfect; in fact, it was still very much novice, but with practice, he would get it right. Sakura counterattacked with an axe kick, and missed Yuji's head! Or at least that was what it seemed she was aiming for; her foot created a massive creator, sending debris flying in the air. She then threw a straight punch, smashing through a piece of flying earth, intending to surprise the chunin and knock Yuji out. Yuji caught her fist in the nick of time, but the force pushed his feet into the ground, imprinting a nice pair of footprints into the earth. Sakura punched again, but Yuji caught that one as well! The two were caught in a power struggle, and neither one budged. However, Sakura knew if she continued like that, she would lose; she had to break the struggle right now! She let go, using her momentum to make Yuji fall towards her. She then sprung back up, delivering a chakra-enhanced elbow into Yuji's sternum, sending him skidding across the training field at high speed.

Quickly, Sakura reached into her pocket, and pulled out her stop-watch. "Ten minutes. I thought so." She was beginning to notice certain trends in Yuji's abilities, and like any good scientist, tested her hypothesizes, just to be sure. After recording it mentally, she followed the trail made by Yuji's body. After half a kilometer, she found him, unconscious, his body lying in a way that he shouldn't have been able to make it without breaking a few bones, and was twitching as well. It wasn't the first time he wound up in bad condition; he got hit at the end of each sparing session, and he was hurt badly by her strength each time. Quickly, she knelt down and immediately healed his ribs. Normally, she would only use enough chakra to begin bone growth and set them in place; it was a strategy used by medic-nins both to conserve chakra for battle and to attend to more needy patients. It was different at this moment, however; she was training Yuji for war, and he had to be in prime condition each session.

Besides, she always ended the training at this point, and she was on leave from the hospital, even in emergencies. She could use up all of her chakra with no foreseeable consequence in the future. "Good job, Yuji. You've got a lot of potential, and I'd say you're living up to it better than even your sensei could imagine."

Having his chest restored, Yuji took in a deep breath. "Thank you, Sakura-sensei. But do you have to be so rough!?"

Sakura smirked at the reply and answered "I still remember the time my shishou landed a complete combo on me. She completely shattered my jaw, causing me to lose 20 teeth, dislocated my knees, gave me a severe hernia, and nearly broke my spine. And she was so caught up in the moment that she instinctively nailed me with kunai, each wrapped with explosive tags. All I remember at that point was being set on fire and feeling pain like I've never known before; the nurses said that it was only thanks to Tsunade-shishou's superb abilities that she managed to restore me unscarred."

A long silence came between the two, obviously Yuji realizing that he was getting off easy. "I…see." Yuji got up and brushed himself off. "Seriously though, you're a great sensei. I feel like I've been learning so much, and that you're helping me to become the ninja I want to be."

For some reason, this struck a cord with Sakura. She immediately recognized it as the pride a teacher felt, the happiness of having been able to help a young one find his talent and give him his own path. Sakura always wondered how it felt, and now that she had…she could understand why some ninjas like Iruka-sensei were proud of their job. "Thank you, Yuji. That's…nice. I expect to see you here same time tomorrow." Yuji bowed, Sakura bowed back, and leapt away, having gained his energy back. Yuji's progress made Sakura excited, and her first instinct was to tell Naruto. But then she thought back to his scathing remark. She didn't hate him for it; she sympathized with him completely. But this rift between them…it couldn't go on! Somehow, she had to make him understand, or at least make amends…

* * *

"AAAAHHHH!" Iori once again formed a ball of chakra in her hands, but it was unstable. Energy kept leaking out. She continued pumping more of her chakra into it, but she was losing more than she could contain. "Oh come on, stay with me, you piece of shit!!" Suddenly, the chakra exploded in her face, sending her flying backwards once more. Iori groaned in frustration. "This sucks."

Naruto looked at the scene before him. Truthfully, he was impressed. Iori was getting the chakra control part of the Rasengan faster than he did. Probably because while she still had a large amount of chakra, it was not nearly as much as his and as a result, could control it better. He even believed that for Iori, use of a Kage Bushin wouldn't be necessary. Taking his attention off of her temporarily, he looked at a checklist he had. On it was a list of things they had with them, plus some reminders. Looking up from it, Naruto shouted "Tell you what, why don't you take a break? Our supplies are running low. I think I'll go into town and stock up."

"Feel free to go, but I'm going to keep at it!!" Iori yelled back, concentrating the chakra in her hand once more.

Naruto just had to smile at that; he would've done the same thing at her age. "Suit yourself." The jonin took off into the village, the determined yells of Iori fading in the distance.

* * *

Tsunade was rubbing her temples furiously. The war had been going on for a little more than two weeks, and already things were going very badly. Quite a few ninja had been killed already; a prospect that was never easy for her or any Hokage that came before her to accept. The reason for the losses as of now was that they were going at it alone; the enemy was already attacking them, and they had no choice. They had to start defensive lines now for immediate protection. Fortunately, Tsunade received word that several smaller shinobi villages within fire country have agreed to be allies with Konoha. Still, it would not be enough to win this war…

"Hokage-sama! The Kazekage has arrived!"

Tsunade's face lit up immediately. Suna was the one village they needed! In addition to being the shinobi capital of another one of the five great nations, she could always count on the Kazekage! "Excellent! Send him in!"

There was a moment of silence between her and the guards. "Well…to be honest, we would. But technically speaking, he's not here."

Tsunade, rather impatiently, asked "I beg your pardon?"

"We see him off in the distance, and it appears he's chasing somebody. Wait…isn't that Shikamaru?"

Before she could ask what the hell they were talking about, Shikamaru sprinted into her office, faster than she had ever seen him run before. "AAAHHHHH!! Help me!!"

"Sabaku Kyuu!!"

Shikamaru was immediately caught in a wave of sand, and landed on the floor face-first. Moments later, the Godaime Kazekage, Gaara, stepped forward. Like Naruto, he had continued to grow in the past three years. His hair was quite a bit longer, although not too terribly long. He was also much taller than before, probably as tall as Jiraya. And it would take a very observant shinobi to notice, but under the robes, Gaara was significantly more built than before. She had a suspicion as to why an individual like him would start focusing on taijutsu, but for now, it was not important.

"Please, you f-I mean, Kazekage-sama!" Shikamaru shouted, although it showed more frustration than fear. "You know I would never disrespect your sister!!"

Gaara's face, normally impassive and emotionless, scrunched up in anger. "I think we should prescribe something for that attitude of yours!! But what…oh yes! Sabaku Sousou!!"

Before he could even begin the jutsu, Tsunade ran in the middle, and with a super-strong chop, broke the sand apart. The two kages stared at each other for the longest time; the guards were worried that the two would get violent. If so, not only would the alliance be broken, but Konoha would then have to put up with one more enemy.

Finally, Tsunade broke the silence. "Kazekage-sama…as glad as I am to see you, I cannot ignore the fact that, just a moment ago, it looked like you were about to kill one of my most valuable ninjas. Would you care to explain?"

Gaara's face softened, and returned to normal. Taking deep breath, he began to explain. "Though I told both you and the Suna council that my intentions for coming here was to discuss the war and alliances, my real intention was to visit my sister. I was…worried sick about her since you gave word that she was badly injured during a surprise attack here. Though I did not lie to you or the council, I used this opportunity to make sure she's alright. And what do I see?" Gaara's face twisted in anger again, and accusingly pointed a finger at Shikamaru. "This…PARASITE!!...violating my sister!!"

Shikamaru, still more annoyed than afraid, retorted back "If I was 'violating' her like you claim, don't you think I would have been the one on top!?" Suddenly, a blunted kunai struck Shikamaru right in the forehead, causing him to grab it pain.

"Shikamaru, you DO NOT give details on that sort of thing!!" Temari, her hair undone and clothes wrinkled, walked in. Before she said another word, she jumped up and whacked her younger brother across the forehead.

"Ahh, it's just as I thought." Tsunade's suspicion was confirmed; under normal circumstances, his sand would have protected him. But that's when he had Shukaku…

"AND YOU!!" Temari yelled at her "younger" brother. "I'm a grown woman!! I don't want your 'protection', and I certainly do not need it for relationships! I'm fully recovered, and I was in TOTAL control of everything!!" Temari's mood suddenly changed. She placed her hands on her hips, and smirked at him. "Besides…if you kill someone here, Konoha will then have TWO enemies. A certain someone you know from here would not appreciate it, now would he?"

Gaara's face twitched. He then muttered several incoherent mutterings, none of which he completed. Tsunade saw this in large families all the time; it was a simple sibling argument. Eventually, he gave up, and finally muttered "I wasn't REALLY going to kill him." Gaara turned toward Tsunade and bowed. "My apologies, Hokage-sama. Perhaps it is best that we forget my rude behavior for now, and move on to more important business."

Tsunade nodded, and said "Apology accepted." She gestured with her hand "Please, have a seat."

* * *

Sakura sat in on her bed, facing the mirror. It wasn't a day off, but she still had time before Yuji's next training session. She had to do something first; she had to confront Naruto about their relationship. She had practical reasons for doing it now; if she did not take care of it now, it would stay on her mind during training, and therefore she would not be able to teach Yuji as effectively. At least, that's what she told herself. Maybe it was just an excuse. Regardless, she began rehearsing.

"Naruto…Yuji is doing well. VERY well. With his training, I mean, and…shit. That will never work!!" She continued to practice in front of the mirror, trying every intro she could think of, but nothing came out right. It wasn't long before she gave up, and she sat at the edge of her bed, crying silently. Then, unconsciously, she began to speak out loud

"Please, Naruto. Don't do this. It was wrong of me to hide your true heritage from you. I know that now. I was afraid. But I don't want what happened now to break up Team 7 forever. No…it's more than that. You're my best friend, and so much more. I…" The last part was coming out, and even though she was by herself, a part of her did not want to hear her say it out loud. Barely above a whisper, she spoke it. "…I love you."

Saying out loud, even to her reflection in the mirror, freed Sakura in a way that she could not describe. And it was all true; she realized she loved Naruto with all her heart. He was always there for her, he cared for her more than anything in the world…and for years, without her knowing, she wanted to return that love. Sakura stared at her reflection, and despite her red eyes, could not help but smile at herself. She ran out of the house, determined to tell Naruto how she felt. No matter what happened, she had to let him know her true feelings…

* * *

Hinata figured she should be relaxing, given the fact that the academy had closed down. But instead, the war had made her the errand girl for the Hokage. Though it did annoy her to some degree, she acknowledged someone had to do it, and most of her comrades had been given more important jobs. That was another fact that annoyed her, although it was nobody's fault; she was considered too weak to depend on in battle. She could be sent to the frontlines if the war got really bad…but to wish for that would mean sentencing a good number of her comrades to death. That was something she would never want, and though some of her higher-ranking peers might laugh at the idea, she would give her life to prevent that. As she entered the street, she bumped into someone. Someone familiar. "Shino-kun!!"

"Hinata…how've you been?" Shino didn't change much over the years, but now, in battle, he wore a complete shade and cloth mask over his face. From what she understood, he was now using insects that even he had difficulty controlling, which from what she heard from his father secreted a toxin that no one in the Abumare clan could stand, and now he had to protect himself.

"Is it going well out there?" Hinata asked, truly hopeful the war would come to an end.

Shino barely nodded, but she caught it. "No. They will most likely have to send almost every available shinobi they have to the front. Pray it doesn't come to that." Shino never expressed much emotion, but he considered Hinata to be the sister he never had. Even though he felt bad for Hinata not obtaining jonin rank, in some ways, he was glad; the way things were right now, he would've feared for her life if sending her out happened. "Listen, I've already reported to the Hokage. She wanted me to find you and let you know she needs this week's documents."

Hinata nodded and replied "Yes, I was on my way over there right now."

"Very well. I don't have much time; I just came back for food and weapons. I'll be going back out by tonight probably. I'll tell Kiba you said hello." With that, the two former members of Team 8 went their separate ways.

* * *

"Perhaps it was a mistake to go down here myself." Naruto muttered. He couldn't lie; he couldn't get over the fact that the village never told him who his father was. Camping on the training fields had given him a much needed relief. But now, to come back into the village, and to see everyone simply go about their lives without paying him any heed…it bothered him to no end. "Best get to the store and get out." he reminded himself.

* * *

Sakura ran through the streets, determined to look for Naruto. Eventually, it occurred to her that Naruto would go to the extreme and camp out on whatever training field he was assigned. He did it during his elemental composition training; he had even more reason to do it now.

"Hey, Sakura!"

Sakura turned around to see Chouji, wearing full armor. Even though he was ready for battle, it seemed all he was doing at the moment was casually strolling down the street, munching on a bag of potato chips. "Chouji! How's it going?" Sakura shouted back with almost fake enthusiasm.

Chouji's face grimaced in anguish at the question. "Not so good. The war is getting really ugly right now. Ino broke a leg while on a mission. She's fully recovered, thanks to Hokage-sama, but she forced her back to the front again. I'm…" Chouji paused, looking sideways and trying to choose his words carefully. "…I'm worried." Sakura could tell what he really wanted to say was 'angry', but they both knew Tsunade had valid reasons to put her back into the line of fire almost immediately. Chouji wouldn't dare say anything ill about the Hokage during desperate times.

"Listen, I'm sorry to bother you, but by any chance have you seen Naruto?" Sakura asked, not wishing to waste anymore time.

Chouji's eyes lightened up at the sound of his name. "Yeah! I saw him walk down the street that way!" he exclaimed, pointing towards downtown. "But for some reason, he looked upset. Sakura, do you happen to know anything about it?"

Sakura's head hung down in shame. "Yes…it's my fault he's that way." Her head then rose, and she sprinted in the direction he pointed. "But I'm going to set things right!" she shouted.

Without a sideways glance, Sakura sprinted towards downtown. Chouji, though not fully understanding the situation, knew exactly what to say. "Good luck!!"

* * *

Naruto got out of the grocery store in as quickly as he could. Emotionally, he was still a wreck. Naruto briefly checked his grocery bag, making sure he got everything he wanted. He got lots of ramen, mostly for himself. He took the hint from his last team's training trip that they did not like to eat it on a long term basis. So, for Iori, he got some fruit and meat cubes, along with some oatmeal. "Okay, now to get some weapons. It's amazing how many of those we can waste at times." Naruto towards the weapon shop, not looking where he was going; his eyes were on the list, reminding himself of everything he needed. Suddenly, he bumped into someone. The first thing Naruto saw were stacks of papers flying everywhere, and then the person crouching down to get them.

"S-Sorry!"

That voice…it sounded familiar. Naruto crouched down, and immediately recognized her. "Hinata?"

Hinata looked up in shock, and her face went so red Naruto worried for a second that her skin disappeared. "N-Naruto-kun!! It's b-been a while!"

Naruto helped her gather the papers, and handed them to her. As he helped her up, he replied "It has. How's Neji doing?"

Hinata's head hung low slightly. "Not well. He has not adapted very well to a forced retirement in the slightest. Ninjutsu is the only thing he's ever known; how can he hope to find happiness now?"

Naruto's head turned away, too scared to face the Hyugga. "It was my fault. That fight back then…I should have been the one, but I took him up on his offer when he insisted I go to help my students while he fought the Raikage. It should have been me…I defeated him in the end anyway." Naruto then faced her and bowed to Hinata. "Hinata, I'm sorry."

Hinata was a bit shocked at the gesture. She knew Naruto to be brash, confident…but never apologetic "Y-you have nothing to be sorry about, Naruto-kun!!" she assured him, clutching the papers tightly, still feeling unexpectedly nervous. "Neji-nisan made his choice that day, and he doesn't blame you at all for what happened to him!!"

Naruto stood straight, and gave her an uneasy look, despite the smile plastered on it. It was the kind of face one showed when he was ashamed of something, even after being told he was not to blame. From there, nothing more could be said about the subject. Almost unconsciously, the two walked together down the street.

"Perhaps he's heading my way. This could be a good chance to…" The first thing that immediately came to mind was a date. She didn't expect much to happen…but it was a tempting fantasy. However, she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind. She knew Naruto was dating Sakura now; he always had a crush on the pink-haired kunoichi since the academy opened. She felt happy for him now, to get the girl of his dreams. And she was quite a girl; Sakura had abilities Hinata could never hope to attain. In many ways, she thought of her as her own heroine, if she had to choose one. While she annoyed Hinata to no end with her baseless crush on Sasuke back in the day, now Hinata wished to have her confident and outgoing personality. Overall, it was impossible to hold a grudge against Sakura now.

"So, Hinata…did the old hag send you out into battle at all?" Naruto didn't like the idea of seeing his friends go out to war, but it was reality now, and being part of Konoha's military force, they had to do it. He hated the idea of it even more considering his now strained relationship with the Hokage…

"No….in some ways, I'm both glad and angry at that fact."

"Huh?"

"Well, even though I will gladly carry out my duties as a shinobi…I hate fighting. I don't like hurting other people, and I know this sounds cowardly….but I don't want to be killed myself."

To her surprise, Naruto smiled good-naturedly like he always did at that statement, scratching the back of his head like it was no big deal. "Pretty much everyone here feels the same way. You've got nothing to be ashamed of, so long as you don't abandon your precious people." Truthfully, Naruto was beginning to question what a truly precious person was. But he would not let Hinata hear about that; whatever issues he had with the village, he would not force them upon the former rookie 9 he was once apart of. Minus Sakura, they had nothing to do with the elders' and Hokage's decision.

"O-of course, Naruto-kun."

"I get the part about you being happy about not fighting, but what about the part about you being angry?"

Hinata averted her gaze and stared at the ground as they walked down. "Hokage-sama didn't send me to the front because she thinks I am unreliable. Naruto-kun…" She faced him now, tears falling down. "It hurts so much when you've worked so hard to prove yourself to everyone, and yet you're still viewed as useless!"

Naruto's mouth almost opened agape in response to her proclamation. He knew too well what that was like; he struggled his whole life to catch up with his peers. After he came back from training, he worried that his former classmates were still way ahead of him. There was a point in time where Jiraya had to explain to him that his classmates' abilities only made them look like they surpassed him, but in truth in improving the techniques he already had, he could still beat them. "Hinata, I know that feeling like you never will. No one ever acknowledged me back then. But now…" Though the black-haired kunoichi could not tell, he put on a fake smile; for her sake. "…I must be worth something to them if I've come this far!"

Hinata seemed to calm down a bit at the statement. "O-of course. How stupid of me. I know it was difficult for you back at the academy too. I saw you struggle, and…and I'm sorry I didn't help you before."

"Oh, don't worry about it." Naruto replied, grinning as usual.

Hinata looked away, and smiled slightly. If there was one thing she would always love about him, it was the fact that he would never let past sins get in the way of forming bonds with those around him. The two continued walking down the road. "As upset as I am with the Hokage not sending me into battle with Kiba-kun and Shino-kun…I don't blame her. My skills have not developed past high chunin level. As it is right now, she has to send the best in to insure the war will end. By the time she really does have to rely on ninja like me…it will mean that things have gotten really bad. Even so…" Her voice lowered to above a whisper, and her hands clutched the papers tightly. "…I really hope she would at least give me a chance. That's all I want."

Naruto sympathized with her. He really did. "I guess, at least until I figure out what to do with the rest of my life, I'll follow that same nindo I have been for years. Just one more time." Without any warning, he delicately cupped Hinata's chin.

The kunoichi immediately turned red again in reaction to his touch. "His hand…it feels nice…"

"Hinata…" Naruto began, his voice unusually serious. "…I know it hurts when you want to be part of something big but no one wants you around. But believe me…everyone gets a chance to prove themselves. I just know you'll get yours. Remember when you fought Neji?"

Hinata nodded slightly, preferring not to remember the fight, especially when the relationship between the two cousins improved so much. Besides…she lost that fight.

"To many that battle might have been a failure. But trust me, it wasn't. It's still too soon to call it a victory or defeat. The real battle was not against Neji, but against everyone who ever doubted you."

Hinata was struck by those words, and truthfully it made her feel a bit better. She didn't get it entirely, but she got the drift of what he was saying. "So…does that help make you feel any better?" Naruto smiled. Unexpectedly, Hinata dropped her stack, the papers miraculously staying in place, and caught him in an embrace, catching the jinchuriki off guard. "Hinata, what are you…" Before anymore could be said, the kunoichi kissed him on the cheek….

* * *

Unknown to either one of them, Sakura watched the whole thing from the other side of the street. Sakura didn't scream or march over; she simply froze. It was like a knife to the gut; for the first time in their relationship, whether as friends or lovers, a huge rift formed between them.

And now that rift seemed to have severed the bond they shared. Sakura knew Hinata always liked Naruto, but she could have never imagined an outcome like this! "Then again…it could just be a work of karma." Sakura shunned Naruto, like most everyone else, when she was young. But Hinata always saw that inside of him was a true shinobi. Sakura guessed that it was some divine punishment for contributing to the loneliness Naruto felt. Without a second thought, Sakura ran in the opposite direction, unable to take the sight before her.

* * *

As soon as Hinata released Naruto, she just stared at him in shock, then fright, and Naruto did the same. Realizing what she had just done, Hinata quickly turned around, blushing furiously. "Oh no…what have I done!?" It was probably long enough for most people to lose patience, but after a good five minutes, Hinata turned around and to her relief, saw Naruto was still there. Quickly, Hinata bowed apologetically. "Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry!!" She rose, but couldn't look him in the eye. "I-I know you're dating Sakura-san, and I don't want to get between you two."

Naruto blinked at the statement, and for a moment, felt a feeling of warmth at the mention of Sakura's name. Quickly, and with more effort than he thought was needed given the circumstances, pushed it into the back of his mind. Chuckling a bit uneasily, he said "Oh, don't worry about it. You just caught me by surprise, that's all."

Hinata gave a slight smile in relief, then took a good look at her watch. Her eyes widened in panic as she realized what time it was. "AHH! I was supposed to be at the Hokage's ten minutes ago!!" Quickly, she bowed to Naruto again. "Thank you, Naruto-kun!! What you said made me feel so much better already!!" With that, she practically sprinted down the street towards the Hokage tower.

Naruto sighed, and gave himself a small smile. "She is pretty cute. I bet she'll make someone very happy someday." For some reason, that small chat he had with Hinata made him feel better as well. It wasn't anything Hinata said or did that made him happier than he had been for quite sometime; it was just the fact that Naruto found someone that he had no reason to be angry at. After hanging on to the anger of being kept secrets from for so long, he now felt that he could at least manage it better. "Even if I can't forgive…Tsunade and the others…for those in this village, those who are truly good and have never done anything to hurt me…for them, I will fight." Naruto, more focused and sure than he had felt for a long time, focused once more on getting to the weapon shop.

* * *

"Rasengan!!" As Iori shouted the technique, she rammed the sphere into a rock and pulverized it completely, dust and its scattered remains flying in the air. It was their final day of training, and Iori had finally been able to use the Rasengan.

It was an impressive feat, and Naruto couldn't be prouder. However, he wouldn't consider it mastery; right now, it took her too long to charge it up. Under the right circumstances, she could use it in battle…but the battlefield never gave one the right circumstances. After he advised using a kage bushin to help, Iori tried, but she could not focus her chakra on two different techniques at once. "Well, even if she wouldn't be able to use the jutsu, the kage bushin and her biju powers should help enough." As Iori panted, Naruto walked up to her and firmly patted her on the shoulders. "Great job , Iori!! You still have things you've got to work on with that jutsu…but for now, they're going to have to wait." Iori turned to face him; her face showed that she appreciated the complements, but at the same time was disappointed that she did not really master the jutsu. "Don't worry, Iori. You ARE getting it, you WILL get it. Whatever you do though, don't write this technique off; an opportunity might arise to use it."

Iori then gave a full smile, but it still contained some sadness. "Thank you sensei. This is the best birthday present I've ever gotten…though granted, I haven't received any in a long time too."

Naruto's eyes widened when she said that. "T-Today is your birthday!?" He received the papers with their personal information, but Naruto obviously didn't look at them hard enough! Nearly flailing his arms in panic, he grabbed her arm and began to jog with her out of the training grounds "AAHHH!! I'm so sorry, Iori!! C'mon!! It's still a reasonable hour!! We can go out and celebra-"

"Thanks, sensei!!..." Iori nearly screamed, and pulled her wrist away from him "…but I prefer to be alone tonight." Iori walked away from the stunned Naruto with her head down, and hands behind her back.

Naruto could not believe what she was saying. He never really had many good birthdays either, but ever since he became a part of Team 7 and met Jiraya, that changed. Naruto still remembered when Jiraya gave him a present on his thirteenth birthday; he was so clueless that he didn't even know people were supposed to get presents on their birthdays. Naruto gripped her shoulder, and nearly shouted "What the hell are you talking about!? You turn 13 today!! Why in the world would you be sad on your own birthday!?"

Iori turned around, and looked at Naruto with a face that had no happiness whatsoever. "Today is also the day my father died."

Stunned by the streak of bad luck Iori had her whole life, Naruto let her go. He simply watched as she disappeared from sight, feeling completely helpless to do anything about it.

* * *

"Come on, it'll be my treat." Sakura said to Yuji, not even looking his way. Even she had to admit that since the shock of seeing Naruto and Hinata together, her training regimen was getting much harder. But Yuji still managed to improve, and it was the last day. Truthfully, she felt he had done a great job. He got the super strength down pat; it had to be another part of his kekkei genkai, because no genin had chakra control like he did except for those in his immediate family. He learned some medical jutsu, but for some reason it looked like it would take him just as long as it had her to master those abilities, and the war had no place for amateur skills. Since focusing on medical ninjutsu in this short time period would be a waste, she simply gave him lessons on basic first aid.

She looked back to Yuji, who was holding his arm in exhaustion. He also ditched his glasses for some contact lenses, via her recommendation. She felt it was only proper to give him a reward to being this dedicated, and on his last day too. So, she took him to her favorite restaurant. "Is this place any good?" Yuji asked. "I hope it has a lot of meat, cause I think your workouts have made my metabolism jump through the roof."

For what was supposed to be a celebration, Sakura sounded pretty gloom. "I'm sure they'll have plenty of things to your liking." With that, Sakura strode inside.

"You know, for wanting to treat someone, you don't look too happy." Yuji commented.

* * *

"Ikamatsu!!" Yuji shouted on his SEVENTH meat lovers special.

Sakura only stared in shock as Yuji gulped it down as if he was starving to death the hour before. His body didn't seem to be gaining any weight either. "What we would have given back then to learn his secret." Sakura thought, thinking back to the times when Sakura and Ino took dieting to the extreme. She then looked inside her wallet and then panicked. She could still pay for him…but then she would be flat broke.

"Oh man, you weren't kidding Sakura-sensei!! The beef here is fantastic!!" Yuji enthusiastically pushed his plate forward and yelled "More please!!"

Without warning, Sakura slammed all of her money on the counter and yelled "Keep the change!" as she dragged Yuji out sprinting.

* * *

"For such a little guy, you sure eat a lot." Sakura muttered.

Yuji scratched the back of his head , slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, I get that a lot." Unconsciously, the two stopped in the street, looking at the night sky. "You know, Sakura-sensei? I've been waiting for a chance to prove myself to everyone. At first, after being promoted, I thought this war would be the perfect opportunity to do that. But just within the first few days, a cousin of mine came back…dead. I've been hearing rumors that already, so many are being hurt so bad to the point they have to retire. I wanted to show everyone how strong I really can be…" Then he looked at Sakura, troubled. "…but to do so, do I have to count on the tragedies of others to occur first? As ninja, aren't we simply waiting for someone to suffer so we can make ourselves useful, for better or worse?"

Sakura was stunned by the wise-sounding words Yuji spoke. Turning away slightly, she answered "I never really thought about it like that. But I'm sure that you're thoughts have some merit."

After another moment of silence, Yuji turned around and bowed to Sakura. "Sakura-sensei, I know I've said this a million times…but thank you. I've learned things I could have never imagined, and I feel I can call myself a true shinobi now." Yuji rose, and smiled at Sakura. "I hope we both make it out alive of this; especially for Naruto-sensei's sake."

Sakura forced a smile in response and replied yes. She had to admit, Yuji became the little brother she never had. But the truth was, even with all this, she wasn't happy, even though she knew damn well she should have. As Yuji started to walk down the street, something snapped in Sakura. "Naruto and I might be separated forever because I was too afraid to tell him the truth." She clenched her fists and thought "I won't make the same mistake again." She ran towards the chunin. "Yuji!! Wait!"

Yuji stopped, and turned with a confused look on his face. "Huh? What is it, Sakura-sensei?"

Sakura glanced behind her, trying to think of the best way to put it into words. "To be honest, Naruto and I had a big fight. It's all because I kept something secret from him when I know in my heart that I shouldn't have." Yuji was then giving her an even more confused look. "And I don't want to keep secrets from you. Yuji: I accompanied your father on his last mission." Upon hearing this, Yuji's eyes widened in shock. Sakura proceeded to tell him everything that happened on that mission gone bad.

The entire time, Yuji's face was unmoving. When her story finally ended, Sakura finally said "Yuji, I'm so sorry. I failed you before I even met you, and I failed my duty as a medic nin. I'd like for you to forgive me…but I won't blame you if you decide not to. I…I just hope that everything I have taught you will not only enable you to survive, but to protect the lives of those precious to you as well. And for what it's worth, you've got more talent than you…or anyone you've ever known…has given you credit for." With that, Sakura bowed this time, and turned away.

For a good minute, maybe even less, she walked down the alley without a thought in the world, undisturbed. Suddenly, two arms wrapped around her waist. Just by feeling the size of them, she knew it was Yuji. For the longest time, the young one held her; it was not a romantic embrace like she had been receiving recently from the boy's official sensei. It was more like…she didn't know. From a sibling, perhaps? That was her best guest. Even though it wasn't as comforting as her now ex-boyfriend's hugs were, it still managed to get the job done. When Yuji released her, she turned around in shock to find him crying. "T-Thank you, Sakura-se…Sakura-neesan. I'm glad that the last comrade my father could spend his last mission with was you. And you have no idea how long I've waited for him to tell me that."

Sakura didn't want to tell him that she wrote he and his mother; it was obvious from the start that he had no knowledge of any such letter. Just as long as she got the message across. With that, Yuji took to the rooftops. Sakura, despite the depressing situation she put the both of them in, had to smile. She had found one more precious person to protect…and this time, she would NOT fail.

* * *

Sakura made her way towards the Hokage tower, several things on her mind. It felt good…really good, to be thought of as an older sister to someone. However, what should have made her happy did little to help her forget the pain of her break-up. "Now is not the time. Tomorrow, I go to the battlefield. I need to stay focused if any of our own are to be saved. Besides…I need to tell Tsunade everything I've learned about Yuji." As she made her way up the stairs, she began hearing something from Tsunade's office. It sounded like…shouting. As she walked closer, she began to recognize the voice shouting. "Father!?"

This time, she ran into the office without asking the guards' permission; she didn't need it anyway, as being the Hokage's apprentice did have certain privileges. The instant she flew the doors open, she found them: her father, Shiroarashi, looking furious, and Tsunade, sitting in her chair with a cool demeanor. But Sakura knew Tsunade long enough to recognize the fury beneath her eyes that was waiting to be unleashed. "How dare you do this!?" Shiroarashi yelled. "What business does even the Hokage have to meddle in my own affairs!?" Her father slammed both of his fists right at the front of Tsunade's desk, abandoning the cool and emotionless demeanor he was usually known for.

Tsunade, however, was unresponsive; she simply stared forward, her hands folded underneath her chin. But Sakura could tell that underneath the calm eyes, her master was furious. Tsunade had enough to deal with already, as the war was taking a huge toll on their soldiers. Sakura could only guess what this was about, and when Tsunade spoke, it was confirmed. "With all due respect, Haruno-san, I cannot afford to have your daughter shipped off to the other side of the country and settle down. She is the best medic this village has ever seen next to me, and a capable fighter. And both are in very short supply right now. But if it will appease you, I will give you two choices: one, you can go ahead and proceed with the marriage you have planned from your daughter. And then, supposing we win this war, when the families of those who lost their lives demand an answer for why their loved ones were not could not be saved, I can simply tell them that Haruno Shiroarashi made my best medic a bride, and that I respected his wishes. I'll certainly take a lot of blame myself, but you'll definitely get your fair share. A share I think will be too much for an 'honorable' man like you." Shiroarashi's eyes widened at the statement, then proceeded to grit his teeth even more. "Then there's the second option: put the wedding on hold. I'm sure your daughter will make it out okay. Besides, she's much stronger than you have EVER given her credit for, and if it's scars you're worried about, well, I'm sure this baron she's engaged to is aware that his bride to be was a KUNOICHI." The two just stared each other down; one was ready to explode, come up with any excuse. The other was prepared for a physical confrontation, and knew she had her guest trapped in terms of rationality.

With a forced snort, Shiroarashi banged her desk once more and took off. "I should've known to jump ship when a sentimental woman was chosen as leader of this village." Sakura felt like she was stabbed, even though the comment was not directed at her.

Tsunade didn't visibly react, but she truly contemplated snapping the man's neck at that moment, even in front of his daughter. "Honestly, Sakura, I don't know how you put up with that asshole!!" Tsunade shouted, throwing her arms up in the air.

Sakura, slightly embarrassed, muttered "You get used to it…although you never learn to like it."

Tsunade sat back down, and rubbed her temples again. She had been doing it a lot lately, and what infuriated her to no end was that she had no remedy for it; even she knew it was psychological. "First, business. What do you have to report from your training session with Yuji?"

Sakura straightened herself out, and began her report. "I have analyzed Yuji's unusual reflexes, and I believe I have sufficient evidence that it is indeed a new kekkei genkai. During our sparring sessions, I have paid close attention to certain patterns in the way he responded to my attacks. First off, he must be in an adrenalized state; if he is calm, he will not sense danger like expected, though he otherwise has the awareness of the average chunin. Also, once the kekkei genkai is activated, it will only last for ten minutes; after that, he's back to normal. I have also observed that when his sight, hearing, smell, and touch is blocked or weakened, the kekkei genkai is neutralized. Finally…I think his extraordinary chakra control may be part of the kekkei genkai itself. I don't have sufficient evidence…just a hunch, and for that I apologize." With that, Sakura bowed.

Tsunade, still unmoving, said "Very good. I'll be sure to make a note of that and inform Yuji. Now…" Tsunade stood up, and walked towards on of the book cabinets. After some searching, she finally pulled out a huge book, and heaved it onto her desk. "…let's see what we can do about this bullshit marriage of yours." Sakura wanted to say something, but she couldn't. "Some marriages like these work out well, but I know it's not and never was for you."

As she opened it to flip through the pages, Sakura then muttered "Shishou…you don't have to.."

At this Tsunade stopped, and gave her a look that was both sad and furious. "Do you know what you are saying!? You're about to be married to a complete stranger!! Why shouldn't I help my da- my apprentice!?"

Sakura stuttered around for a few seconds before finally bluttering out "Naruto found somebody else, okay!?" Another moment of silence. Tsunade was saddened at the idea of Naruto, after being devoted to Sakura as long as she knew him, moved on."Shishou…I discovered the secret of Minato Namikaze when I was fourteen. For four years, I kept that secret from Naruto. I knew all along in my heart it was wrong, but I was too afraid to tell him. It was partially because I figured that if everyone, including you, approved it, that I should trust you and the council. I'm not blaming you…I'm blaming me, not thinking for myself and hiding something important to the most important person in my life. And I blame myself for looking through things I wasn't supposed to in the first place. If he's found happiness elsewhere now,what right do I have to beg him to even be friends with me!? I don't blame him for the way he feels, shishou. He was alone for so long, and he can't handle the fact that he should have been loved by the village from the very beginning. If I were in his position, I would be just as angry as he is now."

"And what the hell does THAT have to do with you getting married against your will!?" Tsunade yelled angrily.

Sakura simply replied "It's no more than I deserve; Naruto had his world turned upside down, and I guess I'm willing to accept the same for myself. Besides….who knows, it might become the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Sure, like you would want to spend the rest of your life as a subordinate both culturally and legally, to only speak up when you agree with him, to be forced to do chores and activities deemed fit only for women over what you love and truly meant to do….yeah, it sounds like the arrangement you've been waiting for since you were twelve years old." Tsunade continued to flip through the book, determined to find some loopholes. "Mark my words, I WILL break this engagement, Sakura. If you still want to get married to this baron, then I will not stop you; I will at least take comfort in knowing you truly chose to do that at least."

Tsunade didn't even say goodnight; too much was going on through her head. The war was bad enough. Then the girl she considered to be a daughter got hitched to a part of the royal family. Sure, she had seen wealth that even she envied. And though she did not want to generalize, having seen some couples live happily like in the fairy tales, the general trend between couples of the nobles was one based around dominance and status, not equality and love. Worse still, Sakura was actually considering it!! Even if she broke the engagement, she could do nothing to stop her if she wanted! "Naruto…please let it all go…"

* * *

The following morning, Naruto walked with Iori to the tower. Though they had grown close, something grew between them. Every time Iori asked about Sakura or the village, Naruto would do everything he could to get her to drop the subject. The similar experiences they shared drew them together, but whenever Iori tried to ask him about his personal life, he acted like he would try to force themselves apart. It bothered her to no end. She KNEW something happened between Naruto and the Konoha government, as well as Sakura. She decided to wait it out, seeing what would happen. It may not be the best decision, but she figured that if that didn't work, somebody would find the correct way. Finally, they arrived at the tower.

When Naruto opened it, he saw Tsunade in her seat as usual. Standing across from her were his other two students. But what really caught his attention was the man standing next to her. For the first time in a while, Naruto's expression turned into genuine happiness. "Gaara!!"

The Kazekage, unemotional as ever, nodded in acknowledgement. "How have you been, Naruto?" The two kept in touch, but this was the first time in three years that they saw each other face to face.

"I should ask…HOLY SHIT, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?" Naruto pointed a finger in amazement at Gaara's height and build, stating "Y-YOU'RE HUGE!!" Naruto always bragged about how the one edge he had over the Kazekage was his taijutsu, but now it looked as though he may have to consider taking it back.

Gaara, impassive as ever, stated "Well, the council agreed a kage should be adept in all areas of combat, and feeling taijutsu was my weakness, I have trained hard to improve upon that." It was the most subtle way for Gaara to tell Naruto that without Shukaku, he had to rely more on his fists than sand. Clear that Naruto didn't get the hidden meaning behind that statement, Gaara continued. "Iwa as been as much an enemy of Suna has it has Konoha. Should Konoha be wiped out first, they will come after Suna next. Therefore, it is in our best interest to join forces and minimize casualties for each of us, as well as combine to make the most efficient attacks."

Naruto nodded in something of an agreement. His bitterness towards Tsunade was still affecting his judgment. Then he remembered his promise to himself after his meeting with Hinata. "Okay then. I won't let either of you down." He said, in an unusually calm tone. Naruto then looked at his two students, who he hadn't seen in over a month. "I take it the training you two received was worthwhile?"

Yuji nodded, a bit hesitantly, and Shiguri exclaimed " Your sensei was a pain in the ass. But, for what it is worth, he taught me a few things worth using."

With that, Naruto was about to order his team to move out. Then, something started to nag at him. Looking at Gaara, he realized he was the best person to talk to. "Guys…Hokage-sama…could you leave me and Gaara alone for a moment?"

Gaara knew something was wrong immediately. Naruto never addressed ANYONE politely. He heard him be affectionate with one person, but that was it. But he was a friend, and he knew whatever it was, it had to be between them. Gaara turned to his fire country counterpart, and asked "Hokage-sama, with your permission?"

Tsunade nodded, but before he stepped forward, she slipped him a piece of paper. "For Naruto's eyes only." She whispered.

With that, the two jinchuriki (or to be accurate, former and current jinchuriki) stepped outside.

* * *

"Gaara…you know that your dad was the Kazekage right?"

"Yes."

"And that he put that monster inside of you by sacrificing your mother."

"Yes."

Naruto took a moment to get his words right. He felt so certain asking him before; why did it not feel quite as right now? "How did it feel, knowing that your father did these terrible things to you, and how the village treated you even though you were his son?"

Gaara took a minute to think about that. He knew the difference between what one felt on the surface and what one truly felt from within. At least, nowadays he did. He remembered back in his youth how sure he was that he hated everything and felt nothing but anger; but in truth, what he really felt was sadness, and simply wished to be loved. "Truthfully, Naruto, back then I believed I did hate them. I truly did hate my father for what he did to me. But that's in the past. My father got what he deserved, and the people of Suna, except for the council anyway, have learned from their mistakes. Holding a grudge now is pointless. They proved that to me, when you and Chiyo-basama saved me. Never in my life did I imagine anyone coming to save and mourn me."

Naruto took in what Gaara said. It still wasn't quite the answer he was looking for. "Then what am I looking for?" Naruto thought to himself. Naruto sighed and said "Thanks for trying to help anyway, Gaara. I better get going."

As he turned to leave, Gaara grabbed his shoulder. "Wait. Tsunade-sama wanted me to give this to you."

Naruto turned around, and a letter of some kind was placed in his hand. He looked at it, afraid of what was inside. "What's in it?" Naruto asked, deciding it might be better to ask someone.

"She said it was for you, and you alone to look at." Gaara replied.

Naruto looked back at the letter, and stuffed it in one of his vest pockets. "Good luck with everything, Gaara."

"Same to you."

With that, Naruto got his team together, and they headed out towards the main gates. Unknown to any of them, an ANBU was watching them from afar. An ANBU with pink hair. Though Sakura was crying silently beneath her mask, she made no motion to stop him, even for a moment. Once Team 12 passed the gates, Sakura took off, almost perpendicular to them. Little did the two members of Team 7 from the past know, their destinies would only be intertwined again. Kizu, watching from atop Danzou's roof, would make sure of that.

* * *

Next chapter, Naruto and Sakura go to war!! The blond jinchuriki faces off against Deidara. Naruto's team gives him an advantage…until Deidara brings out his own! Plus, how will Sakura's friends react to her engagement? Also, Sasuke begins his journey anew with Midoriiro.

I would also like to add something about the Ainu in this story. They, nor Iwa's policies against them (which you will learn more about in the future), are not an accurate reflection of the real people and their history. I'm simply using the word to apply to another group of people I'm essentially making up, and I chose to use the Ainu as a base because they are one of Japan's few ethnic minorities who lived in Hokkaido long before they did.

Midoriiro Gaikai-Emerald Ocean


	27. And One By One They Fall

Hi there! I apologize for taking much longer than usual to update. There were two reasons for that:

1) I have this weird fetish where I need to read and write and the same time. Lately, I haven't found enough things worth reading

2) This election has been leaving me in a funk. I won't go into too much detail about where I leaned, but right now I'M ECSTATIC (okay, I think you may have figured me out). So, now that I'm in good spirits again, I felt I was able to complete this chapter. For the Obama supporters, I hope this chapter is yet another reason to love November, and to the McCain supporters, I hope despite my political loyalties you will find this chapter enjoyable and as something to help you get through the day. My only request now is no political messages of ANY KIND in my reviews; focus on how I'm doing in the story, please.

evryluvsmisty: You'll get soon, just be patient.

ManiMan: Well, I hope I don't dissapoint

Mrfipp: Everytime a character meets a crazy girl, they wish they were dead. And I think you'll enjoy Deidara's students.

Cecixx19: Okay, how about this!? You happy now!?

spazzgirl: Well, I'm not that cold to prevent either one of those from happening

InaRealPickle: You'll get those war scenes I'm talking about. Also, since Kishi tries to do a lot of foreshadowing, I tried to due the same, and it seems it worked if you saw the marriage coming. And I think you'll like Midirrio more with time too.

Untamable: No, thank YOU

Disclaimer: OBAMA 08!!...I mean, I don't own Naruto (sorry, sorry to my more conservative readers, it's all good humor)

* * *

Earth Country. Its habitats varied from alpine forests to wasteland. Currently, a few individuals were making their way through the Meadow of Mushrooms. Little did Naruto know, as an adolescent, his original jonin leader became the man he was today in that same area. Naruto led Iori and Shiguri through the tall grass, keeping an eye out for attackers. His mission was to join up with a group of Konoha soldiers he was very familiar with. When they reached them, they would go over attack plans and objectives. Naruto stopped and held out his arm, signaling for his two students to stop as well. He had a bad feeling they were being watched; no proof, just a hunch. But ninja hunches were quite often correct. Naruto tapped his earpiece and whispered "Yuji, confirm hostilities."

His third student did not follow him from the ground; rather, he followed his team through the trees and cliffs. Yuji, using his spider gauntlets, struck a tree with a sharp wire, and swung from one tree to the next. He circled the entire area within a fifty meter radius, searching for trouble hoping trouble wouldn't attack him. So far, he did not run into anything; if there was anyone waiting to ambush him, he figured he would have been attacked or run into a trap. Finally, he landed on a branch to reply back to his commander. "All clear, sensei." Yuji was about to return to swinging, when he heard something snap. Yuji spun around in shock. Nothing. There were a few small animals, but nothing big enough in the immediate area that could generate the sound he heard. Something wasn't right. He knew he heard something land on a tree, something big. "Wait." He whispered into his earpiece. Yuji scanned some more, his heart racing. And that's when he felt it.

An Iwa nin, using an invisibility jutsu, emerged behind Yuji. He brought his kunai down, intending to stab the back of his neck…and hit tree bark. "What!?" he yelled.

Yuji was right above him, and shot a single wire. The wire wrapped around the ninja's neck, and Yuji threw him over, and Yuji threw him down into the ground. Yuji didn't get a moment to rest though; he was immediately assaulted by shuriken. The chunin managed to get away without a scratch, but he knew he would not be able to handle this alone. "We're surrounded!! Everyone, get ready!!"

When Yuji yelled that, Iwa nin from all around Team 12 emerged. Naruto immediately made Kage Bushins; Not as much as he could have, but he wanted to conserve chakra; there was no telling when one of the Akatsuki might attack. "Shiguri! Shield our back! Iori! You will help me until Yuji gets here!! Go!!"

Shiguri immediately formed his hand signs. "He's not even chunin!! Run him through, men!!" his attackers shouted, their faces showing nothing but the anticipation of ecstasy from a kill.

The Iwa ninjas charged and got ready to throw projectile weapons, but Shiguri was ready for that. "Doton!! Akuma no Fushido!!" Spikes immediately shot through the ground, and too fast for even most jonin to react in time. Some impaled his attackers, others cut them on vital muscles, but most importantly, they all halted in their tracks. Shiguri caught someone yelling, and shot out a dragon tongue wrapped under his sleeve. The edged weapon grabbed another Iwa nin's wrist, and Shiguri pulled, slashing it down to the bone. The genin was then caught off guard when another snuck behind him and kicked him to the ground. While he was stunned, Shiguri's attacker cocked his arms back in a killing blow. However, the Iwa nin was caught off guard in turn, when Iori kicked him in the head. Following through, the red head brought out her two kamas and sliced his arms clean off. Leaving the poor man to fend for himself, Iori helped Shiguri up. Another nin tried to tackle them both, but a Kage Bushin of Iori rammed right into him. Both using their weapons, and watching each others back, the two fended off their attackers. After what seemed to be an eternity, the attacks stopped. The dead and wounded lay everywhere.

Naruto, with his Kage Bushins, subdued most of the attackers. Satisfied, Naruto dispelled them all. "I think it's over . Alright, we need to take someone alive with us…."

Just then, another figure emerged from the grass. It charged right for Iori and Shiguri, who just put their weapons away. There was no time for them to get ready, and it looked as though their fates were sealed. However, before the assailant knew it, Naruto leaped in front of him with his Rasengan, while Yuji simultaneously touched down behind the assailant. Naruto landed his technique in the man's chest, and at the same moment, Yuji punched him in the back; the combination of the Rasengan and Yuji's super strength was too much, and the man coughed up blood and collapsed.

Yuji looked in horror at what he had done. "I should've known what this jutsu…I should've known what I could've done."

While Yuji stared intensely at the body, Naruto walked over to another nin he captured, all tied up. "There are two ways we can do this. I can bring you to the group I'm supposed to meet with, or we can torture you right here. You choose the former, and I promise you it will be much less painless." The Iwa nin agreed almost immediately. "That's pretty pathetic on your part." His captor commented, knowing if their positions were switched, he would've chosen the ladder. After knocking him out, Naruto made a Kage Bushin which carried the nin for him. "Okay everyone. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. It will be nightfall soon, and we need to hide someplace before the enemy spots us first. Move out!!"

* * *

Team 12 settled down for the night and hid in a hollow space inside a tree. They could not use a campfire; enemy ninja would've spotted them for sure. Besides, it was raining, so shelter was important. They couldn't sleep on the ground either. At least in the trees, they could easily gain a second or two against attackers by jumping down onto the ground first. The four Konoha ninja huddled together; it was cramped, but they had no other choice. At least Naruto had the foresight to bring some chloroform, hence keeping their captor quiet and manageable. Naruto wasn't asleep; he should have been. One of his toads was on the trunk keeping a look out. When it croaked in alarm, he would hear it no matter how tired he was. But even taking comfort in that, he could not sleep. Something was nagging at him, but what? He didn't know what it was, but he felt…lonely.

Naruto then turned his attention to Yuji. Iori and Shiguri were sound asleep, but not Yuji. He didn't just look like he wasn't tired; he looked greatly disturbed. "What's wrong, Yuji?"

Yuji did not answer him; he was starting to tear up. "Sensei…I don't know if I can do this." Naruto only looked at him in silence.

"Is it about the man you killed earlier?"

"Not just him; the ones who were chasing me…I only crippled most of them, but a couple snapped their necks in one of my wire traps. Another managed to catch me when I was in midair. I managed to break his hold and shoot a wire right into his neck. I…I feel like I'm not human anymore. Just because I had the strength didn't mean I had to use it to kill, did I? My spider gauntlets can be used both lethally and non-lethally. Why couldn't I do the latter?"

Yuji was visually trembling now, and Naruto, upon noticing that, patted him on the shoulder. "I'm going to be honest with you Yuji; this is my first time at war too. But I will tell you this: I have killed before. Not nearly as much as many other ninja, but I've done it. You'll discover that in each of those battles, it is simply kill or be killed. If you hold back, you will die, Yuji. And I can't allow that to happen." Yuji turned his head away, almost in disbelief. "But," Naruto started, "it's a good thing you don't enjoy it."

Yuji, hearing what he needed to hear, faced Naruto. "Ero-senin used to tell me real ninja love the cause, not the fighting. I've met ninjas who actually enjoy doing what we did earlier today. And they abandon everything a real person holds dear. Friends, family, honor…they become something inhuman." Naruto looked at Yuji, with a warm look in his eyes. "Our abilities can be used for something other than violence. After this war, we can think of ways to prevent another…non-violently of course."

Yuji, the silent listener he usually was, seemed a bit skeptical. "You really think so?"

Naruto, realizing his student called his bluff, chuckled nervously. "Okay, so I don't know for sure. But I believe it can be done. And when I become Ho-"Naruto stopped himself. Did he really want to become Hokage anymore? Not a single thought came to mind to give him a clue.

The blonde realized that he was spacing out, and turned to Yuji, who looked as though he was getting impatient. Naruto sighed. "I just don't know. But whatever you do, don't lose yourself and your emotions. It's the worse thing that could happen. And believe me, I know THAT." Naruto turned over to face the outside. "Get some rest, Yuji. You really are going to need it."

Yuji curled up, still feeling uneasy.

* * *

Within another part of the continent, a scout of ANBU ninjas raced through the trees. They were not part of Konoha or Iwa. No, they were Kiri ninjas. They inspected both the trees and the ground surrounding them. After a good hour, they finally stopped to report to one another "Did you find any trace of her?"

"No, not yet." The other answered.

"We must find her. We cannot afford to fail Mizukage-sama again, like Niji did."

"And don't forget, Taifuu will see an end to us, whether by the Mizukage's consent or not." His partner shuddered at the thought. To die by Typhoon's hands was like punishment from heaven.

Without saying another word to each other, the two took to the trees again, vanishing from the area. Little did they know, someone was watching them the whole time. "Time to move again." The figure took off in the opposite direction, leaving no traces.

* * *

"Uhn." Sasuke grunted as pulled the last of his stitches out. Though he was not a medical ninja, he got hurt many times before and watched how Kabuto treated him, in order to learn to do the conventional methods himself should he have no one else. As he was pulling them out, he made another observation; Midoriiro did a terrible job. But it was good enough to save his life, and Sasuke knew what kind of medicines to get to fight off any infection. His thoughts turned back to the girl and the nights he spent with her. Many times, it was terrifying; she threatened him and beat him over the head with something repeatedly; he tried to bring up the fact that he was still injured, but that just made things worse. Other times, it felt peaceful to be with her, even nice. He especially enjoyed seeing her smile…then he shook that out of his head. He was sharing a residence with a crazy woman, and he knew it. "Even so, I should thank her, crazy as…"

"Sasuke, I'm HOOMMMEE!"

Sasuke covered his ears again, trying to block out the horrible noise. Midoriiro walked in, having kicked open the door as if she was given a very potent stimulant. She talked just fine, but when she raised her voice, he couldn't stand her!! "Oh, so my expert medical skills worked, I take it?" Midoriiro asked, smiling in anticipation.

Sasuke's eyes twitched at her exclamation of her medical skills being "expert". "They did the job good enough."

For a second, Midoriiro's face turned into a frown, knowing damn well what Sasuke meant. Then, she smiled again. "Good! That means you're ready to move out!!"

Neither one moved nor said a word. The only sound heard was the wind. "I beg your pardon?" Sasuke asked, more perplexed then he ever had been.

"We've gotta go. As much as I love this place, that's the way things are!" With that, Midoriiro rushed to the cabinets, grabbing whatever she could fit into a tiny knapsack before Sasuke could even asked. She seemed to be in an extreme hurry too. "Alright, Sasuke-chan!! Get your clothes, cause we're ready to go!!"

In a few minutes the two were outside. Sasuke didn't have a clue what he was doing. But he figured he would follow Midoriiro to find out. "Argh!!" Midoriiro screamed, slapping her forehead. "I forgot!! I need to blow the place up!!"

"WHAT!?"

"I'll be right back!!" Midoriiro rushed to her small hut, and placed explosive tags all over it. "There!! Enough C2 explosive tags to blow that place sky-high!!"

As she carried her knapsack on the tip of her sword like one would with a stick, a couple of unused explosive tags fell out of her shirt. Sasuke bent down and picked one up. "Um…these are C4 explosives…."

Midoriiro snatched a tag and looked at it, her eyes widening and jaw gaping in belief. She looked back to the cabin, and cried "RUUUNNN!!" Just as the two began to sprint, the explosives went off, sending them flying.

* * *

The forest rained with shuriken. It was a full battle of ninja troops, and at the moment, neither one had an edge over the other. Soon, all distance attacks, at least for now, were called off, and the two groups engaged in close combat. Finally, the casualties started piling up. Both Konoha and Iwa nin fell from the tree tops, dead from a punctured heart before they hit the ground. But soon, the Konoha nin were becoming outnumbered. "Slaughter them!!!" an Iwa nin cried.

He brought a kunai down on an opponent, who parried it. The two were locked in combat. The Konoha nin managed to get himself in a position where the Iwa nin could not attack without breaking their stalemate, but the downside was that he himself could not counterattack. "A little help here!!" he cried.

Suddenly, the Iwa nin broke off, and ran towards a comrade. However, instead of trying to help him, he stabbed his fellow nin in the stomach. "Why…" The confused nin collapsed on the branch.

His killer dropped his kunai, looking at his own hand, trembling. "What have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE!!!?"

Before he could take his own life, he was knocked out by a chop to the head. Ino, in her ANBU mask, rushed into the battle field again. Though she was not the most powerful ninja, her mind jutsus could turn the tables on an army in an instant. Before she could join up with other comrades, an enemy nin cut her off. The two slashed at each other with kunai, but Ino was backhanded onto the branch. Before her enemy could deliver a killing blow, something kept him from moving. Hairs, energized by chakra, bound his legs together. Should he have went forward with his blow, he might have killed his opponent…but he would most likely fall flat on his face and be exposed. "Chouji!! Now!!"

The Iwa nin turned his head, and stared in horror as a giant ball rolled towards him. The ball hit him with such force that the Iwa nin never felt it and was out cold. Chouji transformed back into his original form, and ran towards Ino. However, he was caught off guard when wires from four different directions wrapped around him. Four Iwa nins revealed themselves behind the leaves, smirking beneath their masks.

"Konoha must be getting desperate if they're sending the unfit after us!!" Though Chouji had grown to accept his weight and appearance and all the bad things that came with it, their statements still sent him over the edge. The Akimachi screamed, but he could not expand. Instead, the steel cords tightened around him, making it impossible. "HAHAHA! Struggle all you want, fat boy!! You'll never…"

Suddenly, the ninjas felt something odd. Without their consent, they dropped their wires and dumped their weapons. "Wh-What's going on!?"

"You are under my control now." Shikamaru, on the other side of the tree, walked from one branch to the other. The bad news was that it would break his control over his captives. The good news: his captives stepped into nothing but air, and fell. Shikamaru jumped to the other side to meet his friends again. "Chouji, In…I mean, Kin! Are you guys okay!?"

"We're fine, Shikamaru." Ino, aka Kin, answered.

Normally, the ANBU fought separately from the normal chunin and jonin. But things had gotten to the point where some mixing was necessary.

Before they could converse more, Ino sensed something. Quickly, she took to the treetops, and scanned the horizon. If it weren't for her mask, her eyes would have conveyed shock. "Regroup!! Reinforcements!!!!" A whole new battalion of Iwa nins, close to a thousand strong, surrounded the Konoha nins. The odds were bad enough before, but now they had no hope.

The InoShikaChou trio drew their weapons. "Hey isn't this usually the part where Naruto intervenes?" Shikamaru asked a bit jokingly, trying to lighten up the situation. It's not that he was opposed to the idea; Naruto could and would help them if needed. But to rely on one ally all the time was dangerous.

"Tajuu Kage Bushin no Jutsu!!" A thousand versions of a very familiar ninja leaped into the trees, protecting what remained of the Konoha squad, and prepared to face the enemy.

"Then again…" Shikamaru noted with a smile, "…Naruto was the type one could always count on."

* * *

Naruto dropped his captor onto the ground with the least bit of concern, if any, for his comfort. Ino stepped forward and extended her hands, preparing her Shintenshin jutsu. She collapsed on the ground as if she fell asleep, but everyone knew Ino's mind was inside of their POW's.

After about five minutes, she finally came to and rose. "They're planning surprise attacks in Grass and Rain, five hundred strong each!! Send a messenger animal to Konoha, quickly! And make sure it's a discreet one!"

Many messenger animals were being attacked, with both sides doing anything they could to ruin communications between troops and their respective villages. Konoha had to find new ones to use, sometimes every other week. For this instance, a duck was chosen; they were the opposite of what most ninja expected, and they could travel great distances non-stop. After it left, Ino went over to Naruto and sat next to him. She knew he knew who she was underneath the mask "So, I hope everything is okay with you and your team."

Naruto sighed a bit. "They're okay, for the most part. Yuji is still a bit traumatized, but he will still able to do his job. How are things holding up here?"

Ino walked to a rock opposite Naruto and sat on it, wanting to face him. "We're managing. But Iwa has the largest army in all of shinobi history. They've won battles by sheer numbers alone, even when the average Iwa nin is weaker than his counterparts from other countries. The previous hokages were incredible, and helped us overcome things like this despite the odds…but even with Tsunade-sama leading us, I don't know how much longer we can hold out…"

Naruto looked away, unsure about how to answer. "Listen, I'm going to set camp out here, if that's alright. We'll wait here for further orders, and I will protect everyone here."

"By the way, Naruto…" Ino got up from her seat and walked towards the jinchuriki, "…what's going on between you and Sakura?" It was normally unwise, and in many cases illegal, to refer to fellow ANBU members by their real names. Doing so implied you were an associate to the named person, and your identity would be jeopardized. But Ino didn't particularly care at the moment.

Naruto stopped in his tracks and cast her a sideways glance. "What are you talking about?" Naruto did not want to get caught up in that again. He just couldn't face her, or even bear the mentioning of her name. He would've attributed it to anger if asked why…but he wasn't so sure.

"Don't play dumb with me, Naruto." Ino hissed dangerously. "You do that naturally quite well. Something's wrong with Sakura. She's not herself. Granted, no one these days can exactly be called happy, but it seems like any hope she had is gone. She does her duties, but that's it. She has no enthusiasm, no motivation…I'm not sure if she even cares whether or not we win."

For some reason, this did bother Naruto, but he tried his best to ignore it. "So long as she does her duties to the best of her ability, I don't see how this is of any concern."

Before Naruto could walk away, Ino threw him backwards onto the ground. "I knew it." She said, barely containing her rage. "It has something to do with you!!" she pointed accusingly at him. Naruto tried his best to counter, but no words came to him. Ino walked off and placed her hands on her hips, a gesture of frustration. "I don't know what's going on. I have no proof it was your fault. But I know you have to fix it!!"

"Forget it!!" In that instant, Naruto realized he blew it.

Ino ran over and punched him in the face, ignoring the fact Naruto didn't even get up yet. "I guess I've got the proof I need!! So, just what is it that got you so upset over Sakura, huh!?"

Naruto finally got up and wiped the blood from his lip. "None of your business." He muttered.

"Fine then. But allow me to take a guess: somehow, the fact that Sakura loved Sasuke before you came up, didn't it? And it came up in such a way that you felt second-rate to Sasuke because of that! You really think that Sakura would have stayed with Sasuke had he not left?"

Deciding to play along, given the truth of the matter, Naruto replied "Well, what do you think?! She was head over heals in love with him, you both were! If he didn't leave, Sakura would still chase him! I wouldn't have had a chance; Jiraya planned to take me away for training whether or not both Orochimaru and Akatsuki became threats." Naruto kicked a pebble into a vacant spot. "Even if I had a chance back then, had Sasuke not left, I just know they would have fallen in love together. Do you think Sakura really would have waited two and a half years to make her decision if one of them stayed?"

Naruto finally walked away, deciding he had enough. Ino made a motion to throw him back again, but Naruto grabbed her wrist and locked it in an Aikido-like grip. It didn't hurt much, but without putting up a real fight, Ino had no way of escape. "Just drop it. It's been done, and it was never meant to be." Naruto released Ino from his hold that instant. "Sakura should just get over it like I have. It'll be less complicated for both of us that way. If you'll excuse me, I need to get my team together."

Ino watched as Naruto walked off to where his students were having some water. "That's not the real reason, is it?" Ino asked.

* * *

In southern Grass country, Konoha ninja were making their way through a trench. It was muddy, the air reeked with decay, and the sides were so shallow they practically had to crawl to avoid being spotted. But that was better than being skewered by kunai; the Iwa nins invented some sort of machine that shot kunai at speeds most humans could never hope to match. Fortunately, they were rather expensive to make, so only a few of them existed. But they were still so destructive that many countries would massacre for just two of them. Down in the trench, another ANBU ninja crawled with his comrades, who themselves were not ANBU. In fact, most were chunin. "Man this sucks. Those dogs have got us crawling in this dump like one of them!!"

Another one, a chunin, yelled to their ANBU captain "Hey, you're supposed to be the elite!! Why don't you fucking do something!!?"

The ANBU remained silent, much to the annoyance of his comrades. If only they knew that it was because of his personality, not because of his protocol.

On the other side, the Iwa nins observed their foes crawling in the trench. The commander of the Iwa squad looked at the trenches with a telescope. Just barely, he could make out men crawling in the trenches. Smirking, he put his scope down and yelled to his men "They're out of reach of the Gattlers. Are the mustard pellets ready?"

"Ready, sir!!"

The Iwa nins hurled the pellets into the trenches by the use of both hand and sling, and most of the Konoha nins failed to realize the danger.

"What are these, smoke bombs?"

"Then why is it yello-augh!! Ack!!"

One by one, the Konoha nins fell. It was a new type of poison gas. Due to the healthy bodies of most shinobi, it was difficult to concoct a poison that would kill its victims easily. But this one did just that. It behaved as both a hemo and neurotoxin, making it much more destructive than other poisons as well as something more difficult to counter. Before the yellow cloud could make it to the remaining troops, though, birds that looked like they belonged in a painting flew in front of them and flapped their wings, dispersing the clouds. The ANBU who was with them began drawing on a scroll, and rhino-like beasts jumped out. They charged onto the fields towards the Iwa nins, who tried to counter with kunai but their projectiles were useless against the pieces of art come to life, even with the use of the gattlers. As they struggled to hold them back, they were taken by surprise when another ANBU snuck up behind them and delivered an earth-shattering fist into the middle of their squad, sending their soldiers, equipment, and ground into the air, later to be impaled by the beasts.

* * *

Sakura got to work immediately after the battle was over. She tried to extract the poison from the bodies of those who inhaled the gas, but extracting poison in gaseous form was much more difficult. In most cases she didn't have time to diagnose them before they died. Soon, almost all who inhaled the poison died. Never before had Sakura lost so many in need of her help. Normally, she would have been tearing up…but lately nothing came to her. "It's like I've become Sai's twin sister." She thought to herself, acknowledging the fact that she was not herself. The only consolation was that they still had more than 80% of the original squad left. In addition, Sakura found the chemical composition of the poison. She did not have a lab to analyze it, so instead she attached it to a messenger animal for Tsunade. Surely, she would find a cure to prevent more deaths from such a vile weapon.

"Hakume." Sai, in his ANBU outfit, addressed Sakura by her code name. "I recommend that we retreat into the woods for now. The men are too tired to fight anymore, and we need shelter."

"Agreed." Sakura replied to Sai, almost as emotionless as he.

* * *

After they had taken shelter, Sakura did something that no ninja in the battlefield, let alone an ANBU agent trying to conceal her identity, should do: she threw off her clothes and gear, and bathed in the stream. The water was freezing cold, but Sakura felt the need to clean herself to be overpowering after fighting for weeks without the most basic rests. She didn't plan on indulging, even if it were possible; she just needed to wipe off all the dirt and mud from her body, and be done with it. After a few minutes, she finished, and rose to grab her clothes.

"You know, bathing here is not a good idea."

Sakura covered her mouth, keeping herself from screaming, and dove into the water. Nervously, she turned her head slightly, and saw Sai right next to her, facing the opposite way. "Sai!!" she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Sakura probably figured that Sai still didn't understand the need to separate genders during bathing, but it has been 3 years!!!

"After seeing you in here, I thought the water was warm enough to risk being exposed, but it's too cold. I don't get it; just why are you here?"

"None of your business!"

Sai didn't respond to her statement, but after a second, he began a rant of his own. "You know, I was actually starting to like you a little bit better lately. You have not gotten upset over anything, and from what I've read, these kinds of events bring out the worst in people…whatever that means. But back when we first met, you said that shinobi can't truly cast their emotions aside, and dismissed it as a foolish idea. Yet, that's what you're doing right now. So, were you wrong?"

Sakura nearly screamed "Of course not!! Emotions are what make us human!!" Though she was listening, Sakura figured she counted to 10 that number of times.

"And yet you're becoming as emotionless as I am anyway. I really don't care which you choose to become, but I find people who don't practice what they preach to be bothersome. To be honest, I was here for a good few minutes without you noticing. If killing your emotions means killing your senses as well, I wouldn't recommend such an action for now. The old you may be more annoying, but she was useful at least." With that, Sai rose from the water. Sakura only caught a glimpse, but she could tell he was not wearing a towel. She didn't dare look…although right now she really didn't care how good-looking he was. "You know, Dickless has been acting the same way too. Aside from his students and Kazekage-sama, he's been behaving as though he were a soldier of Root. I never thought an idiot like him would figure it out."

For some reason, this grabbed Sakura's attention. Naruto…cold and emotionless? She could see that after their break-up, but wasn't he with Hinata now? Surely he would be happy now because of that. Something wasn't right…

"By the way, don't perverted girls like you usually lose it in a situation like this?" Sai asked as he pulled on his leotard.

"I beg your pardon!?" Sakura screamed without regards to being heard.

"They explained to me back then when the Sandaime's grandson did those useless transformations, that the one with me and Sasuke-kun excited you. Sexually. I don't understand why; the smoke kept you from seeing what you weren't supposed to. But if that was enough to make you squeal back then, I'd imagine anything from touching yourself to raping me would follow right now, with me being having been completely naked and all."

"Sai, get out of here!!!" Sakura screamed without restraint once more.

"Ah, there's the Sakura I know." Sakura's response to this was a rather large rock to his head.

After he left, Sakura got dressed. It actually felt good to pummel Sai again; he deserved it, after all. But what bothered her was that after finding Hinata's true feelings, Naruto was still mad at everything. "It's a thing of the past, now." she told herself. "Confused as I may be, I have no right to complicate things for either of us any further."

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE LOOSING GROUND!?" Mutsugorou screamed at his messenger.

"T-Tsuchikage-sama, it's the truth! We've never had as many jonin or ANBU as the other nations!! Our plan of quantity over quality is an outdated policy!! We need to raise our standards…"

"This would mean taking more time to train our students, and fewer soldiers!! No matter how skilled a shinobi may be, overwhelming numbers are enough to kill them!! So what if the majority of our soldiers are not the best!? A game of shogi requires the sacrifice of worthless pawns in order to win!!" Mutsugorou slammed his fist on his desk to emphasize the point.

Deidara was leaning against the wall, listening to everything. Most of it bored him out of his mind. "Mutsugorou-chan, you realize I've beaten you at every game of shogi we played, right?" Deidara thought to himself.

"Deidara!! Kill this man right now!!" Mutsugorou yelled pointing his finger at the now pale-white chunin.

As the chunin cowered, Deidara sighed "Not in the mood. You do it."

"DEIDARA!! I'M GIVING YOU AN ORDER!!! I allow you to return to the village, as part of the elite once again no less, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!? YOUR LAST TEAMMATE!?"

Deidara gave a fake smile and replied "But it's been so long, Tsuchikage-sama. I have not seen your incredible jutsus since Kami knows when. I'd very much like for you to show me a demonstration on this young man, if you would be so kind."

Mutsugorou looked at him, then back at the messenger. He began to sweat, and after what was too long by the young man's standards, the kage finally relaxed and muttered "You're lucky I'm in a good mood. Go and do something that's actually useful." The chunin bowed nervously, and practically ran out of the office.

"Hehe. I wonder just how it is that you convince our humble people you're the most powerful man in Iwagakure, eh?" Deidara mocked.

His teammate simply replied "Humans by nature respect authority. So long as they are unaware of their own strength or potential, they will submit. Fear of punishment, especially when you consider yourself weak, is enough to keep one in line. So long as they're given the message that they can never be strong, smart, and independent, they will trust me like a child does his mother. Only those with unquestionable loyalty do I allow to become stronger."

"And in doing so, you've made our army weaker." Deidara noted as he walked over to the report the chunin left behind.

"What do you think you're doing!? Those are for me alone to look at!!"

Deidara ignored him as he flipped through the pages, and smiled as he stumbled upon what he was looking for. "Ah, here you are, Kyuubi." Deidara threw the papers back on his old teammate's desk and strode towards the door. "Get your best spies to find this blonde-haired ninja. I have business to attend to with him." The Tsuchikage nodded weakly, ignoring the fact that it was Deidara, not himself, who just gave an order. "I'm going to get my team ready." Deidara chimed as he exited the office.

* * *

"Tobi!!" Hidan screamed. "I can't believe Kizu-sama would allow someone like you to join us!!"

"Where is it!? I know I put it here somewhere!!" Tobi screeched as he searched the floor everywhere in a manner unbecoming of a member of an S-class organization; crawling on his knees.

Deidara's team just stared in disbelief. "Sensei was actually paired up with this guy?" Koungaseki asked.

"Well, he said he had no say in the matter…" Genkakushoujou replied. "…and that he's more impressive than he appears." The last part emphasized much skepticism.

"Well, we'll see soon enough I suppose." San replied, emotionless as ever.

Finally Deidara walked in, much to the delight of the adolescents. "Alright. I've finally located the person I've been telling you all about. And it has just gotten more exciting. Apparently, the brat has students of his own now! I'd imagine this is going to be pretty fun for all of you, hmm?" The eyes of his own students lit up, but his attention was drawn to his partner, who was crawling on the floor. "Hidan…please don't tell me he lost those things." Deidara groaned pleadingly. Hidan simply gave a slight nod, which caused Deidara to sigh in disbelief. "Okay, okay. I know what to do."

Deidara walked over to Tobi and yelled his name. In response, Tobi stood at attention and nearly screamed "Deidara-sempai!! You have to help me, I can't find the jewels!! Kizu-sama is going to be so mad at me if…."

"Tobi…is that mustard on your shirt?" Deidara asked, placing a finger in Tobi's chest.

"Huh?" Then, Deidara whipped his finger straight up Tobi's mask, knocking it off and a few ruby-like jewels followed.

"I figured." Deidara noted as he gathered them up. "I saw you playing with them last night before dinner, with the same hand you used to stuff food in your mAUUGGGHHH!!" Deidara looked away and put his hands in front of his face, as did everyone else in the room. "Well, that explains the mask and why he eats super-fast!" Deidara thought grimly.

"Deidara-sempai…am I that ugly?" Tobi's tone was one of distress, but no one in the room seemed to make note of it. Deidara, keeping his eyes closed, fumbled for his mask and placed it back on his face.

"To be quite frank, yes." Deidara then turned to his students once more. "Back to the topic at hand. We're going to lure him into Shikyo Ya and separate him from his team. Kill the children if you please, but the jonin we have to leave alive, even though he will die soon anyway."

"But Deidara-sempai, Kizu-sama has something planned for me, I know it! And what about Hidan?"

"Just wait until he orders us to do something. That is all." With that, the Iwa nins departed for battle.

* * *

Naruto rolled behind a rock, before kunai could skewer him. The two Iwa nins were far away, but they were not foolish enough to waste their weapons when they could close in on him. Naruto tapped his radio receiver. "Okay, as soon as they're halfway towards me, take them out."

Soon, as he predicted, the Iwa nins began to run towards him. But one was taken by surprise when Iori tackled him to the ground. "You stupid wench!!" Iori got up to run before he could grab her. However, his comrade hurled a kunai and impaled her back. Iori fell down with a thud, and didn't move, not even twitch. "I missed the vital spot on purpose, but it will take an extremely skilled medic just to make her walk again. Still, we could use her as a hostage; these Konoha nins are ridiculously soft." He leaped towards her prone body and lifted her carelessly by the head. "Hey, blonde boy!! If you want this girl to live…" Before he could finish, Iori disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Was that…a kage bushin!?" Before he could react, he felt a wire tighten around his leg, and was pulled back with such force that it had to be a machine that trapped him. He found out at the last second before he was knocked out that he was wrong.

"Nadare!!" his comrade screamed. However, he also found that he could not move. He looked down, and saw that he was buried knee-deep in impossibly thick mud.

As he struggled to pull himself out, Naruto walked towards him, twirling a kunai in his hand. "You guys are real idiots. I know some of you escaped whenever I showed up. Surely, the Tsuchikage would've thought to bring tougher guys then low level chunin like you."

His captive spat the ground. "Hnh. If it weren't for Nezumi's absence, we would have taken you out no problem."

"Oh, really? This rat sounds like a tough customer." Naruto said mockingly.

"With the power of the Yonbi, he can conquer anything!!" Just then, the Iwa nin realized his mistake, and covered his mouth too late.

"The…Yonbi?"

As Yuji came into the field, dragging the other chunin by the ankle, the one stuck in the mud yelled "Yes! The Yonbi was sealed in Nezumi's body as a boy!! He was one of our strongest weapons!! And you would've been dead if those freaks hadn't taken him!!"

A feeling of dread washed over Naruto. He knew Akatsuki formed an alliance with the Tsuchikage, but he had to be sure…"Tell me, did these guys wear black coats with red clouds?"

The chunin looked at him in shock, and Naruto knew it wasn't the answer he was hoping for. "You intend to save him? An enemy?"

"I'll certainly make sure he's in no position to make threats. But yes, I will save him." Naruto walked over to him, and focusing his chakra, he walked over the mud like it was water. "However, there's one thing I don't get: I know your village is in cahoots with Akatsuki. Why would they take him from you? Was it a trade-off? Or did they betray you guys?"

The chunin answered "Don't get the wrong idea. Many times, we fear Nezumi and pray for his death. But he is still a useful weapon if guided properly, and we needed him now more than ever!! Akatsuki kidnapped him under our noses!!"

"You speak of him like you know exactly what I am." Naruto hissed dangerously.

The chunin answered "Yes, they told us all about you, Uzumaki Naruto, the Ky-"

Before he could finish, Naruto grabbed his neck and squeezed, and plunged a kunai into his mouth, the steel edges less than an inch from his flesh. After a tense second, Naruto withdrew, his hidden message sent.

The chunin smirked and said "Fine. We'll just take him from you when you get him back. Northeast from here, about 20 kilometers. They have a base there, behind a boulder with the character of forbidden pasted on it. We can't get in, so all I can say is good luck." Naruto sheathed his kunai and signaled for his team to follow him. When they were out of sight, the chunin who spilled the beans tapped a radio hidden in his wrists. "It's as you said, Deidara-sama. He's heading your way."

* * *

As Team 12 ran through the barren wasteland, Yuji and Shiguri conversed. They hadn't spoken much, even after Shiguri apologized. It was more circumstantial than awkwardness. But earlier, something caught their attention that made them break the ice. "What was he about to call sensei?" Shiguri asked. "It was like sensei tried to silence him before we discovered something we weren't supposed to."

"I don't know." Yuji replied. "But I can't imagine it would be anything bad. Hokage-sama seems fond of him; if there was something shameful about him, I doubt she would have even allowed him to teach us."

Little did they know, Iori knew exactly what that shinobi was about to say. She never came forth with her two friends about her secret and Naruto's. After being alone for so long, she did not want to risk loosing her two first and only friends. If she told them, it would be back to when it was just her and her father. To make matters worse, she wouldn't just be isolating herself, but Naruto as well.

"Hey sensei!" Shiguri yelled. "Are we honestly saving another one of those things!? Excuse me, but I recall having a close encounter with someone who had a demon inside of him!! It wasn't exactly an experience I particularly enjoyed!!" Iori felt a pang in her stomach at his remark.

"Not all of them are bad people, Shiguri." Naruto shot that remark with a bit more anger than he intended. "That being said, I'm well aware of the fact that this Nezumi could still be a dangerous adversary. But this organization who took him is the same that Itachi and Kisame belonged to. I don't know why, but they want the power of these demons…something we can't allow a group of S-class criminals to have!! Besides, the jinchuriki will most likely be unconscious and injured. So long as we're alert, we should be okay."

Shiguri looked to the side, and muttered "Fair enough." He wasn't so sure, but some criminal organization obtaining power was enough to convince him to join in on the mission.

Finally, they reached a canyon, and Naruto signaled for his team to halt. "There it is." He pointed towards a rock with the character of Kin on it. Team 12 climbed down towards it, and Naruto explained the situation. "I've been through this before. They use a barrier-type jutsu to protect their extraction points. That seal on the rock is protecting them, plus several others. Which means, to get inside, we will have to split up. Last time, our comrades were forced to fight double versions of themselves. However, let me make it clear: I don't want you to fight whatever enemy you're facing. Get away anyway you can. Iori, summon butterflies, small ones. Tell them to search the area within a 5 km radius to find seals with Kin on them."

Iori did what she was told, and brought forth a dozen insects no bigger than her thumb. Her eyelids flickered, and then they flew off. "That was weird. It was kind of like…explaining through all senses." Her two teammates were curious, but decided it was best that they focus on the mission. After 5 minutes, they landed on her shoulder. For a moment, Iori seemed to go in that same sort of trance, and snapped out of it. "There are three others: one due west 4 km, another northeast 2.5 km, and the last one is due south 1.5 km."

Naruto nodded. "Okay then. To remove the barrier, we must remove the seals at the same time. Yuji, take the one in the west. Iori, you take the one south, and Shiguri gets the last one." As they took off, Naruto turned to his side and said "Sakura, we-" Naruto stopped himself. Smacking his face, he then made a kage bushin which climbed up to the seal and got ready to rip it off while the real Naruto readied his Rasengan. Soon, Naruto heard his team respond on his radio.

"I'm in place, Naruto-sensei."

"I'm there!"

"Ready whenever you are."

"On three, rip them off!! One, two…three!" Naruto's students ripped on his command as did his clone. Naruto charged through the boulder, ripping it apart with the Rasengan.

As the dust settled, an all too familiar laugh rang through the cavern. "Glad to see you again, Kyuubi. An artist like myself would never be able to live with leaving a masterpiece unfinished…which in my case is killing you."

In that instant, Naruto caught sight of the familiar blond hair that burned in his memory. "Deidara." he hissed.

Deidara only chuckled in response. "Don't get too cocky. If it weren't for that copy ninja, you would have never landed a blow on me!! And on top of that, I lost both of my arms! If that was what it took for you to beat me back then, you haven't got a chance now!!"

Naruto simply pulled out a kunai and muttered "I'm not the same from the last time you knew me. Now, hand over Nezumi!"

Deidara broke down laughing this time. "You actually believe that!? You think some cowardly chunin would tell you such a thing without torturing him!? Or that someone as low ranking as he would even know!?" Naruto's eyes widened, realizing too late he was tricked. "Your sympathies for your fellow jinchuriki will be your downfall, Kyuubi. Not only that, but did you think getting in here would be the same as last time?"

Naruto yelled "What difference does it make!? I'm right here in front of you!!"

Deidara waved his finger mockingly. "There never was a barrier on the rock. And you did not have to touch those seals. You could have simply used that technique to bust in here with your team. Nothing you did was necessary." Naruto's mouth gaped open. "Oh, and by the way: that team of yours is not going to face carbon copies of themselves this time around."

* * *

Yuji fired a wire. He was stuck in a mini-canyon with a raging river at the bottom. If he was going to fight a double of himself like Naruto said, it would be best to get himself out of an environment where he would be in danger; he really, REALLY did not want to fall into the ravine. He sprang himself from the ground…and was knocked back onto it. Yuji grunted, then chocked when he felt a foot step on his throat.

"It seems I've stumbled upon victim #500." A boy, a bit older than Yuji, with long black hair and unusual scars, stood before him. The scars alone alerted him that this guy was trouble.

In fear, Yuji grabbed the boy's foot, and threw him into the canyon wall, shattering the stone. Yuji then launched again, and almost made it…then was halted by some invisible force, as if he swung into a thick, glass wall that wouldn't break. Yuji fell to the ground, and snagged the edge before he fell into the river. He tried to climb up, but his temples were throbbing in pain.

His opponent then walked towards him calmly, as if the super strong throw did not affect him. "You're about to see why they call me Chishio Koungasenki.

* * *

Iori looked around her location in amazement; she already tore off the scroll, and she just couldn't help it. It was almost as if she had stumbled upon Eden itself. "Who would've thought an oasis like this would have existed in such a desolate place?" She was standing in a meadow with tall grass, and deeper into the oasis was a small jungle with a cascading waterfall that gave way to a river. In the middle of admiring the beauty of the area, Iori smacked her head, reminding herself what she came here for and would happen if she lingered around for too long. "No! I have to get out of here!" Reluctantly, Iori turned away and ran. On her way, she snatched a strawberry and placed it in her mouth; she was a bit hungry after all.

"I take it you like my little garden?" Iori stopped in her tracks and spun around. A girl with violet hair stood atop the waterfall. "You must be one of the brats that Deidara-sensei told me about. I think that alone dictates what will happen next." The girl gracefully landed onto the grass and stared at Iori with an intense, evil stare, one that anticipated excitement. "By the way, my name is Genkakushoujou; Naraku Genkakushoujou."

* * *

Shiguri's seal was located in a rather unremarkable location. Just an open plain of desert, with the seal located on a rather unremarkable rock. Shiguri began to sprint back towards where Naruto was, and suddenly stopped. "Come out! I can smell you, and my nose isn't even that good!"

A figure began to rise from the ground in front of him, and Shiguri nearly stepped back in shock of the boy's unusual hair. "Ah, yes. My deepest apologies; stealth has never been my strong suit."

"Shall I see what your strong suit is then?" Shiguri asked, whipping out a dragon tongue. It's not that he was itching for a fight; he did take his sensei's orders seriously, and ever since he was thrown into battle, he learned it really was a good idea to get away from an enemy if at all possible. But there was no escape; the environment was a flat plane. No amount of speed or agility could save him. There wasn't even any grass for him to hide in. Fighting was the only option.

"Sure." The boy answered. "You'll see why I'm called San Ame."

* * *

"Yes, your students against mine. In the meantime, let us keep each other company. How does that sound?" Deidara taunted.

Naruto's jaw sprouted canines, and his eyes turned red. No red chakra leaked out, but his rage alone would make most people shudder with fear. "You bastard!!!"

Naruto swung his two kunai, which Deidara dodged. The Akatsuki member then prepared two clay bombs and threw them at the real jinchuriki. Naruto created two Kage Bushins in return, and had them transformed into a shield and a spring. The bombs collided with the shield, but it protected Naruto, and the spring held him in place. Naruto then created even more kage bushins, to which Deidara responded by creating dozens of more bombs. None of them ever touched the real Naruto, who finally cornered Deidara and pinned him into the wall, leaving a rather large crack. Naruto attempted a blood choke, but jumped back in pain when he felt a burning sensation on his shoulder. Naruto inspected it, and saw a smoking hole in that part of his uniform. His skin looked as though it was pressed against a campfire.

Turning back to Deidara, he found the cause: the Iwa nin's tongue, the one in the palm of his hand. "I designed my hands to mold clay bombs. The chemical needed for that is produced by these tongues. As a result, it is caustic to human skin, save my own. But…" Deidara flung his hand, and his tongue stretched an extra 3 meters. Naruto rolled out of the way, the tongue leaving a smoking hole in the ground. "…it's very handy as a surprise weapon!!" Deidara continued flicking both artificial tongues, one of which nicked Naruto right above the eye. Deidara tried to take the time and get another clay bomb ready, but Naruto was too fast, and kicked the Akatsuki member back into the wall.

"Itachi put up a better fight than this!!" Naruto continued to pound the Iwa nin into the wall, his knuckles becoming soaked with blood. Finally he let up, panting. To Naruto's regret, Deidara wasn't dead. But his face alone gave him some small feeling of satisfaction. It was swollen to the core. It would be a miracle if Deidara could still see.

"Ugh. I don't even want to know what I look like right now. But no matter how beautiful I can look, the beauty of your corpse will always be superb." The ground shook violently, and Naruto twisted to see what it was. Deidara's clay bird, which he used for transportation, rose from underneath the ground like a monster. "Slaughter him!!" Deidara yelled.

The clay bird opened its mouth, and like the gattlers on the battlefield, fired its bombs at rapid speed. Naruto couldn't stop them, and while they were less powerful than the ones Deidara made with his hands, the impact still burned his skin and sent him to the ground.

* * *

Yuji dodged a kick from Koungasenki; with his reflexes aiding him, Yuji so far avoided all of his opponent's strikes. But without them, it was likely that any one of those strikes would hit. Even though this opponent was not as strong as Jaa, his murderous intent alone alerted the new chunin that to be hit was to potentially be trapped in a situation where he would be killed. Something else worried him too. "Ten minutes. That's what Sakura-nechan told me!!" Yuji knew he had to get away; fighting this guy was too risky. Yuji blocked a punch with his gauntlet, and flipped over him. Firing a wire, Yuji wrapped it around the other ninja's neck, and pulled.

Koungasenki tried to pull it off his neck, but struggled. "This guy is freaking strong!! I hate having to use one-handed signs!!" Koungasenki released his right hand while his left kept him from being choked. The ninja went right to work at high speed. "Hariton: Sekiei Crusha!!" The earth around Yuji rose from both his sides, the walls showing off a beautiful crystal hue. Then, both slammed into him, even faster than he could react. Yuji's hold loosened, and Koungasenki broke free.

He rushed into his new captive, and pounded his face. None of them were knockouts, but one of them would do just that if Yuji didn't get away. "Ugh. Got to…break free." Nearly breaking his arm to get it pointed where he needed to go, Yuji fired another wire, and pulled himself free from the prison. Doing so, however, felt like it did more damage than it prevented; the chunin felt his ribs compress. He had no way of knowing if any of them broke unless he let himself get hit there again. Koungasenki followed, and this time Yuji was ready. Springing himself into the air, he aimed both of his arms at Koungasenki. "It's still in its development stage, but I have to try!!"

Naruto, during their chunin exam training, helped Yuji develop a jutsu, but it was incomplete. Right now, though, he had no choice but to try it out. "Kiregumo no Jutsu!!"

Yuji fired more wires, none of which hit Koungasenki, and left scars only in the ground. What the Iwa nin didn't notice was that the wires continued going underground. "Did I hit you so hard I broke your glasses?" the nin mocked. Yuji then ran his chakra through the wires, causing them to glow blue. Koungasenki really did not feel like waiting to see what Yuji was doing (not that such a thing was a smart idea in the first place), so he pulled out a kunai and prepared to attack. Suddenly, the wires shot back from underground at high speed, cutting the Iwa chunin all over. Though most missed his vital points, all of them left deep cuts that covered him in blood, obviously enough to paralyze him with pain for a few seconds.

Yuji touched down and reached into one of his many pockets. "I haven't gotten it to aim right quite yet, but the shock should keep you still long enough…" he pulled out a kunai, "…for me to do this!!" Yuji ran forward, and stabbed his opponent across the shoulder. However, instead of feeling metal cutting flesh, Yuji felt his kunai break altogether.

Quickly, Yuji doubled back, and got a good look at his opponent. As he predicted, Koungasenki had numerous cuts and gashes all over his body. However, instead of blood, a clear, diamond like substance covered his skin. "Like any other person, every time I'm cut, I bleed. However, when my blood makes contact with the atmosphere, it hardens into a diamond like substance. In fact…" Koungasenki pulled out a kunai of his own and slashed each of his knuckles. Red blood covered his fists, which soon became as white as snow. "…you could say I'm one of those depressed bitches who cuts themselves. Except my self-mutilation has a purpose!!"

He rushed his opponent, and punched, Yuji avoided a direct hit, but Koungasenki's fist still grazed him across the ribs with enough force to fracture his ribs. "Damn it! I'm in worse shape than I thought!!" Yuji made a motion to block another incoming fist, but the sudden movement made a terrible pain shoot through his body, forcing him to take the hit in the stomach. Yuji lay sprawled on the ground, and coughed up blood.

"Like it? Such is the power of the Shouka Chishio."

* * *

Genkakushoujou jumped towards Iori with a kick. Iori, however, caught her foot and twisted it, sending her spinning in mid air. Genkakushoujou got up, but was immediately assaulted by a barrage of punches; none of which she could block. When the Iwa kunoichi fell on her back, she panted, ready for the worst. But it never came. She didn't know why Iori just stood there, even in though she was on guard. It was a dumb move when one had their opponent on the ground. But given the circumstances, Genkakushoujou couldn't have been happier.

She immediately jumped up and landed on her feet. "Alright. So taijutsu isn't my specialty. But so long as I'm facing a fool, I can't complain!" Suddenly she threw something. Iori stepped out of the way to avoid it, but it still managed to graze her skin.

"No problem! I'll…" She stopped in mid thought when she felt something. Her arm, the one that was cut, itched!! It wasn't like walking through a field of poison ivy, or a mosquito bite. It was much, much worse!! Iori couldn't stop herself from scratching it. It didn't do any good. She kept at it, and she was sweating, making deep cuts into her arm. She should have felt the many blows from her opponent, but the only pain she felt came from the itch!! "Must…concentrate…"

She pulled out her kamas, and swung wildly. But swinging was all do; the itch was interfering with her ability to think coherently. Soon, shuriken nailed her directly in the stomach, and she finally fell, screaming. "I'm going to die, I'm going to die…"

Genkakushoujou walked calmly towards her, smirking and enjoying the sight of her opponent crying in pain. "You want to know what my specialty is? Drugs, my dear. My superiors begged me to make simple poisons which would kill our enemies. But they don't see the point, the beauty of it all. With my concoctions, I could make people do whatever I wanted!! Truth serums that could make them tell us not only practical information, but their deepest, darkest thoughts. I could make them lash out violently against their own infant children, or make them fuck animals as if they were their own lovers. Because physical torture is so ineffective, so boring. It's when people are under your complete control, do they break down."

The cocky girl caught a flash of movement, and dodged in the nick of time to avoid having her intestines spilled out. A quick glance at her opponent revealed a drastic change: hair with silver highlights, cobalt eyes, but most intimidating, fangs and claws. She was too transfixed on Iori's face to notice the self-inflicted wound on Iori's arm healing.

"I think there's been a change in the game." Iori growled.

Genkakushoujou just replied "Indeed."

* * *

Shiguri whipped out a dragon tongue, but San was fast, dodging it quickly. Shiguri directed his arm to make the blade double back, aiming for a shot to the back of his opponent's head. But San leaped into the air, and Shiguri had to twirl in order to avoid hitting himself.

"Flexible weapons are good for deception, but the problem is, they are hard to control." San noted to his opponent.

Shiguri spat on the ground. "A small price." Shiguri whipped both, intending to trick him into dodging one only to be cut by the other.

"Doton: Joushou Hashira!!" A pillar suddenly rose from the ground, saving San from Shiguri's weapons.

But instead of frustration, Shiguri showed amusement. "Of course. You're an Iwa nin, from Earth Country. This will fun!!" Shiguri immediately brought his hands together. "Doton: Doryuheki!" A wall from behind San formed, sporting three dog heads. "That Kakashi guy was an asshole, but he sure knew his stuff!!"

The wall was curved; San had nowhere to go but towards Shiguri. He couldn't jump over the wall either; it was too tall, and he could tell just by the feel of it that it would reject his chakra would he have chosen to climb it. Without warning, the dog heads fired energy, destroying the pillar. Though San managed to land perfectly, a dragon tongue caught his shoulder. The tip circled around his head, but he rolled out of the way with his head still attached. Doing so, however, changed the scratch into a laceration.

"I'm really not impressed here." Shiguri said, sounding like he was in the middle of a one-sided sparring session. "You better kick it up a notch."

To this, San replied "What if I said DotonDoroTsunami five times fast?"

Before Shiguri could say "Huh?" a tidal wave of mud and rock rose behind him. The weight of the earth collapsed on him, leaving him helpless. He was lucky his head was mostly untouched; that way he wouldn't suffocate under the dead weight of the mud. The next thing he knew, San's foot crashed into his skull.

"I am a genius; it's not narcissistic to say so, it's simply true. I can do hand signs and actually delay the jutsu they're supposed to trigger." San pressed harder on Shiguri's head, causing him to groan. "Your jutsus were cute, but that's it. Elemental techniques were learned between countries by battle, but the only ones who knew the most dangerous techniques of each element were the ones from the countries that element represented. Did you honestly believe a foreigner like you could beat us with our native techniques!?" San stamped his foot into Shiguri's head again to emphasize the point.

Then, Shiguri just started laughing. "You know what, I did. But that's where the term Plan B came from." San pulled out a kunai, intending to take his head, but stopped when he heard a subtle noise that he couldn't quite place his finger on. Then he dodged to the side when something zipped by him, and soon he was practically dancing trying to avoid Shiguri's wasps. Shiguri shouted "I summoned them way before I got here!! They were high up so you wouldn't be able to see them!!!" While San was distracted, Shiguri got to work; though his hands were impeded by the mud, they were not immobilized. "Doton! Bakuchika no Jutsu!!" The hardened mud exploded, freeing Shiguri.

He ran towards San as he continued to dodge his pests, and aimed for his heart. However, San dodged the kunai, and retaliated with an open palm strike. It glanced his shoulder, but Shiguri wasn't concerned. Until he felt an intense burning sensation. Shiguri rolled back clutching his shoulder, and suddenly his hand started burning as well. Shiguri removed it, and looked at his skin peel off. Taking a chance that his opponent wouldn't kick him while he was down, he took a sniff at his palm. He pulled his face back at the smell of something intense and toxic. Slowly taking a look at his opponent, his eyes widened in fright. Something was dripping from San's hands; the liquid was clear, and could easily be mistaken for sweat. But the drops made the ground sizzle each time they landed. San held up his hands, and revealed two holes within them. San ripped off his sleeves, revealing something that nearly made Shiguri wretch. The tubes that began on San's shoulders went into his arms!

"My sensei has two mouths, one in each hand." San began. "He uses them to make clay bombs. I so badly wanted to model myself after him. But I didn't want to make myself out to be an imitation. No, I wanted to show Deidara-sensei that he inspired me. So, while he makes things go boom…I make things dissolve right before my eyes." Shiguri got up, and spun his dragon tongue once more. "This is going to be tough."

* * *

Deidara marveled at each explosion his clay bird brought about, and couldn't stop laughing. "HAHAHA!! How do you like it, Kyuubi!? To be rendered helpless and pummeled mercilessly!? In fact, I'd be surprised if you were still al-i…" Deidara stopped in mid-sentence as he realized what he might be doing; as much as he wanted to, he wasn't supposed to kill him! "Stop it!!" Deidara commanded. "STOP!!"

His clay bird stopped firing, and Deidara waited in anxiety for the smoke to clear. While Akatsuki was essentially killing the jinchuriki…they needed them alive until they could obtain their power. Deidara's eyes widened as he saw nothing in Naruto's place but rocks. "He couldn't have!! Those bombs are not that powerful!!"

Deidara turned his head, and saw too late Naruto coming at him with a Rasengan. The jutsu landed…and revealed a clay clone."Whew!! That was a close one!!" Naruto looked up to see Deidara floating atop a clay bird, looking down on him as always. "Okay, I admit it; you have gotten stronger. If you had Kakashi with you now, I'd probably go straight for a self-destruction move. But you don't, so I've still got one more work of art to show you." Deidara leaped a considerable distance from Naruto, and then vomited some clay-like substance from his mouth. The puddle expanded…and became an exact duplicate of Deidara.

"Another clone?" Naruto wondered. Suddenly, the clone expanded, becoming bigger and bigger. Naruto stood on guard for another explosion. But instead of a fireball, the balloon sized clone dissolved into millions of little pieces. "Wha..?"

"I'd recommend you get moving there, Kyuubi boy!!" Deidara yelled enthusiastically.

Naruto observed a rat crawling across the surface, and the flakes touched its fur. It immediately screamed in agony and collapsed on the ground. Naruto noted that it seemed to break down at a molecular level. Naruto then took notice of a few flakes in front of him…and quickly scampered back, only to find more of them in a different space.

"There are two types of explosions: Big ones, and small ones. Those flakes release microscopic clay bombs into your body, and release a chemical that causes your cells to explode. It truly is a work of art, one so underrated!!"

Naruto dodged the flakes, but they were everywhere! Naruto even flung off his jonin vest and used it as an umbrella to protect him. However, Naruto dropped it and howled as he felt his arm dissolve. "NOOO!!!" After his appendage disappeared, the process stopped.

Naruto fainted, while Deidara laughed at the sight before him. " They don't have to touch you in order to affect you, breathing them in is what causes it to normally kill its victims. I controlled myself; I made sure that you could never fight again, but I had to keep you alive. We've captured 6 jinchuriki so far; you're supposed to have your biju extracted last. To be honest, I find that a bit of a hassle to save one for last, so to make up for that, I think keeping you in this condition will make up for that." Deidara walked over…and stopped, realizing something.

"Wait a minute…" Deidara remembered that Naruto was a master of Kage Bushins. "It shouldn't be one! Bushins of all kinds dissipate once they're hit!! But I can't take that chance, not with this one!!" In order to keep a bushin alive after getting hit, a large amount of chakra was necessary. Naruto had that, but a great deal of control was needed as well, something Naruto didn't have. The supposed Naruto groaned in pain as he was weighing his options. "I better test it, just to be safe; if it is hit again, it should disrupt the chakra flow and make him disappear. If he is the real thing, I better be sure to hit a spot that will not be immediately fatal."

Deidara created another bomb, and flung it on Naruto's leg. The bomb went off, blowing the limb to pieces, and Naruto awoke, howling in pain. Naruto choked on his scream, and croaked "Damn you, damn you to hell…"

Deidara smirked. "So, you're the real thing. Oh don't worry, I feel your pain. I lost both of my limbs too, remember? Then again, I got them back…something I doubt will happen to you, so I guess I should shut up and bring you to base." Deidara hefted the jinchuriki onto his shoulders. "It's a good thing I made the bomb hot enough to fry the stump, otherwise I'd have to worry about you bleeding to death on me. I guess bringing in Tobi and Hidan was a pointless move."

"Yeah, it was, especially since you accomplished nothing!!"

Deidara dropped the Naruto he was carrying, and found the real thing FLYING towards him with chakra wings, and a Fuuton Rasengan in his hand. The bushin Deidara was carrying dissipated, and the Akatsuki criminal knew he had too little time to act. He threw a clay bomb, but Naruto charged right through the explosion. Still, it was enough to slow him down and disrupt some of the flowing chakra. When the jinchuriki landed his attack, Deidara screamed in pain and stumbled backward. Naruto didn't land a knockout like his technique normally should have, but he knew he had won the fight. "I have to admit, it was clever of you to make sure that was a bushin. But trust me, I have more than enough chakra to keep one alive despite my terrible control should the occasion call for it. You're bomb also loosened the swirling chakra and slowed me down too, which is why you aren't dead. This is actually good for me, even worse for you."

Deidara clutched his chest, breathing heavily. "D-damn it!! I'm out of all tricks but one!! Well, if I can't destroy him the good old fashioned way, I'll take him down with me!!"

"_I wouldn't be so hasty about that, Deidara." _

Deidara recognized Kizu's voice in his head, and noticed time had stopped. Relieved that whatever fate awaited him was stopped, at least temporarily, he yelled "Screw it!! I'm not giving up my life to your cause and not take anyone with me!! Besides, as I'm sure you can see, I really don't have a choice at the moment."

"_Like it or not, you are still a servant of Akatsuki. You will either give your life for our cause or not at all. Now, I knew from the start you wouldn't be able to win. This was just an evaluation; I have something else planned. Return to Iwagakure; I will be there shortly. Tobi will come into play, and so will Hidan. Don't worry; I promise you will have some sweet revenge soon." _

Deidara growled "Well, that's all nice and everything, but I don't think I can get away."

"_You have your students, don't you?" _

Deidara's eyes lit up, understanding what his master implied.

Finally, time started again, and Naruto pulled out a kunai. Deidara raised his hands and screamed "Okay, okay!! I can't beat you!" Then, the beaten nin smiled evilly. "But that doesn't really matter right now, does it?" Naruto didn't stop; instead he moved and stabbed the former rouge in the leg.

As Deidara rolled clutching his leg, Naruto grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the wall. "I'd say it does! Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you; I am going to force all of the information on Akatsuki out of you, any way I can! It's not just about what you plan to do to me; I can never forgive what you did to Itachi!!"

Deidara chuckled. "That's quite an unexpected proposition from you, from what I've heard; rumor has it you're reluctant to kill. If you barely have the stomach to kill people, I doubt you have the balls to torture. Besides, you have other priorities at the moment."

Naruto pulled the kunai out, and pressed it into Deidara's side, hissing "I very much doubt that."

Deidara, despite his pain, cackled "Oh, so those brats meant nothing to you in the end?" Naruto stopped dead when Deidara brought it up. "You mean you forgot about them!? The one who treasures his bonds above all else? That's quite cold…even for me."

Naruto didn't hear him; his mind was in turmoil right now, realizing that in fighting Deidara, he abandoned his students. Naruto flung Deidara to the floor, and made the hand sign for Kage Bushins. However, when they were formed, they were ghastly pale and fell to the floor. Naruto panicked, realizing what was wrong. "I used up too much chakra trying to trick Deidara!!" Naruto was so enraged during the fight that it took him until that moment to realize he felt exhausted.

Deidara laughed at the sight before him. "What's this!? Out of tricks!? I almost feel sorry for you! It's bad enough that all of your students are far away, but now you are only able to get to one at a time!! That's got to hurt!!"

Naruto clenched his fist enraged, and turned around, facing Deidara with a dangerous glint in his eye. "We'll finish this." Fast as he could, Naruto ran to rescue his comrades.

Deidara slowly got up, glad to be alive, but frustrated he couldn't take him here. "So, Kizu-sama, just what are we going to do about this?"

"_That's where Tobi will come in."_

* * *

Yuji was slammed to the wall once more, his face sporting a black high. His hyper-reflexes had worn off, and now he was at Koungasenki's mercy. The Iwa chunin himself was covered in the diamond-like substance. His wrists were able to deflect super-strong attacks with ease, and his head became something like a helmet. "Man, this is boring. I do have to give you credit for using some kind of super-strength against me; but it's useless against this." He emphasized, tapping his crystallized skin.

Suddenly, Yuji came to life and yelled "Let's see if you can do that with your intestines rearranged!!" Yuji pulled out a kunai, and slashed Koungasenki's stomach wide-open! Koungasenki coughed up blood, holding his abdomen, and collapsed on the floor. Yuji collapsed on his bottom and panted heavily, relieved it was over. Or so he thought.

Koungasenki jumped back to his feet, and kicked Yuji into the wall. "I forgot to tell you, the Shouka Chishio also repairs any tissue damage I receive. There's not a thing you can do!!" Yuji kicked and punched the nin, but his crystal abdomen was a perfect shield. "Time to wrap this up. Hariton: Harinomushiro no Jutsu!!!"

Crystal spikes shot through the ground, only to disappear into it and relocate elsewhere. Yuji barely managed to dodge them, having lost his reflexes. "At this rate, it will only be a matter of time until…" Suddenly, Yuji felt himself thrust into the air, and only when his ascension stopped did he notice a huge pain in his stomach. Looking down, he saw that a crystal stalactite had got him.

"What a let down." Koungasenki muttered. "Well, there's no point in continuing this. People only get one chance to win, and you lost." The scared young man stabbed his shin, waiting for his blood to crystallize it. Then, with a power angle kick, he shattered the crystal, sending Yuji falling into the river below…

* * *

Genkakushoujou was sent flying through the garden, taking down some of the small trees as she landed. As soon as she tried to get up, Iori was upon her.

"How do you like this!?" Iori asked, nearly screaming. "This is the first time I transformed and was aware of it. But I think that just makes it even worse for you!!" Iori grabbed her by the neck, and flung her into a rock, shattering it.

The Iwa kunoichi wiped some blood from her mouth, and grunted. "Don't get so cocky; I have more than a few tricks up my sleeve!!" Genkakushoujou hurled shuriken at the jinchuriki offspring, who dodged every hit that would have been fatal. However, she was still badly cut. Genkakushoujou laughed madly, screaming "How do you like it!? That shuriken is coated in an overpowering aphrodisiac, one that will leave its victims helpless to do nothing but think about the opposite sex, pleasuring themselves furi…furi..f…"

Much to her amazement, Iori was still standing, clearly unaffected. "I'm so glad this is not a book; reading about a girl my age doing that is just wrong!" Iori picked up a kama, and threw it at a speed most ninja couldn't hope for.

The weapon severed Genkakushoujou's left foot, leaving her screaming on the ground. After a while, the scream gave way to whimpers. "Fuck you bitch, fuck you you fucking bitch…"

Iori reverted back to her normal self, and turned around. She was sorry about what she did; she never maimed an opponent like that before; she'd hate to think would she would do if she were in her opponent's position. "This is over; I need to help my teammates, and I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have. For what it's worth, I hope you will find a good life despite your disability."

As Iori turned to run, Genkakushoujou, yelled "I wouldn't be so sure about that!! That berry you ate coming here is immune to both digestive juices and chakra breakdown!!" She made a hand sign, and Iori froze. The Konoha nin struggled to move, but it was fruitless. Soon, she collapsed.

Genkakushoujou sprayed a chemical on her stump, preventing any further bleeding. But she lost enough blood to make her woozy; she knew she would pass out at any second. "Best make use of my drug before that happens." Calling to Iori, she said "Rise, my slave." Iori got up, and with a blank look on her face, walked towards the debilitated Genkakushoujou. "Normally, I would make you my servant and carry me back to my home village, but right now, I've got bigger fish to fry. I want you to search for any Konoha nins you can, and kill them. Or die trying. Understand?" Iori nodded slowly. Genkakushoujou's vision began to blur, and she realized she could not stay awake. As loud as she could, she commanded "Well, then. Go sick'em!!" Finally, she passed out.

Iori transformed, picked up her discarded kama, and roared. Then, she leapt off into the distance, away from where her teammates would have been.

* * *

Shiguri blocked a punch from San, and preformed a spinning flip kick, nailing him in the chin. San slid back, and extended his arms. Sprays of acid shot from the holes, but none of them touched Shiguri. Instead, the clouds they formed on the ground were toxic, and the genin unconsciously breathed them in. Coughing uncontrollably, he stumbled back. San immediately rushed forward, and pummeled him with his fists. As Shiguri was sent sliding back, he recovered and threw some smoke bombs, which covered San in a cloud of smoke. Shiguri shot his dragon tongues…and snagged him, the blade-chains holding his body tightly. One attempt at escape, and he would be separated from the middle of his body. "Your acid may be able to burn flesh and dirt, but I doubt it can do anything against steel!"

San did not seem the least bit concerned, and calmly replied "Very true. But I have other methods"

Suddenly, he spat fireballs from his mouth. In order to dodge them, Shiguri had to release his weapons, and therefore, his opponent. "I forgot how fast he could make jutsus!!"

Soon, the barren ground was covered in flames. Then, the smoke rose to the sky, and became a cloud. "Time to meet your maker. The combination of your smoke bombs and the vapor from my acid is enough to help me create one of my favorite jutsus. I call it 'San Ame no Jutsu'." The clouds then began to rain, and upon contact, Shiguri screamed in response. "It suits my name well, doesn't it?" San asked. "As you can see, I'm immune to the chemicals in the drops, so I don't have to worry about getting out of hAAUUUGHHH!"

San was sent to the ground, due to a kick from Naruto. The jonin bared the pain and ran towards Shiguri, scooping him up and getting him out of the area.

* * *

Naruto searched the areas that he sent his other two students to. He couldn't find any trace of them. Deidara was long gone; whoever was fighting his students had vanished. Naruto searched furiously, calling their names, digging the ground. It was well after midnight when Naruto collapsed on his knees, and did the unthinkable: He gave up, and cried.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed. And I'll try to update faster.

Next Chapter: Alone with Shiguri, Naruto falls to pieces. Are Yuji and Iori really dead? Akatsuki sets there true plan into motion, and Sasuke meets the last Swordsman of the Mist!

Akuma no Fushido-Devil's Bed

Kin-Gold/Forbidden. Gold is used for Ino's code name, forbidden for the seal. I assume this is due to a difference in characters used.

Shikyo Ya-Death Valley, not the one in California, but based on that.

Nezumi-Rat

Koungasenki Chishio-Diamond of Blood

Genkakushoujou Naraku-Hallucination of Hell

San Ame-Acid Rain

Hariton-Crystal Release

Sekiei Crusha-Quartz Crusher

Kiregumo-Spider Slice

Shouka Chishio-Crysatlizing Blood

Joushou Hashira: Rising Pillar

Doro Tsunami-Mud Tidal Wave

Bakuchika-Underground Burst

Harinomushiro-Bed of Nails


	28. My Hands Will Crush Them All

Hello again! I am unfortunately, still unemployed. The plus side to that is that I had more time to work on this fic.

I promised myself I wouldn't bitch about getting less reviews, but after last chapter's sharp drop, I couldn't help asking myself: maybe I shouldn't have type-screamed Obama 08? Hey, I understand that not everyone here would agree with me, I tried to make it funny, and I just tried to communicate what gave me the energy to finish up last chapter (since it was the truth). If that's the case, it was not meant to offend anyone or say "IN YOUR FACE!!" So can I receive more than 10 reviews now?

Alright, time to respond to the reviews I did get:

I am a Fun-nin: That was pretty much the point: Naruto WASN'T thinking clearly, and sometimes people in high positions make dumb decisions.

Serika2001: Glad I could make you feel for the characters. And things are about to get worse.

Cecixx19: Just Tsunade so far. It will be dealt with soon enough

Spazzgirl: Uh, no, he's not used to it, he's just DEALING with it. And Midoriiro, for the record, is fine under medication…oh, who am I kidding?

Mrfipp: I think I've seen that game: I think it's where some moron pours gasoline on a random object, lights it on fire and makes no attempt to run, and hopes to make a spot on Most Outrageous Videos? And you don't know HOW hideous Tobi is in this fic. Deidara's tongues, well, I figured they had to be good for something else. Naruto is in quite a shithole now.

Believeit6: I hope this wasn't too long. As for their states of mind, when you're going under some kind of emotional stress, it can lead to you doing dumb things.

Disclaimer: I wrote to Santa asking for the rights to Naruto…kind of doubtful I'll get that, considering I ran over someone with my car…in WalMart…

* * *

Shiguri mumbled incoherently in his sleep, tossing and turning wildly. Suddenly, he shot up, and quickly doubled over in pain.

"Careful. You shouldn't be moving."

Shiguri turned around, and saw his sensei with his back turned, next to a fire. Looking around, Shiguri realized they were in a cave; a smart move, considering that lighting fires in the battlefield can get you spotted easily. "You saved me. I suppose that means you kicked those Akatsuki guys' asses, right!?" Shiguri screamed excitedly.

Naruto took a long time to respond. Without giving Shiguri any eye contact, he mumbled "In terms of a physical battle anyway."

Shiguri realized something was not right. Looking around frantically, he noticed his comrades weren't with him. "Wait! Where's Yuji and Iori!?"

Naruto turned around, and despite the poor lighting, Shiguri could see Naruto's eyes were red, not from Kyuubi but from crying. "Shiguri, I'm so sorry. I'm so very sorry."

Shiguri's eyes widened in disbelief. "No." he whispered. "NO!! How could you!? You said you would protect us, right!? Why didn't you use your bushins to come get us all!!? Instead, you came only for me!! And why, I don't know; I wasn't exactly your favorite student, and despite all of this I am the furthest thing from grateful!! What kept you there that prevented you from coming after us!?" Shiguri started crying himself. "I guess whatever vendetta you have against those guys was more important to you than we were."

Shiguri seemed to have finally calmed down, but the rage inside him never died. In disgust, Shiguri pulled his makeshift cover over his body, and turned away. Naruto stared back at the fire, and silently agreed with everything he said.

* * *

Tsunade looked outside the balcony, silently praying for all of her ninja to be alright. A slow, deliberate movement to her side distracted her and caught her eye.

"For you, Hokage-sama." Gaara stood to the side of her, offering her a cup of tea. He held one for himself in his other hand.

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama." She graciously took the cup, but did not drink it; the incident with Orochimaru made her a bit paranoid. As Gaara took a sip of his tea, Tsunade asked "How are your soldiers faring?"

After Gaara swallowed, he replied "Not too good. Though both our nations have a higher ratio of jonin to chunin, Iwa's numbers are simply staggering. Combined with the knowledge of their own country, it helps make them a formidable adversary. Don't worry; they'll fall. It's only a matter of time. I just wish we didn't have to sacrifice so many."

"As do I. No one deserves to be Kage if they are willing to blindly sacrifice their soldiers." Tsunade, deciding to go against her instincts, took a sip of her tea. Gaara was behaving strangely, but not in a manner that deemed him threatening. "Hokage-sama, Uzumaki will forgive you. I promise."

Tsunade turned her head to Gaara, realizing exactly what he meant. "How did you know?"

Gaara pointed the Hokage monuments, and replied "Every time I looked at the Yodaime, I couldn't help but notice how much he resembled Uzumaki. It was the Yodaime who sealed the Kyuubi inside Uzumaki, correct? Before he left, he kept asking about my relationship with my father. I put those altogether, and that's how I wound up with my conclusion."

Tsunade smiled slightly, and said "No wonder you were able to obtain the rank of Kazekage at your age back then."

Gaara put his cup on the balcony, merely nodding at her statement. "Something else seemed to be bothering Uzumaki though. I can't quite put my finger on it though…"

Tsunade finished her own tea, and replied "My apprentice knew about Naruto's father as well."

"Haruno?"

"Correct. She and Naruto were teammates as children, and Naruto always had strong feelings for her. With time, she returned those feelings. Naruto's conflicted right now; deep down he still loves her, but that's also why he's so hurt inside; the fact that she was in on it makes it that much worse for him. He doesn't know if he can trust her, and conflicts like these tend to make one hurt the other emotionally; the problem is, they often hurt themselves ten times as much in doing so."

"Love…" Tsunade turned her head, curious about Gaara's statement. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama. Uzumaki taught me a lot about human emotions. It all started back during the chunin exams…"

"Yes, Sakura told me about that incident. What she remembered and was told, anyway."

"I've never seen anything like it. Not even after the battle. He put everything on the line, just for her. The look in his eyes…I'll never forget it." Remembering exactly why he and Naruto fought, he turned to Tsunade and bowed. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama. I really regret what I almost did to her…"

Tsunade held up her hand and almost shouted "Stop it! I thought Sakura made it clear to you that she forgives you; if you feel the need to do it again, ask her!" Gaara clamed up about it at that moment. "What worries me even more is that he might die without letting go of his anger. And that Sakura might die with regret."

"By the way, just HOW did you get your council to let Naruto into the battlefield when it was known from the start Akatsuki was involved? It took much more…strenuous methods than usual to convince mine just to let me come up here."

"My ordeal was probably no different in that regard. The council was almost unanimous against sending Naruto in; it took me and Hiashi to remind them we're up against formidable enemies right now, and that he was worth the risk. Just enough votes passed to approve my plan. What really worries me right now is that their fears might prove correct."

Gaara then asked "Hokage-sama…just what is it about the biju that the Akatsuki want? It can't simply be to harness their power; their chakra, especially Kyuubi's, is too much for any modern weapon to contain. The only thing I could think of is that they're trying to create new jinchuriki, but given the experience we had, I'd imagine most would've been happy to join their ranks."

Tsunade rubbed her temple, hoping it wouldn't be brought up. "My intelligence source has been trying to find that out for years; we only just found out where their leader lives: Soragakure."

Gaara's eyes widened. "S-Soragakure!? Impossible!! It's only a myth!!"

Tsunade replied "So we believed. But Naruto killed one of Akatsuki's agents and we uncovered the truth. Some of it, at least. We still don't know who the leader is; whoever he is, he knows an awful lot about the biju…" Tsunade and Gaara looked into the night sky, silently praying that the answers would be found without too terrible a price…

* * *

Sasuke sat on a bench, outside of an inn. Midoriiro insisted that they stop there. Personally, he wanted to simply make camp in the woods, but Midoriiro would have none of it.

"_If it's about money, don't worry about it!! I was thinking of finding us some jobs while we're here anyway!!" _

Sasuke sighed. While cash would be nice when they stopped by something to eat, it wasn't that which got to him; it was people. Sasuke was still suffering from so much inner turmoil that he wasn't ready to be near people yet. Just watching them blindly go about life without a care in the world…it infuriated him. Infuriated him to no end that whatever gods were in power seemingly condemned him to lose everything. Their indifference infuriated him, making his stomach twist that they had no idea what they could lose, or be driven to throw away. It also filled him with sadness; watching them, it reminded him of that which he tossed away…

"Alright Sasuke-chan!! I got us a room!!" Midoriiro stood right outside the entrance.

Sasuke blankly stood up and muttered "Sure, that's g…wait a minute." Sasuke looked at Midoriiro and looked her in the eye. "A ROOM?" He put special emphasis on "A".

MIdorriro smiled and replied "Well, I could only afford one. Besides, someone has to make sure you don't run off." Sasuke nearly turned white at her statement, realizing that she seemed to be reading him like a book. "Let's go inside. I think we can both agree that we need a bath, right?"

* * *

Sasuke splashed some water into his face. It felt good to have a bath…an actual bath. Sure, he showered at Orochimaru's plenty of times, but it required standing; Orochimaru sought to train Sasuke constantly, and relaxing in a body of hot water was not allowed. Sasuke sighed, relishing the feeling of the hot spring. He had forgotten just how wonderful relaxing in water felt…

"How's the water, Sasuke-chan?"

Sasuke's heart nearly jumped out of his mouth. "She wouldn't…" Slowly, he turned around, and then feared his eyeballs would explode in that instant. Midoriiro was walking towards his spot in the water, and she didn't even have the decency to put a towel on!! The image of Midoriiro's…lovely body…burned into his mind. "Wait…did I just think 'lovely'?" Taking another good look at her body, he realized no other word could describe it. She had a perfect hourglass figure, lovely thighs, full breasts…and then he saw THAT part of the woman body on her. Sasuke's face became almost as red as his sharingan eyes and he felt another sensation completely unfamiliar to him.

"I take it you like what you see?" Midoriiro asked as she grabbed a bucket of water. Sasuke, breaking out of his trance, dove into the water, hiding his body and turning away. The young woman chuckled at his antics and sat on a rock next to him. "Come on now, don't hide it; admit it, you like this." Midoriiro poured the water on her, as if to emphasize her point.

Sasuke, who dared not look, asked "Just why are you bathing right in front of me when you could have gone to the woman's bath?"

"I read a lot of manga whenever I go by a bookstore; whenever a man and a woman travel together, and bathe in separate areas, no matter what they do to prevent it, they always wind up seeing one another. It then leads to a bunch of misunderstandings and romantic tension that is quite frankly not worth it. So, I decided to just skip all of those trivial things and just be done with the inevitable conclusion. Besides, the women are much too chatty to my liking so I just decided to spend the extra money for the private bath."

Sasuke could not help but think this woman did not have proper role models growing up…not that he had anyone better.

"Besides…I've seen you plenty of times; I think this is just fair." Midoriiro added with a smile as she slid into the water with him. Sasuke simply remained silent and tried to ignore her the rest of the night. However, as usual, she made that nearly impossible for him.

* * *

Deidara's hologram flickered atop the statue's fingers. Tobi and Hidan's soon followed. Then Kizu, with his female companion showed up as well. "Hey…where the hell is Zetsu?" Deidara asked. He didn't care much for that cannibal, but it was unlike the man to skip out on meetings. Kizu was very strict about that sort of thing, and by strict, he meant violent. Deidara did once, and he never forgot the beating he took.

"I sent him on a mission." Kizu replied. "This matter does not concern him anyway. Now on to business: first off, the time to stabilize the machine is near. With fewer members, this task will be far more strenuous." Deidara groaned at the prospect. The crew would take shifts, using their chakra to contain the biju's chakra within. Often, members would have to do this for a full day and were allowed days of rest until it was their turn again. But it required that everyone be present. Now, they would have to trade places far more often with so few left. "Our primary prize is the Kyuubi jinchuriki. As you all know, he has grown strong, perhaps on par with the Sanin. Worse, due to the mechanics of the statue, his beast will have to be added last. We cannot risk waiting anymore; there are fewer of us, and by the time we're free to move, he will only grow stronger once more. Which means we must keep him captive until it's time for his biju to be extracted."

Deidara then spoke. "That thought crossed my mind as well. But he is quite the trickster, very difficult to capture. And even if we do imprison him, his spirit seems impossible to break. I'd imagine even if we severed all four of his limbs, he would lick his way out of whatever cell we hold him in."

Kizu coldly replied "Yes, I have noticed that. But, I believe I may have finally found a weakness. Tobi?"

Tobi's head tilted in confusion. "You mean I can beat him, Kizu-sama?" he asked excitedly.

Kizu groaned and could barely contain himself. Rubbing his forehead, he calmly replied "No, Tobi. You're going to exploit his weakness. Remember the jewels I gave you?" Tobi nodded his head enthusiastically. "There's someone I need you to beat. This one, I'm confident you can defeat. Hidan!"

Hidan moaned "Whaddya want?"

"Make sure no one else interferes. Let Tobi do his job. If at all possible, help him, but make sure you don't kill his opponent. We need her alive."

"Damn it! Where's the fun in that!?"

Kizu narrowed his eyes, and growled "I don't recall letting you in this organization for _fun_." Hidan piped up, with a frightened expression on his face. He was one of the few Kizu came to personally and was beaten by him badly. Taking his silence as a "yes sir", Kizu continued. "The same goes for you, Tobi. We need this one alive." Tobi, who was rarely silent, simply nodded. "And Deidara. Do what you wish with Uzumaki, so long as you don't kill him."

Deidara grinned slightly. "Would it be alright if I made a limb or two go 'bang'?"

"As long as he doesn't die." The meeting was adjourned, and everyone returned to their business.

* * *

Yuji awoke with a groan. "Ohh…some nightmare I had." Yuji remembered being in a fight, and felt the fear and uncertainty. "Almost as if I were in a real fight…" Then he began to take in his surroundings. "Hey…this isn't my house!" In fact, it seemed more like he was in a cave; where the lights were coming from, he couldn't quite tell. Yuji sat up and then felt an enormous pain in his stomach. "That guy! I remember…!" He hunched over quickly after a sharp intake of pain. Suddenly, he heard someone come towards him.

"Hey! You shouldn't be moving yet!!"

Yuji looked to his side, and saw a girl about his age next to him. She had bluish hair, pale skin, and gray eyes. As she tended to his wounds, Yuji noticed that her unusual colors made her appear quite pretty. "…Next to Iori anyway." He reminded himself. "Who are you? Where am I?" Yuji then noticed he could barely speak, and his body felt like lead. "I bet getting stabbed will do that to you."

The girl laid him back down gently, and said "My name Hyouike, and you're in my hideout."

Yuji then replied "Hideout? I don't like the sound of that. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?"

"It's always been a good thing for me. My kind is not exactly popular in Earth Country." She then took something out of her pocket, and held it up to him. It was his headband! "And judging by this thing, I'd wager it would be a good thing for you too."

Yuji, still a bit uneasy, hoarsely whispered "My comrades…I have to get back to them…"

"Trust me, I wish you could, for your own sake. But an impaled abdomen is not easy to fix, especially when I had to review my old man's textbooks every step of the way." Yuji then looked at her apprehensively. "Don't worry!" she nearly shouted, throwing her hands up. "Everything went perfect. I'd say you will recover in a couple of days." She pulled a blanket over Yuji's bandaged body. "But you have to rest. It won't do your friends or yourself any good if you don't allow your body time to heal." She then gave him a particularly icy stare. "And if you go and kill yourself, I'm going to be pissed that my hard work and sleepless nights were for nothing."

Yuji then whispered "Yes…rest…" The young shinobi once again drifted into sleep, taking some comfort that at least he was in good hands. "Iori…Shiguri…Naruto-sensei…I'm coming. That's a promise."

Hyouike smiled, then looked to his old clothes. Undressing a boy would have normally been very difficult for her, but in his state, she was able to concentrate on saving his life and didn't pay much attention to the parts she wasn't supposed to see. Being on her own made her quite lonely, so having the company of another her age thrilled her. But she was conflicted; her family taught her to never trust any ninja, not even those foreign to Earth Country. Sighing, she decided she would wait until the boy was at least able to stay awake before she judged him. Walking over to a candle, she blew it out.

* * *

Shibakariki, Iwa's premier swordsman, hacked and slashed his way through the Konoha and Suna nin with ease. He was an exceptional fighter; Iwa thought about letting him train more individuals like him and make swordsman equal to those found in Kiri. But he had no interest in teaching, only in slaying. His swords were nothing special; simply dual-katana. It was his skill that earned him his reputation, and based on that, he considered himself to be better than those mist swordsmen. His green hair and scared body, which he displayed even in battle much to the dismay of his comrades, showed him to be an intimidating man. By now, he had taken down 4 Konoha nin and 5 Suna nin. "Alright!! Anyone want some more!?" His answer came not in the form of a verbal answer, but in a sneak attack from behind. He blocked the dagger with one of his swords, and smiled in amusement. A Konoha ANBU by the looks of it tried to take him down in a completely unfair fight. Shibakariki actually appreciated those who tried sneak attacks first. The more "honorable" ones often died the fastest. "Hoho. That's quite a back-handed tactic. Think I like ya already, kid." He then concentrated his chakra into his arms, and pushed with such force that the masked nin was sent flying into a cliff. The mask cracked, and fell, revealing the face behind it. "Hm, quite the pretty boy you are. My mom would love to meet you, but she's in the cemetery. Is that alright?"

Sai rose, and with his emotionless face, replied "Sorry. I don't like people who are foolish enough to get killed. For all I know, you'll bury me next to some dumb bitch that simply ran off a cliff in the face of a superior fighter."

Shibakakiri's face contorted in anger. "You…son of a bitch!!! MY MOTHER WAS A SAINT!!" He lunged, and crossed his swords.

Sai dodged, and kicked the swordsmen in the face, sending him sprawling. "I heard about you. They say you're the start of 'The Swordsmen of the Rock'. I can tell you you're not close to being on par with a kiri swordsmen. But for what it's worth, you're most certainly an individual to be concerned about."

Shibakakiri got up, and tasted blood. "But I didn't even cut him…" He then put his hands to his nose, and then a realization dawned on him. "It's MY blood." His eyes widened in horror, and as a result, he screamed in rage. "MY BLOOD!! I'LL SLICE YOU TO LITTLE BITS AND FEED YOU TO THE PIGEONS!!" He crouched low, and began to spin, becoming a small tornado. "Gufuken no Jutsu!!"

Sai retreated from the whirlwind of blades, but it was too fast; he had to block with his dagger, and even then he received several cuts. However, he found every half-second there was an opening. Sai waited for the next one, and stabbed the swordsman in the throat. However, a puff of smoke revealed it to be a mud clone.

Before Sai could realize what was happening, the real Shibakakiri stabbed him from behind. "That was a good kick there! And I admit you're quite skilled with a blade! But in the end, I am the supe-" He stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed Sai bleeding from his mouth. The blood seemed a bit…off color. Reaching out and taking some on his finger, he put it in his mouth. He immediately spat it out upon tasting something toxic. "Is this…ink!?" Just then, a snake crawled up from his underneath his clothes and bit him square in the jugular. Shibakakiri grabbed it and squashed the creature beneath his feet, but suddenly felt himself become very drowsy. Soon, he passed out, and the real Sai emerged from behind a rock. He tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it around his face to make up for the broken mask. He would also have to convince Ibiki to torture him into forgetting or a vow of silence. An unbroken vow of silence was much more appealing to him, but he would let Ibiki decide the best course of action. "Don't worry, the poison in my ink is a simple tranquilizer. So far, we've been fighting mostly weaklings who rely more on weird contraptions than actual ninjutsu. You're one of the first truly formidable opponents we have faced, and that makes it a priority for us to interrogate you."

Though Sai and Sakura were forced to separate, there was still a medic on the team. Sai told him to hang back until he took care of the threat, much to his dismay, but even he had to admit he would have likely gotten killed and would not have saved anybody if he did interfere. As soon as everyone in the troop was healed or at least out of danger, Sai gave them the order to return to the village.

As he carried his prize over his back, Sai thought back to Sakura. Granted, he was still having trouble grasping what emotions really were, but he recognized he was actually worried about her. At first, he told himself it was simply for practical reasons; her awareness, something crucial for a shinobi to survive, was waning. However, something was also tearing at his gut, making sure that what was probably her business would stay in the back of his mind. "Perhaps I should inform Hokage-sama." He continued on, telling himself that everything would work out okay. "Dickless and Ugly will pull through. They always have."

* * *

Shikamaru took the lead in front of his students. He was initially one of the prime strategists in the war, one of the youngest ever. Most would've taken pride in that, but it was troublesome as usual for Shikamaru. In planning strategies back at home, he had no way to be aware of any other unforeseen factors until it was too late. His current position in the war changed that; now he could change things at a moment's notice. The problem now was that he could be killed, and he had a new chunin and 2 genin to look after. Tsunade was being forced to send everyone, but she made sure to make medics available as possible and evaluate the most dangerous threats. Still, it did not sit well with him to bring children along. Though he would never admit it, he was attached to his students. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to them. He then thought back to Temari. Shikamaru never imagined that he would fall in love, even though he did see himself starting a family. After the little "incident", Garaa calmed down and accepted their relationship. Granted, there were no plans yet, but they pretty much did consummate their relationship. It tore his gut every time he thought about the fact that he may never return to her. Or worse, if she was killed; Temari also had to fight. Garaa did swear that he would do everything he could to keep her safe. "Probably one of the few times we'll ever have an understanding. I can only imagine telling my younger self that psychopath would be my brother in law one day." He then remembered something; he took out a photo from his vest. He and Temari took it before they separated. "I could've at least had a smile across my face. Well, at least Temari seems happy enough." In the photo, Shikamaru and Temari were in their ninja attire. Shikamaru looked quite solemn, while Temari smiled and hooked his arm.

Shikamaru was brought back to the present, and remembered he had a job to do. They were traveling on a narrow trail formed on the walls of a canyon; one wrong move and the only consolation one could offer was that they would not suffer. Uryuu and Kenshin proved to be quite proficient in battle, and of course his intelligence and his own techniques helped quite a bit if he said so himself. But it was Hanabi's Byakugan that especially helped them. Shikamaru was able to come with the correct strategies sooner and at the right times due to her ability to see everything around her. He reminded himself to complement Hiashi whenever his team was allowed to take a rest back in the village.

He was brought out of his thoughts when some small rocks fell in front of him and continued down into the canyon. "Odd…according to the geologists of the area, the rocks should be pretty steady." It might have been an animal…or a person climbing the canyon…could it be an enemy!? "Hanabi.." Shikamaru pointed upwards. "Up there. Tell me what you see."

Hanabi activated her Byakugan, and looked upwards. "It's a girl…very familiar…wait, is that Myojin!?"

Shikamaru looked up, seeing a blur come down quickly. Soon, he could make out a definite human shape, and he believed whoever it was, he or she was screaming like an animal. "Myojin!? You mean Naruto's kunoichi student!?"

"Yes, it's definitely her!!" The said person suddenly jumped onto the path ahead of him, and Shikamaru could immediately tell something was wrong.

The first thing that caught his attention was that she was drenched in blood. Hanabi didn't detect any battles nearby. Second, her heavy breathing seemed to indicate she was exhausted, like she was running and fighting the whole time. If it weren't for the third and final thing he noticed, he would have guessed that she would faint any minute. She held the two kamas he observed, and her face was contorted in a hostile manner. She took on the beast-like appearance she had during her fight with Hanabi, and a large amount of chakra radiated throughout her body. Uryuu and Kenshin got their weapons ready, but Shikamaru held out his arm. "No! Something's wrong with her!! Hanabi, is her team anywhere nearby!?"

"Not that I have noticed!!"

Before Shikamaru could ask, Iori took a swipe with her weapons, and being unable to back up safely, Shikamaru was forced to block with both of his arms. "You!!" The cut was pretty deep, but for now he couldn't worry about it. Shikamaru immediately made his hand signs, and captured Iori in a shadow. Iori struggled to move, and she was indeed more trouble than what the jonin was used to. He made a motion for her to drop her weapons, and just as it looked like he was about succeed, she broke free and head butted him into his team. She immediately leapt upon him and swung down. Shikamaru blocked one kama with a kunai, while Uryuu blocked another with his black katana.

Hanabi leapt forward and kicked Iori away and off of her sensei. It wasn't a powerful kick; too strong and she would have sent the girl falling to her death. Hanabi didn't want that, not only because of the fact she was a comrade (despite their somewhat bitter rivalry), but she had an idea about what was wrong with her. "Sensei! There's something in her system that I believe is making her behave this way!! Whatever it is, it seems to feed off her chakra!! It's almost like a parasite!! I can neutralize it, if only she'd stay still!!"

"Got it!!" Shikamaru rose, and prepared a slightly different jutsu. "Kage Nui!" His shadow split up into tendrils, but instead of planning to kill the girl, he was going to try something a bit different with this technique. Just when the tendrils were about to pierce her skin, they coiled around her limbs instead. Iori struggled to break free of her bonds, and it seemed she would do that at any minute. "Hanabi!! Whatever you're going to do, do it now!!"

Hanabi leapt forward, and got ready to do her Hake Rokujuuyonshou…

* * *

Sakura leaped through the trees in a hurry. She could not believe what the messenger from Ino's team had said. There was no way it could be true, not even under the worst conditions! Even if he hadn't been himself, there would be no way that Naruto would let that happen!! "How much further!?" she yelled at the messenger.

"Not far. Hopefully, Kin will have healed most of them!! She really needed to speak with you, though! She said you knew that girl better than her!!" As they continued, the messenger continued "You should have seen her. That girl…she was a monster." It took all of Sakura's will power to restrain herself.

Finally, the two touched down from the forest onto the steppe where Ino's troop lay. Sakura stared in horror beneath her mask. Granted, there were no fatalities, which was always a good thing, and everyone was clearly out of danger. Ino was rather skilled after all. She handled everything quite splendidly if she said so herself. However, to think something like this was something a child of Konoha did was beyond her comprehension. She needed to get to the bottom of this.

Ino noticed her, and signaled for the chunin subordinate to watch over them while they conversed in the forest nearby. When they were hidden, Sakura nearly screamed "Ino! Are you sure it was her!? Iori!?"

Ino barely nodded "Oh yeah. I'd recognize her anywhere. Something was wrong though. She had beast-like features, and was in some sort of berserker rage…"

"Was she in the middle of fighting someone nearby!? Maybe she was so confused that…"

"No, there was no one there! Sakura…I'd like to think what was going on is not her fault, but I can't let her run loose like this!! We have to stop her, or else we'll put everyone at risk!!"

Sakura looked away, and nodded reluctantly. She was concerned about Iori's berserker rages, but felt during the tournament that she conquered them. "Give me your word that you will not use force to kill her. By all means stop her, but make sure she is alive, AND that she can recover to be a shinobi once more."

"You don't have to worry about that from me, Sakura. But what you should be worried about is any Konoha nins she will attack after us…or those that came before us. Naruto was no where to be found…I know he would never allow something like this to happen if he could help it."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you. I'll send a message to Tsunade-shishou. She'll make sure everything will be alright."

As Sakura was about to leap away, Ino called "Wait! Sakura…" She paused for a long moment, but Sakura was patient enough to let her finish. "I guess, given the situation, this isn't important…but I'm worried we won't get another chance to talk about it."

Sakura slowly turned around, and looked at her friend. "Okay."

The two sat, and Ino spoke. "I'll get right to the point: I know something is happening between you and Naruto." A moment of silence confirmed that things had not improved between the two of them. "I know what the two of you do with yourselves is your business. But whatever it was that caused this rift is bringing out the worst in both of you."

"So, he really isn't happy, is he?" Sakura asked herself.

"What?"

"Ino…I planned to confront Naruto about all this. You really think I was in such a funk that I wanted nothing to do with Naruto? I wanted to fix things. But then, I saw him and Hinata together. She hugged and _kissed_ him." Sakura emphasized that last sentence rather bitterly. "After that, I'm too afraid to tell him how I really feel. I know he'll only reject me again, and I don't think I could take that."

"Did she kiss him on the lips?" Ino asked.

Sakura yelled "Of course!! They…well…" Ino raised an eyebrow underneath her mask. "Actually, I'm not so sure…"

Ino sighed exasperated. "So, had a little jealousy streak there, forehead?"

Sakura blushed, but nodded yes. "I guess so. But it's probable. You and I both know Hinata always had a crush on Naruto. We broke up because of something I did, and I assumed in his frustration that he finally noticed her. Besides, Hinata is a much nicer person than I am, and she always held Naruto in the highest admiration. What in the world would keep Naruto from liking her?"

Ino just listened intently, as if she was completely neutral to the situation. "Well, you don't have to tell me what caused the rift. But judging from your story, I'd guess that you came upon this scene when your intention earlier was to apologize and express your real feelings." Sakura nodded, confirming her assumption. "Even so, that event did not and doesn't change the fact that you have strong feelings for him. You have to talk to him, Sakura. Whatever it is that's eating you up inside, get it out, and make sure he listens. Otherwise, you'll never be able to move on." Ino finally stood up. "Thanks for telling me Sakura. I wish I could elaborate more, but these times are not ideal for chatting. I just hope everything works out in the end. Oh, and stay alive. Please."

As she was about to walk away, Sakura yelled "Wait!" Ino turned around, wondering what else Sakura could want. Compared to the other kunoichi of their generation, she was quite the workaholic. "Ino…you say that as if you've been through something similar before."

Ino seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Yeah…I did." Her voice seemed rather pained when she said that.

Sakura struggled to find the right way to say it. This really wasn't the time to discuss such things. But Ino had already taken some of her valuable time to attend to her problem. She needed to ask her, to assure herself that she found the answer she was looking for. "Would it be alright if…you told me about it? As quickly as you can?"

Ino gave a slight nod, and sat down once more. Sakura figured it was someone she did not know about back during their teens, after Naruto returned. "Okay…back when you and Naruto started training under Hokage-sama and Jiraya-sama…I realized I was in love with Shikamaru."

"What!?" That was certainly unexpected; Ino still talked about Sasuke for quite a while back then.

"I kind of realized somewhere along the way the one I really liked was Shikamaru. But all the time, he seemed rather annoyed whenever I was around. By the time I realized my true feelings…I noticed how often he would hang around Temari whenever she visited, and it just crushed me when I realized he developed feelings for her, even if he did not realize it yet. Eventually, I stopped talking to him. Soon, he took notice that I was upset about something, and every time he asked, it generally ended with me cussing him out. Finally, one day, he grabbed my arm and demanded to know what was wrong. When he yelled 'You're one of my best friends!', something in me snapped, and I broke down crying. I confessed to Shikamaru right there, and I expected things to go straight to hell from there. Instead, he patted my shoulders, with a slight smile on his face. He started very honest with me, saying that he could not return my feelings, then emphasized that the bond we had was one of his most precious. We had a pretty long hug afterwards." Ino finally paused to gather her next words. That, and to find a way to wipe her tears underneath her mask. "To be honest, I think our friendship has gotten stronger afterwards. Even though it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to at the time, I don't regret telling him."

Ino then walked up to Sakura and hugged her. "Sakura, the first heartbreak is always hardest. I know how it makes one feel inside. Especially when you never told the other guy exactly how you feel. But you'd be surprised how letting them know will actually make things better between the two of you, even if it does not bring forth the result you hoped for."

Sakura took time to absorb Ino's words, amazed at how her friend already seemed to have such wisdom. "Ino-pig…since when did you become so smart? I'm the one with the giant forehead!!" Ino chuckled along with her. The two embraced in friendship, glad to at least have one moment of happiness in this brutal war if not solve their problems. "Thanks again, Ino. I don't know if I'll ever get the chance, but if I ever see Naruto again, Hinata or not, I _will_ tell him my feelings." Sakura stepped back. "I've really got to go. I was supposed to meet up with Lee's team. I understand the need for it, but this switching me from team to team is really getting on my nerves." With that, she took off.

"Got get'em." Ino whispered.

* * *

Naruto finished inspecting Shiguri's wounds, and considered him fit to move. Naruto was worried that the burns he suffered would leave permanent scars; after all, he still saw several shinobi in Konoha that carried scars, and surely Tsunade tried to help. But what was important was that he was out of danger and otherwise made a full recovery. That still didn't change the fact that Shiguri hated him right now…not that he blamed him.

"So…may I ask what mission we are going to get ourselves killed in this time?" the genin asked sarcastically.

"The way I see it, none. What happened to Yuji and Iori was my fault. I won't let the same happen to you." Naruto got up and made his way towards the cave entrance signaling for Shiguri to follow him. He did so, with great reluctance. "Shiguri, I'm taking you back to Konoha. I need to be sure you're safe while I look for Yuji and Iori. Besides…I can't bear your death on my hands."

That last statement really wanted to make Shiguri kill him right then and now. But, there was no point in getting himself killed, so he decided that it was best to follow his lead for now. As they cautiously made their way through the desert, Shiguri sarcastically said "So, you're finally doing your job now, huh? I kind of wondered why you sent us when you simply could have used your clones to set off those traps!"

Naruto stayed silent for a while. He tried to think of why he did that, not so much to defend himself, but because he wanted to know as well. "Living in the past, I guess." Naruto concluded. Shiguri simply growled in disgust. Naruto made no motion to correct him. "I deserve it." He told himself. "I was their sensei. I was supposed to look after them. But I failed." Finding no one else to talk to, Naruto thought to himself "I don't deserve to be Hokage." He found it a bit odd that after everything going on he still even thought about that dream, but now, he was sure he was done with it.

The two continued to run for quite some time. Naruto figured they wouldn't reach the border for a few days, so it was important that they made could time. It was especially hard when considering there were no forests in which they could tree hop; that often meant they could get to their destination faster. Suddenly, Naruto stopped, and signaled for Shiguri to as well. The two then hugged the canyon wall. "What is it?" Shiguri whispered, struggling not to yell in annoyance.

"Iwa nin. Lots of them." Naruto emphasized. There was a canyon beyond the wall, about a hundred yards wide. A battalion of Iwa nin marched through it, filling the corridor, and there appeared to be no end in sight. "Too many for us. We can't stay here, they're bound to find us. We have to go around them."

Naruto and Shiguri began scaling the walls immediately. They had to maneuver from the cliffs above. It was actually a dumber plan than it sounded; loose rocks would fall and alert the ninja below of their presence. Fortunately, they had a perfect henge to make up for that: Cliff Goats. Despite being equipped with hooves, they could scale the mountains as if they defied gravity, and though they were considered an endangered species, they were known to be in this part of Earth Country. Naruto and Shiguri transformed into a pair of them. This time Naruto made sure there would be no blunders on his part. He told Shiguri to transform into a goat with no horns, indicating he was a female; the animals often traveled in harems with one adult male. Naruto finally understood the point of the wild-life lessons, for what good that helped to make him feel. As expected, during their climb, they did alert the ninjas to their presence, but were shrugged off as mere animals. When the pair found an outcropping to hide behind, they took it and released their henge.

"Them…" Shiguri growled.

Naruto replied "I need to find out what they're planning. There's so many of them…they're plotting something, I know it. We need to follow them until we know what they're doing…"

"And then kill them while you leave me to die!?" Shiguri yelled, not too fond about his "sensei" making any plans after what happened.

Naruto, humbled and willing to take any verbal abuse for his tactical blunder, replied "No. My mission as of right now is that of intelligence. I cannot engage in combat; there's too many, even for me, and even if I could confront all of them they would most likely take you hostage. When they set camp, they're sure to go over their plans. That's when we'll act.

* * *

"Yes, she's in room 300." The nurse replied.

Deidara made his way toward the ward, not even caring to thank the nurse. Upon finding the room, he slammed the door open. Unfortunately for Tobi, he was standing right behind the door's path, and unexpectedly was forced to introduce his masked face to it. "So, I take it the operation went well?" Deidara asked Genkakushoujou, who was lying on the bed, with her two teammates by her side.

Genkakushoujou lifted her leg to reveal the scars of her re-attached foot. She then wiggled her toes to show the nerves still worked. Deidara nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent. Also, I must commend you for coming up with such a brilliant plan, using one Konoha nin against the others. Even if she fails, she'll either be killed in battle or in trial." He then looked at his other students. "And I'm sorry to say this, but it seems we won't have another mission together for quite some time."

"So, you're through with us?" Kounga asked.

"Well, not in that sense. You're still needed at the camps, Kounga." Kounga's scars made it nearly impossible to tell when he was actually frowning, but Deidara knew him well enough to see that he was. He walked over and whispered into his ear "But when I knock that fool over his chair, and on his ass, I'll make sure better things are in store for you." Kounga's eyes widened as he realized that he meant the Tsuchikage! His face, not betraying anything, simply nodded. Deidara then turned to the patient of the room. "And sorry my dear, but seeing as you're fully recovered, they want you out in the front. I've heard that you've become quite good with strategy, correct?" Genkakushoujou nodded reluctantly. She hopped off the bed, and prepared to embark on her new duty."San, you're with me. You're going to help me out in a little operation." He said. San simply nodded. Kounga and Genkakushoujou simply rolled their eyes; they knew Deidara was too proud of him to disassociate with him.

With that, he marched outside the hospital with his team and Akatsuki comrades, but Kounga and Genkakushoujou would be heading in a different direction than him. They split off from their main group to meet with their new commanding officers.

"Deidara-sempai…is it time?" Tobi asked.

"Almost, Tobi. First, I'm going to take care of something a little personal. It won't interfere with our plans; in fact, I think it might actually help."

* * *

"Why, Deidara, for once you've actually made yourself useful!!" the Tsuchikage bellowed. Deidara just rolled his eyes, knowing it was all a pathetic act; in truth the Tsuchikage was probably livid that he didn't come up with that idea himself. Mutsuguro walked up and gave him a hard pat on the back. "I think this is the renewal of a beautiful friendship!!"

Deidara groaned at the prospect. On top of not being a sociable guy, one could never be too careful about how a man that killed his own sensei would treat his friends. "I…just figured such a tactic would both crush the Hokage into surrendering and galvanize our own men. I mean, the surge will force Konoha to evacuate some of its citizens, right? It's such a wasted opportunity otherwise. Besides…they're no better than the Ainu, right?"

"Of course, no one would care if we wiped that village of the face of the earth! I'll get a messenger owl ready, the sun has nearly set!! The troops must know about this immediately!!" He practically ran out the office, leaving Deidara alone to sigh in relief.

Cautiously checking to make sure the guards were not looking, he then made his way to the desk, and took a seat in the chair. Propping his feet up on the desk, he sighed in satisfaction. "I can see why he killed you, sensei. Sitting in this does bring out a sense of…entitlement. I could get used to this, oh yes…"

"_I must admit, Deidara, that was quite clever of you."_ It was Kizu, talking to him telepathically once more. _"I just wanted the war as a means to separate Uzumaki and Haruno from as many of their allies as possible, as well as make sure no one could come to their rescue. You, however, took it a step further and practically guaranteed it."_

"Luck of the circumstances, really. I wouldn't have told him had he not decided on a surge. I just figured with the majority of the top jonin and ANBU carrying out missions within this country, and mostly chunin stationed at Konoha, we could finally get him. Of course, there's the Toad Sage and the Godaime Hokage to deal with, but it's my understanding they are quite sentimental. So, if the troops are clever enough, they can make it out of there without those two giving them any trouble."

"_My compliments to you, Deidara. I've already informed Tobi and Hidan of their new mission. Be ready to stand by."_

* * *

Naruto snuck into the camp grounds of the Iwa nin. He didn't bother disguising himself this time; no human-sized animal would come near a group of humans this big. He had to be careful, sneaking between the boulders and using his senses to make sure the sentinels weren't looking his way. He made his way to the edge of the camp, and took a look. Just as he feared, there were way too many of them. The only way to overcome them all was to call upon Kyuubi. "Tempting." Quickly he made a small summon, and a toad, perhaps as big as his thumbnail, appeared. "Get into the general's tent and don't leave until I tell you." He whispered. The toad nodded and hopped away.

The Iwa nin thought nothing of him; there was a marsh nearby, and there were species of toads that would bury themselves in the sand. The spy toad hopped towards the tent in the middle, and crawled through the space.

The toad set off a signal that Naruto would feel, letting him know he was inside. Using his chakra, Naruto concentrated so that he could hear everything his toad did.

"Our troops are more than 95% chunin, and not very high ranking ones at that. Still, even one jonin will have trouble fighting against a swarm. Our forces should be enough to break down the walls and make our way into the village. And that is precisely what they'll think we're doing."

"There's more?" Naruto thought.

"Once we group together, it will be impossible for us to hide. The sentries will give out an evacuation order, and that's when we'll take its citizens. Granted, we don't know where the bunkers are located. But we'll have our hawk summoners on the lookout; they won't miss a thing."

"You forget, they're still shinobi. They may very well sacrifice half their own civilians to ensure their victory…"

"You don't know us very well." Naruto commented to himself, disgusted that anyone would assume the council would order such a thing…at least the entire council anyway.

"You've forgotten how our conflicts began in the first place, haven't you? The First Tsuchikage was a cruel and ruthless man, a fundamentalist in the shinobi way. He sacrificed many of his troops for victory, and had total control over the village. However, Konoha and the Second Hokage were stronger still. Normally, he would have simply increased his standards. But what infuriated him was that they were stronger and had a system that by no shinobi means should survive. We used to kill children who did not pass, whereas they gave their recruits as many chances as they wanted. We gladly sacrificed our own, but for the most part they refused to do the same unless someone consented to it. Our Tsuchikage had total control over the village and its affairs, whereas the Hokages were checked by a council. And while we gladly took any mission, Konoha often refused missions that were deemed 'unjust'. Not only did it make the Tsuchikage mad; he was afraid that the rest of the shinobi would get the same ideas as well, and the society he desired would be destroyed. The previous Tsuchikages have tried to destroy Konoha whenever possible ever since, for it is a representation of something that is not meant to exist in the shinobi world, yet thrives. And that is why, this time, we will win. Once we have the hostages, and show them we mean business, not even the remaining sanin will be able to do anything about it!"

"The order came rather suddenly though. What gave him this idea so suddenly?"

"Apparently it has something to do with that traitor Deidara. It was his idea really."

Naruto was horrified. Naruto knew Tsunade would do everything she could to rescue the hostages, should they succeed…but with their numbers, they just might pull it off. And if Deidara suggested it, it had to be a plan to extract his biju! "I have to warn them!!"

Just then, the general noticed the toad underneath his desk. "What is this?" he growled distastefully.

"I'll get rid of it." One of the guards took a kunai and impaled the creature.

Naruto felt terrible that he had to sacrifice one of his toads, but it couldn't have gone any other way at that point. All he could do now was make sure its sacrifice was not in vain.

* * *

The general began shuffling his papers when a thought occurred to him. The guard was scooping the remains of the foul creature up, and he ordered "Wait!! Is it possible for me to examine the skin?" The guard put his hand forward, and wiped off the blood until the toad's skin was revealed. To the untrained eye, it looked rather unremarkable. Dark-green with some long spots. But the general knew better. "The toads in this region have bumpy skin. This one's rather smooth."

He then ran outside and yelled "We have a spy amongst us! He can't be in disguise; he must be nearby the camp! Search everywhere!!"

The Iwa nins immediately searched feverously for anyone who looked like a stranger. Naruto knew he was found out, but not spotted; there was still time to get away. What he didn't count on, however, was one of the Iwa nins having a sense of smell equal to Kiba's.

The one Iwa nin who did sniffed the air, and his eyes widened in anticipation. "There!" he yelled, pointing towards Naruto's location. "There he is!"

Knowing there was no point in escaping in a stealthy manner, Naruto jumped onto the boulders and jumped as far away as he could with each bound. However, a shower kunai descended upon him, and rained down on his body. Naruto fell dead…and vanished in a poof of smoke.

* * *

The real Naruto opened his eyes as the memories of his Kage Bushin flooded his mind. "Shiguri, we have to leave!! They're on to us!!"

Shiguri rolled his eyes, but did as he was told, and followed his sensei as they ran across the mountains. "Yet another screw up…"

"Shiguri, they're planning to take Konoha's civilians hostage!! Once they do that, there's no telling what they will demand!! We're going to have to get there before that swarm does!! Once there, we'll escort them somewhere else!!"

Now this got Shiguri to forget about his qualms with his sensei and put Konoha ahead of his feelings. For all the bad attitude he showed, it was still his home, and he would gladly give his life to protect it and its people. Then, something else occurred to him. "The Hokage will do everything she can…but my grandfather…" This worried Shiguri considerably. Danzou always talked about necessary sacrifices that even at a young age he did not agree with. "If we get there before they do, we can save everyone, whether he likes it or not."

* * *

Little did they know, the general was watching them run up the mountains with a telescope.

"Nothing to worry about, sir." one of his aides said. "Though we found him out, there's no way he could know what we're planning. Not from that distance."

The general turned and screamed "Fool!! Those Kage Bushins transfer information to the original when they're dispelled!! Archers!!" Iwa nin with cross bows stepped forward. "Aim 40 degrees South!! Hit the top of the mountains!!" The archers' arrows were wrapped with explosive tags. They fired in the direction indicated, and just as the general had predicted, Naruto and Shiguri landed on the peak he singled out. The arrows struck the top…and an explosive avalanche came raining down on the pair.

* * *

Naruto looked up to see something above him explode. The next thing he knew, the rocks were halfway towards him. Without thinking, he shielded Shiguri from the avalanche above as it came crashing down on them.

* * *

Yuji finished slurping the last of his porridge. Slowly, with each day, he was able to stay awake longer; the pain in his abdomen had finally vanished, and Yuji felt that he could walk again. His nurse, however, recommended against it.

Just then, Hyouike walked inside the small room. "How are you feeling?"

Yuji replied "Much better. I think I can even manage to do minor ninja stuff again."

Hyouike smiled, and said "I need to check the wound, just to be sure." Yuji sat up, and waited patiently for Hyouike to make her diagnosis. As she was doing so, he couldn't help but look at her. She was beautiful…he never saw that combination of hair and eyes before… "It's closed up perfectly. But I'd recommend you take it easy; there's no telling…"

Wrapping his blanket around him, Yuji went to get his clothes, causing Hyouike to turn around hastily. He was a bit uneasy that this girl was the one that undressed him…but that was standard medical practice, especially for those that did not know medical ninjutsu. As he put on his clothes, Yuji said "Hyouike, I appreciate everything you did to help me. And believe me, the last thing I want to do is make all your hard work for naught." As he fastened his chunin vest, he continued "But my people are at war, and my friends are out there fighting." Fully dressed, Yuji noticed his glasses were missing. "Probably lost in the river. My vision's adequate enough as it is." Turning around Yuji walked towards Hyouike, tapping her on the back to let her know it was okay to look. Giving a serious look of determination, Yuji said "Please, I need to get out of here so I can help them. On top of that, I don't know where to go; if you can at least show me where you found me, I can take the rest from there. Besides, I don't want you to get involved with the enemy; no doubt they're looking for me, and will kill you as an accomplice. But I promise you, if something does happen, I WILL protect you ."

Hyouike tried to think of a way to convince him otherwise. Sadly, she couldn't think of any. He was for the most part recovered, and there's no doubt his comrades would be looking for him, as well as Iwa nin who would were looking to finish the job. And if they found him, she could wind up dead…or worse, be sent to the camps. Sighing, she replied "Alright. But no fighting. I'm serious. The ninja here are cold-blooded killers; you do NOT want to be found, and I wouldn't bet on you being able to take a whole group."

Yuji bowed in gratitude, and replied "So long as I don't have to. Besides, after fighting someone who cuts himself for some extra armor, I'd say you didn't have to tell me in the first place."

* * *

The first thing that Yuji made note of as they made their way outside was the snow that covered the land. From what he heard, this was nowhere near the quantity that Snow country possessed; the ground only had a few centimeters worth of snow to show for it. But that didn't change the fact that it was damn cold!

Yuji was distracted when Hyouike called back "The river where I found you was quite far. It's amazing you didn't die of hypothermia before I could treat you." Hyouike noted. "Please bear with me."

"It didn't help that she had a full winter coat on." Yuji thought. Hugging his arms, he figured to distract himself by having a conversation with the girl. "Hyouike…I know this sounds rude, but I can't help but notice that you look…well, different."

Hyouike turned around with an annoyed look on her face. "Oh? What of it!?" she snapped.

Yuji, taken aback, stammered. "N-Nothing…it's just, I've never seen anyone with hair and eyes like yours, and none of the Iwa nins I've seen so far share those traits as well."

Hyouike just stopped right there. "So, you think I'M an abomination as well!?" she hissed viciously.

Yuji stopped walking, SHOCKED that this girl could be called such a thing. "What the hell are you talking about!? You're a pretty girl, and whoever said that deserves a smack upside the head, with maybe a kunai in the eye to go with it!"

Yuji was so caught up in his brief speech that he failed to notice Hyouike blushing quite red. "Y-you really never heard of the Ainu, have you?"

Yuji gave her a look showing he clearly did not know what she was talking about. "Ainu?"

"I'm an Ainu. It would take too much time to explain my people's culture…but everywhere we go, we're distinguished by our gray eyes and ice-blue hair."

"And they think that's unattractive? If so, I'm not the one who needs glasses!!"

Hyouike just looked at him in amazement. "I'm surprised that someone on this continent has never heard of my people."

Yuji replied "Why should I? We don't have Ainu in Fire Country."

"You did. A long, long time ago. Eventually we were forced into Earth Country. And then, when the First Tsuchikage was murdered, everything went from bad to worse." Yuji was silent, his attention clearly hers. "The man who would become the Second Tsuchikage was the real killer. But he used us as scapegoats for the crime. Being different, it wasn't hard to convince his people that we were inferior, and that WE should be punished. First, we were banned from trading without special permission, and even then, we were powerless against harassment and beatings. Then, we were forced into neighborhoods where we worked for nearly 16 hours a day, with nothing but turnips to eat. And now…" At this point, tears began to well up in her eyes.

Yuji could tell she was struggling to control herself. "What?"

"And now…the camps." She got out, barely audible

Before Yuji could ask what she meant, his sixth sense had kicked in. Traveling in dangerous territory without his team kept his adrenaline high, activating it even without the excitement of battle. "Quick! Hide!" Before Hyouike could ask, Yuji grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind a boulder. It was a rather pathetic hiding place, but it was the best they could manage for right now. Putting his hand over her mouth, he glanced behind the rock, and confirmed his instincts.

A group of Iwa nin made their way down into valley from the mountains bordering it, and checked their surroundings. Yuji made sure neither he nor Hyouike moved a muscle, but couldn't help but notice two of them were carrying a sack. "Let's take a break here, gentlemen." The team captain said. The two others dropped their sacks without a care, and pulled out some cigarettes. But what caught Yuji's attention was that there seemed to be something alive in them. "Aw man, I'm glad to get out of the front-line." one of them chided. "Those Konoha nins…don't tell anyone I said this, but they're just too much."

"Couldn't agree more." His teammate replied. "Don't know how they do it, but if we were evenly matched in terms of numbers and technology, we'd be slaughtered. It's a good thing that there's so many of us." Just then, one of the sacks seemed to be crawling away from the Iwa nins. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Aw, dammit to hell!" The leader ran up to the sack and kicked it several times until it lay still. "We're going to have to cut our break short; sooner or later their spirits are going to heal and they'll try to make a break for it. Not that they could, but you know me, I tend to lose my temper way too easily." he laughed. With that, they gathered up their cargo and vanished.

After a good minute, Yuji let Hyouike go, and cautiously scanned the area to see if there was any trouble. When he turned around, he noticed that Hyouike was trembling with fear. "Those were people in those sacks, weren't they?" She didn't respond. "They were your people." Yuji spoke with a tone of realization. Hyouike barely gave a nod. Yuji turned around, and stared at the direction the ninjas headed. "Hyouike…I have to see it with my own eyes…"

She knew it was likely that both of them would be killed, and taking him there was a stupid idea. But a part of her screamed that someone had to know, it might be her people's only hope. Reluctantly, she nodded. "Understand, you may not be able to do anything to help, not by yourself. Your people are not likely to help. And once you see it, you MUST run."

In response, Yuji slowly walked over and took her hand. "Don't worry…" he whispered. "I'll protect you…I promise."

* * *

Despite the cold and the fact that he was still in rather weak condition, Yuji ran at half-speed and carried Hyouike on his back as she guided him. "Okay…" she pointed. "…beyond that mountain…"

She couldn't say anymore, and Yuji didn't push her. Whatever it was about the camps that got to her, it was too emotional for her to handle, that much he could tell. Yuji climbed up the mountain, his passenger a bit of a problem, but he did not complain. He was halfway to the peak when he saw it: Barracks after barracks, surrounded by fences. Even with his fairly poor eyesight, he could see people doing various things. What, he could not tell, and even if he had his glasses, he would probably still need a telescope. "Hyouike, what are they doing?" His stowaway still remained silent. Yuji couldn't see her face, but judging by her trembling hands, he could imagine it conveyed utter horror. "We're going down, okay? You should probably be the one to tell me this…but whatever you do, don't scream."

Slowly, the pair made their way down the mountain, and found a small pit where they could hide behind some small boulders. It was only about twenty feet down, but with the boulders blocking their view, he could not see much. "Blast it, I can't see from here. And I can't risk going inside…not without a disguise."

That's when he heard footsteps. Close by, but not close enough to be a credible threat just yet. Carefully, he eased his head out of the boulders just enough to see a group of Iwa nin heading toward the entrance. Most of them seemed to be kids, about his age.

The leader was probably a professor. "Here is where we are currently keeping all the Ainu we can find, safe from the rest of society." he instructed. "We are about to begin a tour of the camps, and I must warn you, you will see things you will not like. Keep in mind, as human as they appear, this race is a savage, vile one. They were far crueler to each other when they were free, but here at least, there is order. They don't deserve the privileges of normal men either, and as of yet they've given us no reason to treat them as one of us." Just then, one of the students began to make movements as if he was dancing and raised his hand. The teacher sighed and asked "What is it this time, Tsugigire?"

"S-s-s-sensei, I've got to go!!"

Shaking his head, and presumably rolling his eyes underneath his sunglasses, he replied "Just hurry it up! And if you have diarrhea again, we'll leave you behind!"

The student practically dashed up the hill for some privacy. Right near the pit where Yuji and Hyouike were hiding. "Perfect." Just as he stepped on the rock to pee, something snared his neck, and was pulled in. Yuji covered his mouth and pressed a kunai near his neck. The kid put up no struggle. Yuji then noticed there was no headband on. "He must be an academy student." Checking his clothes for weapons and finding none, he whispered "Hyouike, I think I've got someone you can handle."

Handing the hostage over, Yuji then transformed into him. It wasn't perfect, though; there were minor inconsistencies. "Tell me what I need to adjust."

Looking at their new captive, Hyouike whispered " His hair is a little bit more flat…better, now his eyes are brown…perfect. Now, his nose is bigger. Bigger…bigger…too big, too big!!"

They both knew they were running out of time before the professor got suspicious. They hoped he would do what he said he would, but as they could hear the footsteps coming towards them, those hopes were slashed. Yuji frantically tried to get the transformation right. "Tsugigire!? Where the bloody hell are you!!?"

Just then Yuji, disguised as Tsugigire, popped out and yelled "Present!" This move was a huge risk; he did know this kid the slightest bit. Anyone close to him would call him for the fake he was. "I-I'm glad you came back for me, s-s-sensei." Yuji said, trying to imitate the kid's stutter.

"Just shut up and come on!!" the man yelled, jerking him by the arm.

* * *

Yuji paid no attention to the professor as he followed the group the through the camps; his attention was drawn to the prisoners. He couldn't tell if they were Ainu at first; all of the men had shaved heads. It was only when they came up close to show off their gray eyes that he suspected it, and confirmed it when all of them on a snowflake attached to their uniforms. The camps were decrepit, and that was putting it nicely. Observing the prisoners, he noticed that most of them were dangerously thin…

"Come on, move it!!" Yuji turned around, and saw some ninjas shove a prisoner on the ground. He was completely naked, but that didn't stun Yuji nearly as much as his body condition: He was emaciated!! He was practically a living skeleton, Yuji wouldn't have believed anyone in such poor condition could even move. Before anymore noise was made, the guards stabbed the back of his neck, ending his life.

To his left Yuji saw the guards taking several corpses into a trench. "Okay, lite'em up." One of the ninjas dropped a match on the bodies, and then they were engulfed in flames. Yuji then looked to a barrack next to the one he was walking through, and noticed a group of women. Their heads were unshaved, and they were also naked. They were a bit too thin, but they looked healthy otherwise. Under normal circumstances, Yuji would have gotten a major nosebleed by now, but with everything else going on around him made him, he didn't care about such trivial matters. It seemed they were being forced to do jumping jacks. "In this weather!?" Yuji thought. "What kind of people would do this!?"

"AAAAHHHHH!!!" Yuji looked behind him to see one of the prisoners running. Yuji was frozen with uncertainty; he could attempt to help him escape, but in doing so he would reveal his disguise. At the same time, he couldn't let him just die…however, the decision was made for him when the man ran right into the electric fence. Sparks flew from the fence, and the man fell back, smoldering and dead. Realization dawned on Yuji. "He couldn't live like this anymore. He threw his own life away…"

"Tsugigure!! Hurry it up!!" Yuji tore his attention away, and headed inside with the rest of the class.

* * *

"The inside is accommodating to the guards, while the prisoners are kept in a much more humble position."

Yuji's attention once again drifted away from him as he saw the boxes that passed for beds. They were too small for a man to fit in without major discomfort. The cafeteria looked no better; everyone was forced to stand, and he doubted the broth they were drinking had any real nutrition. One prisoner accidentally bumped into another, causing him to spill his soup. The latter screamed in rage and attacked the other man like an animal. None of the other prisoners, nor the guards, interfered.

Soon, they moved to another location, staring at a room through a glass window. More Ainu prisoners were being lined up, but they were different for some reason. None were wearing the standard prison uniform. Half looked to be middle-aged and older; the other half were children, ranging from Yuji's age to younger and well into their teens.

"As you know, we require hard labor from our prisoners. They must be at least 18 and no older than 45 to do so. Otherwise, there's no point in keeping them around." Yuji then noticed the professor had a switch in his hand, which he pressed. A yellowish gas then filled the room, and its occupants began choking. Some foamed from their mouths and convulsed uncontrollably. "They're dying!" Yuji thought. As if that wasn't bad enough, one of the prisoners smashed his head against the glass in front of Yuji, cracking it. "Step away, everyone! There could be a leak!"

As the group hurried out of the hallway, Yuji looked back to another room and saw an Iwa nin with an Ainu woman. He couldn't tell exactly what was happening, he was running too fast to tell. What he did see though, was that she was pinned up against the wall, and she had no clothes on…

"Making another round with these twerps, Kanbiiru?" The group stopped to bow to the nin in front of them, and Yuji barely got over his shock to follow suit: It was Koungasenki!

"He's here!?" It took all of Yuji's will power to restrain himself and attacking him. He started to worry Koungasenki might see through his disguise and then…

"These field trips are an important part of the education of children if they're to be groomed into fine shinobi!!"

Koungasenki just laughed as he looked through the group. He then backed up and said to the teacher, "If you'll excuse me, I think there is something I need to say to these maggots." Nervously, the older man obliged. "So, you think this is a just cause? That you will be remembered as heroes for torturing and killing an entire race?" As the group stood silent, pondering what they believed, Koungasenki held up his hands and said "Don't get me wrong! I LOVE doing this! I just get annoyed when people defend this stuff by saying it's a just cause!" Walking around, grinning wickedly (not that one could easily tell), he said "Well, I'm sure if it were the other way around, the Ainu here would say cleansing us from this world is a 'just cause' as well. The fact is, PEOPLE love doing evil things. We shinobi are the prime example of that. We'll gladly kill anyone, so long as we get paid. It's simply human nature. I'm sure you've had comrades killing other comrades over petty matters. Surely you've known of the time we invaded that baron's castle and killed the women and children as well." Koungasenki began to laugh in a manner so cruel it sent shivers down everyone's spine. "Don't cover up your inner evil and defend it with 'just cause'…" A group of prisoners walk by him with an escort, and picked one and stabbed him in the throat. Turning around with his half-smile, half-frown, he shouted "…EMBRACE IT!"

It was then that Kanbiiru noticed someone in the group was missing. "Hey, where's Tsugigure?"

* * *

Yuji made a break for it and ran towards his companion's hiding spot. The two abandoned their captive and got as far away from the camp as possible, but Yuji emphasized that he still wanted to stick close-by.

Soon, they managed to find a cave, and Yuji, using his chakra-enhanced strength, stacked boulders at the entrance to hide themselves. It was cold, but Hyouike found that the cave had plenty of firewood. After lighting a fire, the two stared into it, neither speaking a word.

After a while, Hyouike took a glance at Yuji's eyes, and could instantly see the boy's inner turmoil. "You saw it."

Yuji's breathing increased rapidly, to the point of hyperventilating. He tried to form words, but instead all that came out were inaudible hiccups. Finally, he managed to speak. "Oh god, oh god. What went on in there…" Yuji began to cry softly, and clenched his fists. "I just stood there. I let it all happen." He stared at her with red eyes and yelled "I could have done something!!"

Hyouike, seemingly in a world of her own, responded "If you tried, you would have been killed. They're MY people, and all I could ever do was hide. Did you ever think of how it makes ME feel? Besides…it doesn't take much to get a normal person to enjoy that kind of thing. It makes me wonder if I should just kill them all if I could."

Rubbing his temples, Yuji asked "How long..How long has this been going on!?"

Hyouike emotionlessly answered "Four years. All of them involving me watching from the sidelines. Just last year, I watched as my father lost his hand in a piece of machinery and get discarded."

"Four years!?" Yuji yelled in shock. "Since I was a little kid!? It can't be…surely, the Hokage would…"

"…intervene?" Hyouike asked, with a tone of malicious sarcasm that did not go unnoticed by Yuji. "What would your Hokage have to gain by declaring war and sending his soldiers to death in the name of a humanitarian cause? Especially for us!?"

"You're wrong! The Hokage would…"

"…probably kill us, just like the Nidaime Hokage did."

Whatever Yuji's current train of thought was, it stopped right there. "That's impossible!! We would never…"

"Oh, it certainly happened. We used to live in the Northern Regions of Fire Country, and we travelled in caravans. My grandfather was there at the time it happened; he was probably about ten years old. One day, as he told me, a battalion of Konoha nins had stopped by, ANBU he believed, due to the masks they wore. They started harassing one of our traders, and when he stood up to them, he took a severe beating. He may have even been beaten to death. The rest of his people took note of this, and nearly started a riot. The ninja proclaimed they had the authority of the Nidaime Hokage, and then killed one of the Ainu in the crowd. None of them had weapons, nor did they know a thing about martial arts, so they remained quiet, and from that point on were at their mercy. They then escorted the entire caravan into the village, and placed them in jail. My grandfather didn't know exactly what they were doing, but one by one an occupant was taken out, and never heard from again. His mother managed to find a small hole in the cell, small enough for a child like him, and made him escape. By the time he found a new caravan of Ainu to take him in, he had learned that everyone captured was lynched." Yuji couldn't believe what he just heard. He just could not comprehend his country's leaders allowing something like that to happen… "After that, we left for Earth Country, believing we would be safer there. Ame and Kusa were at war, so we had to take the long way around those two countries. But, as you can see, it turned out to be a case of jumping from the frying pan to the fire." Hyouike then looked at Yuji. "My people have been convenient scapegoats wherever we travelled. Can you honestly say your people have changed? Or that even if your generation has no ill will towards my people, that you can say with a straight face you would treat us as human beings?"

Yuji couldn't answer her, his face showing a blank expression. Instead, he stood up, and walked deeper into the cave, into the pitch black darkness.

* * *

An hour passed, and Yuji finally came walking back towards the fire, now barely anything more than embers. "I had to think. About what I saw. About what you told me." Hyouike just looked at him, curious as to what conclusion he came to. "Quite frankly, I don't know if what you told me was true. Though you convinced me that the event you described actually happened, there has to be more to it. I will find out, one way, or another…but right now, that's not important."

Yuji suddenly took her hand."Wha…?"

"This can't go on. I will not let my soul bear the burden of standing by and doing nothing more so than I already have. I'm going to break up that camp." Hyouike, in response, stared inquisitively at him in disbelief. "It will take time to get ready, and I'm going to need your help."

Hyouike looked at him with hope for a second, then her face scowled and pulled her hand away from him. "Why should I trust you!? In my mind, your people are no different from them!! I bet if your Hokage found it worth the time, he would do the exact same thing."

"If that's so, then why did you help me!?" Yuji asked, failing to hide his annoyance.

Hyouike looked like she was struck across the face, and tried to think up a reasonable response. "I…I don't know!!" she cried, collapsing on her knees. Sobbing softly, she whispered "I just…you were drowning, freezing to death." Hugging herself, she whispered "No matter what kind of person you are…I just can't let anyone like that die. My dad…he helped everyone, no matter what they were. He even treated some Iwa nin when the genocide started. Everyone hated him for it…but he would always argue back 'Selective compassion is good as no compassion at all'. I suppose…I was trying to honor his teachings when I found you."

Yuji then helped her up and brought her to face him. "Then consider this my way of repaying you, and at least part of an apology from my people."

"Wha?"

"You're right, I can't rely on help from Konoha; too many politics will get involved, and by the time any action is approved, too many will be dead. Enough will die as it is while I prepare a plan…"

"You think you can take them all on by yourself!?" Hyouike shouted in disbelief. "You're chunin at best!! Even a high-ranking jonin would have trouble dealing with them all!!"

"My goal is not to take them out; I just need a diversion of some sort to let the Ainu escape. But if does come to that…" Yuji's eyes looked into hers, burning with anger they never had before. "…my hands will crush them all."

* * *

Two Kiri ninja sprinted through a forest, and found their superior officer relaxing atop the trees. "Taifuu-sama!!" they called. They kneeled before the figure lying casually on the branch.

"What is it this time?" the leader asked, clearly annoyed and having no intention of hiding it. "It better be something useful; for days you've found nothing but hunches. But I want something conclusive. Otherwise, don't even bother telling me." The leader gripped what appeared to be a staff. "I'm getting awfully tired of waiting when she could be getting even farther away…"

"We've found her."

This caught the leader's attention. "You're sure?" she asked, slowly and hesitantly.

"Yes, there's no mistaking it. She's with a young man. Right now, we don't know her companion's strength. I think it would be wise to…"

"She has no need for allies. If even that traitor Kisame feared her, then nothing could possibly be a worthwhile ally. Still…" the leader jumped down to the ground. "Attack her. Test her. If any of you manage to wound her…I suppose it's okay if you kill her. If one of you weaklings can knick her, there's no point in fighting her myself. I suppose knowing that she allowed herself to slack off while I pushed my body to the limit is a good enough substitute for revenge. Now, go!!"

Several other Kiri nin appeared from the trees, and made their way into the nearby village…

* * *

"Get going!! The boat will be leaving in 4 hours, and you two are only half-way there!!" a foreman on the docks shouted.

"Yes sir!" Midoriiro replied, carrying a crate across her back. "Come on, Sasuke-chan!"she called, looking behind her. "If we make quota, we'll get a raise tomorrow!!"

Sasuke did his best to make it look like he was trying to move the crate on his back harder without giving away his superbly athletic skills. Midoriiro was the one who suggested in the first place for Sasuke to hide the fact he was a ninja; he knew right from the start though that Midoriiro was secretly hiding some abilities of her own as well. He decided not to bring it up, and from there focused on his work.

"Alright, keep that pace up, and I'll imagine…" The foreman's sentence was cut off as his head flew off his body.

"What the-?" Sasuke felt his arms restrained as hunter-nins grabbed them, and kneed him in the stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him.

"Sasuke-chan!" Midoriiro shouted, running towards Sasuke.

However, another ninja kicked her in the side of the head and sent her sprawling. "Is she really…?"

"There's no way! She can't be the one!!" Midoriiro struggled to stand, only to take an even more severe beating. "She's not even fighting back! Well, you heard what Taifuu-sama told us; if we even land a scratch on her, we have permission to kill her."

The leader of the squad, wearing a wolf-mask, held his hand up. "No, this is too good an opportunity. I want to see what it's like to fight a mist-swordsman."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the man's proclamation. "M-Mist Swordsman? Impossible!!" Sasuke knew right from the beginning that Midoriiro was hiding skills on par with ninja, but to be one of legendary status in his mind was impossible. Sure, she was bat-shit insane…but having seen almost all of the swordsmen, there was no way she could be one; even if she had the skills, she didn't have the murderous personalities of the others.

"Well, Miss Gaikai…it's an honor to meet you." The leader said, then running up and kicked her. "Or it would be if you lived up to your reputation."

Midoriiro coughed in pain, and whimpered "Please, please leave. Take what you want, just leave us in peace, I beg of you."

This only earned her another boot to the head. "Stupid wench!! You're so desperate to protect your identity that you'll die for it!? Pathetic!!" He stomped on her hand, eliciting a scream from her.

"Come on boss, we already know it's her!!" One of the other ninjas shouted. "No point in dragging this out; let's just kill her. Taifuu-sama gave us permission if she wasn't up to the task."

Upon hearing that name, Midoriiro's eyes widened. "Taifuu?"

"What are you doing!? What do you want!?" Sasuke yelled, struggling to break free of his captors.

The two ninja restraining him pressed kunai against the back of his head, and whispered "Hush. Your girlfriend over there is a criminal. Well, by our standards at least." One of them chuckled.

Sasuke didn't know why, but he was hesitant to fight. He could easily kill these men if he wanted; he wagered that he could even beat them without killing one of them. "But will that really make me a better person than I was yesterday? Will I really be helping a criminal?" When Sasuke laid eyes on Midoriiro taking a beating, though, his mind was made up. "Even if she is a mist swordsman…she's still my friend!!"

Before he could act, the leader nin grabbed her by the hair and said "Disgusting. I remember the vicious killer you use to be. It seems violence on yourself does nothing to get you into fighting spirit." Letting her plop to the floor, he then turned to look at Sasuke. Slowly, he began walking towards him.

"That's right, come here, you bastard…" Sasuke thought, preparing a surprise counter.

"If you have fallen as far as I've been lead to believe, maybe you'll respond to a…different stimuli. Watch, as I carve this bum's insides…slowly."

Just as Sasuke got ready to fight back, Midoriiro's eyes opened. But they were a different color. They seemed to be…amber. "Lay one hand on him…and I will gladly give you a free pass to HELL!!" she screamed. She opened her mouth, seemingly regurgitating a scroll into the air. She landed on her hands and preformed a spinning helicopter kick against her two "guards", knocking them out cold. She landed on her feet and caught the scroll before it even landed. Opening it, she revealed her sword.

The leader nin smirked underneath his mask. "Well well. She finally appears: Gaikai Midoriiro…the Bloody Flash of the Mist." The lieutenant suddenly hurled shuriken at her, and she kicked them away. Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke noticed the bottom of her ghettas were metal! "So, I take it you're willing to fight now?"

"When I unsheathe my sword, the next thing everyone sees is fire and brimstone."

The lieutenant replied "We'll see about that."

With a gesture of his hand, a whole swarm of ninjas descended upon her. However, to the naked eye, it seemed that she simply vanished. Then, limbs and blood flew. Sasuke could not believe his Sharingan eyes; even he had difficulty following her movements. Midoriiro had a very unorthodox fighting style; it looked more like she was dancing, jumping in the air, tumbling, and standing on her hands. Her swings were incredibly fast; it seemed she could take just one look at the enemy's eyes, know exactly how they would move, and take them down before they could complete their actions. Finally, there was no one left…except the lieutenant.

"You should leave, Koyoote. If you're no match for Taifuu, you're most certainly not a match for me."

At that moment, Sasuke realized he was so caught up in watching her fight, that he didn't realize his captors released him in order to help the rest of the squad. He turned to Koyoote, and could see that he was trembling. But not enough to back down from a fight. "You figured out who I am. From the sound of my voice, yes? Hah! While Taifuu has been hell-bent on killing you, she doesn't care how! She ordered us to attack you, and kill you if you're not up to her standards. I've once looked up to the swordsmen, and I've always dreamed of proving myself to them. And…" Pulling out two scrolls, the lieutenant hurled two massive shurikens at her. "…that's what I intend to show you!!"

Midoriiro dodged one, and knocked the other right towards his direction, forcing him to dodge. Rushing towards her with claw gauntlets, he struck, but Midoriiro easily countered with her sword, holding back both his weapons while using only one hand to grip her hilt. "Walk away. This is YOUR LAST WARNING!!" Midoriiro flipped onto her free hand, and landed a kick in the man's face, cracking his mask, and sliced his torso. The cut wasn't life-threatening, but no sane ninja would laugh about letting a lethal weapon like that get close.

Now that Sasuke could see his face, it was clear he was visibly shaken. "HAHAHA!!! A real mist swordsman would have cut me in two by now!!!"

"Or she could just be toying with you." Midoriiro replied coldly.

Koyoote's face twisted with anger. "Silence, you bitch!!!" He made hand signs, and began his technique. " Suiton!! Suidakatsu no Jutsu!!" The ground broke apart as a watery serpent rose above it, near Midoriiro, and twisted its coils around her. Once they formed the image of a snake squeezing its prey, the coils began spinning faster and faster until the ground in the middle was torn apart.

"She's going to be torn to pieces!!" Sasuke cried out loud.

Koyoote, on the other hand, was smiling with glee "Ha!! I'm sure to be recognized as one of Kiri's greatest…"

"…fools."

Looking up, Koyoote saw Midoriiro in the air, unharmed. "She jumped right before the coils closed in on her!!"

Midoriiro cried "Hiton!! Ikkatsu Ryu Tsuchi no Jutsu!!!" Chakra channeled through her sword, and as she swung down, a burst of energy like sunlight came crashing down on Koyoote, and a blood curdling scream accompanied the thunderous noise. Sasuke made the mistake of having his Sharingan activated, and the light was too much for him to take. When Sasuke finally opened his eyes once again, he saw the Kiri nin crushed, as if an entire ship was dropped on top of him. Midoriiro stood next to his corpse, clenching her blade in anger. At herself. "I'm sorry." she whispered. She then slowly turned her head to Sasuke, meeting his eyes with her own crimson ones.

* * *

Happy Holidays everyone! Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up by New Year's!

Next Time: Sakura vs. Tobi!

Hyouike-Ice Pond

Shibakakiri-Lawnmower

Gufuken-Tornado Sword

Tsugigire-Patch

Kanbiiru-Beer Can

Koyoote-Coyote

Suidakatsu-Water Serpent

Hiton-Light Release

Ikkatsu Ryu Tsuchi-Thundering Dragon Hammer


	29. If You May Fall, If You May Falter

Hello there! I'm back with another new chapter for your enjoyment!! Things have not been going exactly as planned…but that's life I suppose. Still, what a time to be looking for jobs…XO. So, here it is. Also, I'd like to add that I'm going to respond directly to reviews from now on. This is the last chapter where you will see the last review replies.

Coroamm: Short answer: I'm Jewish. With all the graphic novels and animation out there tackling real-world issues, I've yet to see any either directly talk about the Holocaust or make up an event based on it (with the exception of Maus, but that was based on true accounts). So, I thought I'd give it a try.

Cecixx19: STOP GUESSING!!! YOU'RE RUINING MY STORY FOR EVERYONE!!!

Spazzgirl: Well…you'll see soon enough.

Mrfipp: I think Kakashi is still alive. And yes, Iwa totally goes "Heil Tsuchikage!" And come on…what else did you think Midoriiro was doing with that sword!? She's essentially a feminized hybrid of Kenshin Himura and Mugen.

Disclaimer: If you haven't figured out by now I don't own Naruto…it means you're retarded.

* * *

"Hhhn. Hnn" Shiguri breathed deeply, trying to feel his surroundings. He was buried under an avalanche, and could not see a thing. Consequently, he could hardly breathe.

Except for his front side, he felt nothing but rock. His front side was pressed up against someone's flesh. "Naruto-sensei…you protected me." Shiguri remembered the instant the rocks came down, Naruto shielded him from the impact. Thinking about it, Shiguri didn't understand the feeling inside his belly. He felt…grateful to him. "Grandfather would do the same thing for me." He said assuredly to himself. But as he tried to imagine such a scenario…Danzou just never showed up.

Something like liquid touching his forehead brought him out of his train of thought. Another drop hit his lips. "Is this…blood?" Shiguri realized that Naruto must be bleeding; in this situation, it was likely to be serious. Suddenly, Shiguri felt himself becoming dizzy. "There's not much air here…got to…call…for help." Slowly, making sure he was doing them correctly, Shiguri made a few hand signs. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" A group of small wasps appeared; he couldn't see them, but just the same he knew they were there. "Scatter. Get help. Hurry…there's not much time."

The wasps crawled between the rocks, and once they broke through to the surface, took flight.

* * *

Iori tossed and turned in her sleep, and bolted upright, barely keeping herself from letting out a scream. "A dream…it had to be a dream!" She had been sweating profusely, and her heart was going a mile a minute. This nightmare was something different; not even those about her father have caused her to wake up so frightened. It seemed to start when she was fighting that strange girl. And then…she began fighting other Konoha nins. The weirdest thing was that she felt everything her body did as well; most of the time, she felt her body ache with exhaustion, yet something kept her going. More importantly, she remembered the battles. They were against comrades, and she couldn't stop herself. And she saw her kamas rip their flesh every time…

"You're awake."

Iori turned to her side, and saw a Konoha jonin sitting next to her. She recognized him as one of her sensei's friends, Shikamaru, if she recalled his name correctly. It was then that she observed her surroundings, and realized she was no longer where she was when she fought Genkakushoujou; she certainly did not recall Shikamaru and his team coming in to help hers and set camp in the area. "How…?"

"That's what I would like to know." Shikamaru replied. "You gave us quite a bit of trouble in a very bad place."

Iori then grabbed her heart. "So…everything I've done…was real?"

"Depends. Tell me everything you remember."

Iori told him everything she recalled. In realizing that she remembered everything in the dream, her hopes that it was one sunk. At the end of it all, Shikamaru confirmed that it collaborated with the state she was in when they encountered her. Iori then broke down crying. Shikamaru, though seemingly unsympathetic, patted her on the back. "Don't worry about it, I believe you."

To emphasize his point, Shikamaru shook a glass vile in front of Iori's face. Taking a look, it seemed reddish. "Was that…the berry I ate before my fight?" It looked like more than a chewed up piece of food though; it seemed to sprout moving tentacles.

"Hanabi found this inside of you. She sealed up your chakra points and afterwards, we cut it out of you." Iori, reacting to his sentence, quickly lifted her shirt to see a hideous scar across her abdomen. Shikamaru said "I apologize; I'm not an official medical ninja but I know enough about anatomy and basic non-ninjutsu medical procedures to safely remove that thing from your body. And Hokage-sama should be able to heal the scar, if that's what you're worried about…but you've got other priorities to worry about." He had Iori's full attention now. She seemed to know where he was headed. "Like I said, I believe you're innocent, but I can't take any chances. The fact is you attacked and possibly killed many Konoha shinobi. Someone, namely the families of those you attacked, will want compensation. Not to mention no matter how certain I am, there is always the possibility that you ARE either lying or your condition is not yet under control; as such, I have to choice but to treat you as a criminal until you're tried."

It was right then that Iori noticed her heels were tied with an explosive tag. If she broke free, her legs would be blown off; it wasn't enough to kill her though, although for a shinobi that scenario was arguably worse. Sighing, knowing that Shikamaru had her best interests at heart, she murmured "I understand."

Shikamaru then lay down and murmured "Say thanks to Hanabi when we wake up. If it wasn't for her, I would've assumed you were an outright traitor and disposed of you." Shikamaru didn't really mean that; Naruto would've probably killed him, and to be honest, he wouldn't feel great about that either. But in the same situation, he figured most others would. Besides, no reason not to teach kids good manners. Especially if they studied under Naruto of all people.

Iori didn't sleep. Instead, she stared into the dark night sky. "Daddy…did something like this happen to you, back at home?" Iori feared that while her actions may not have been hers to control, just like her father, because of it she would be shunned…

* * *

Sasuke and Midoriiro ran through the forest, knowing danger was not far away. Neither one of them spoke a word; Sasuke was in too much shock to fully comprehend Midoriiro's true identity, and he doubted Midoriiro was in a mood to explain herself.

"_The last one of us would never have agreed to go along with this, that bitch."_

Thinking back to what Lei Gong told him, it was certainly possible. He did refer to the supposedly living but missing swordsmen in such a term that had a specific connotation to it, and he most certainly would have never believed Midoriiro was a mist swordsman had those ninja not said so. "I want…no, I NEED answers." He thought. He trusted her, but he had to understand what made her the person he was getting to know the past two months.

Sasuke broke out of his thoughts and noticed Midoriiro had picked up speed. Sasuke matched it and grabbed her sleeve. Reflexively, Midoriiro pulled out her sword and tried to slash Sasuke in self-defense; fortunately, he anticipated that reaction and locked her elbow, keeping the blade away from him. Midoriiro relaxed immediately upon seeing it was him. "Midoriiro, we need to talk!"

She simply turned around, and sheathed her sword. "What you heard was true. I doubt you really want to 'talk' to me." Her tone seemed to have both anger and fear.

Midoriiro walked away, refusing to look at Sasuke. "What? You think that I would think any less of you?" he asked in response.

"You heard them, I'm one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. My comrades aren't exactly known for humanitarian work. If you knew who I was right from the start, you probably would have clawed your way through the wall to escape."

Sasuke chuckled slightly. "Not really, no. I wasn't in the best condition when you found me, but I'm quite confident in my ability to protect myself. Besides, I fought Zabuza as a child. Granted, I had help, but I know what you guys are capable of. Not to mention the fact that I recently hired a couple of them, although that didn't exactly work well in the end."

This seemed to catch Midoriiro's attention. It did not, however, get her to trust him more. If anything, she was newly suspicious of him. "Who ARE you exactly?"

Sasuke looked around, making sure no one was listening. "I'll tell you…but not now. First, we need to get out of here, find another village. Then, I want you to tell me about yourself first. Maybe then, I can help you."

Midoriiro looked at him in shock. "What makes him think HE can help ME!?" Despite her doubts, something told her to follow Sasuke's lead this time.

* * *

Dawn. It wasn't much of a sight to behold at the present time; it was raining, and there was no majestic sun to greet the land. Then again, sight-seeing wasn't the reason why a group of Konoha shinobi were there. They were having a light breakfast before their mission, and the weather was making cooking a tad bit difficult.

"Man. A war, a wasteland, and rain. Some trip this is turning out to be, huh?" The others laughed jovially, glad someone could lighten up the mood.

"Come on, guys. We've got work to do, and to make matters worse, we're in enemy territory." The captain ordered.

"Aw man, you're no fun!" one of them whined.

As the shinobi finished their breakfast, one of them started to brush his shoulder furiously.

"What's the matter, Tora?" the one kunoichi in the group asked.

"Some damn bee or something! It won't leave me alone!" The said creature finally departed his "victim's" shoulder, and moved over to the leader. "Slice it up with a kunai already, you won't ruin it!!" the last host said. Then, the insect left the leader's head. And his head followed it. "Uh, sir?"

The leader remained silent. He then turned to his comrades and sternly whispered "Follow that bug."

"What!?"

Reluctantly, the team followed their leader. After a few minutes, one of them asked "Sir, what is it about this insect that's compelling you to follow?"

"I believe it is a summon. One this small most likely means that the ninja it has a contract with is too weak to move and has been looking for help."

"What if they're Iwa nin?"

"If they are, we will help them regardless, and someone will take them back to Konoha for interrogation. And…" the leader fingered his weapons pouch. "…I'm prepared just in case; this could well be a trap."

For a half an hour, they followed it up a mountain, and then the bug dove down into the cliff. "Boss, come on!! There's nothing here but a pile of rocks!!"

The leader, instead, knelt down and observed the area. Running his hand across the ground, he picked up some burned paper. Observing it, he noted "This looks like the remains of an explosive tag. Margay! Give me the map!" The kunoichi handed the leader the map, and he laid it out on the ground. The others gathered around him to keep it dry as possible. Pointing to the map, the leader stressed "This is supposed to be the location of Gouman Mountain." Pulling out a photograph, he had everyone look at it. "This was a photo taken from a native peasant in the country about 3 months ago. It seems to have undergone extensive damage, and I have reason to believe it was man-made. There is a huge group of boulders down there that was absent recently, and this paper here looks like they belonged to explosive tags at one point. I suspect someone got caught under an avalanche."

The leader stood up and yelled "Kurosai, Kangaroo: You two go ahead with the mission, only two were needed anyway. The rest of you, help me clear away this debris, quickly!!"

"Yes, Iruka Taichou!!"

* * *

"Dude! It's going to take days for to get through all this debris all by ourselves!! Captain Iruka, I strongly suggest we regroup with our comrades in Southern Iwa country!!"

"No!" Iruka responded. "Whoever is under here could die any minute!! We have to dig them out now!! Besides…" Iruka scanned the rocky landscape, and saw a small poof of smoke. "…I figure the summon will do everything it can to let us know where to start looking." Iruka hurried to where it landed before disappearing; it was very likely at this point the person who summoned it did not have much time left.

Lifting the boulders as best he could, he went to work. It must have been a good hour before he came across an article of clothing, proving his suspicions correct that someone was caught under the avalanche. But Iruka's eyes widened as he inspected the cloth; it was a patch, sporting the pattern of a whirlpool. "No…it can't be…" Iruka began digging through the rocks feverishly, like a man possessed. Taking note of this, his comrades ran over to help him.

Too long by Iruka's standards, they finally found him. "Naruto…" Iruka did his best fight back his tears, and pulled Naruto out of the debris. It was then that they noticed Shiguri. As the others pulled him out, Iruka could not help but look at Naruto. He was deathly pale, and covered in caked blood. Much to his relief, Iruka felt a pulse from him. Faint, but it was there. Turning his attention to Shiguri, he yelled "How is he!?"

One of his teammates inspected him, and replied "Same condition as that fella, I reckon. They're too weak to be moved safely, but we can treat them well enough."

Iruka cradled Naruto in his arms, noting how big he had gotten over the years. "Right. Let's find a camp site promptly. We'll treat them until they're well enough to be taken into Konoha."

"Yes sir!"

* * *

Yuji lit up another candle, inspecting a map. The other day, he found out about one of the guards at the camp being arachnophobic. Figuring it was a perfect time to sign the contract that once belonged to his father, he exploited that weakness, and mentally tortured the guard into giving it to him. Yuji made sure afterwards that he would go to a place free of all spiders. "Hopefully, he'll face something much more frightening down there." He thought as he remembered that day. He focused back on the map, reminding himself that combined with faking the disguise with the kid and the recent disposal of that guard, he exposed himself and Hyouike. The Iwa nin knew they were somewhere in the area, and it was only a matter of time before they decided to check the cave.

As he and Hyouike continued to inspect the map, Hyouike broke the silence. "Just how are you going to pull this off? They've already been on to us for days, and it's only a matter of time before they come looking into this cave."

"I know, I know!" Yuji yelled, annoyed and exhausted. "Your bickering doesn't help matters any." Just then, something on the map caught his eye. "This trench…this is where they pile the bodies, correct?"

Hyouike's face twisted at the way he said that. "Noting the unemotional tone of your voice, yes, that's probably where they put my parents at some point."

Yuji sighed "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just…I've been so obsessed about tearing the place down that I haven't thought about what actually went on there as much."

Hyouike gave him a nasty stare. "Kind of odd, considering you CLAIMED they were the reason you decided to try something as crazy as this."

Sighing, Yuji responded "Anyway, I had an idea…although you're not going to like it part of it."

"Oh?" Hyouike had a bad feeling about the way he said that. "Probably something perverted."

Yuji explained his first part of the plan. Hyouike screamed "WHAT!? Don't you have any respect for the dead!?"

Yuji gestured her to calm down. "On those grounds, I don't like it any more than you do. But unless you've got an alternative, that's our only option so far."

Hyouike reluctantly calmed down. "Fine. But the rest better be good."

Yuji continued. "Second, the underground gas tanks. We need to light them up. Once that happens, combined with the first step, it will create absolute panic. With the power off, we can easily tear down the fences and help everyone escape. Now, to cover ourselves…" Yuji pointed to someplace east of the camp. "I noticed there was a dam here. I figure we can set some explosives inside, and once we blow it, it will flood the camp, ensuring our escape."

"Impossible!" Hyouike shouted in disbelief. "The timing would have to be just right!! Not only that, but there's no way even a ninja can trigger an explosion from such a long distance!!"

"That would be true. Except I HAVE found a way. It's risky though…but as my old man said, 'When there are no other options, the risk is always worth it.'" Yuji gave a grim smile. Too bad it didn't get him one in return.

* * *

_Naruto jumped through the forest at a speed he didn't think was possible for him. The only thing that was moving faster than him was his beating heart. He felt deathly afraid too. And the oddest part was…he didn't know why. _

_Finally, he arrived at Konoha, only to find out something was wrong. The first thing he noticed was that the Hokage monuments were smashed. "Who…who did this!?" Naruto ran right into the village, and then made another horrifying discovery: It was deserted. Not only that, but every building showed signs of battle. Naruto tried to scream the names of people he knew, but he choked every time he did. As he walked to the other side, he found the explanation for the lack of people: Graves. Graves everywhere. "No! It can't be!! Everyone's…dead!?" _

_He couldn't exactly count them, there were too many…but it seemed to be enough to populate Konoha. Instead of proper graves, crosses made of wood were used to commemorate the dead. Whoever buried them must not have had any help. Realizing what that meant, Naruto looked closer and saw articles of clothing and personal possessions at each grave. One had an Icha Icha book on the stick. Another had a set of art material next to it. Another had a crown with the character "Oil" on it. The next thing that caught his attention was a very familiar jacket with the character of "Gamble" on it. He recognized immediately for whom these graves were for. "Kakashi-sensei!! Sai!! Ero-senin!! Ba-chan!!" Then something else occurred to him. "If everyone is gone…no, I won't allow it!!" _

_Naruto ran through the graves, seeing familiar things that stood as symbols for his fallen friends. However, at the moment, only one mattered to him. He had to be sure SHE was safe. He came to a screeching halt when he finally found it, and collapsed onto his knees. He found a grave with a simple Konoha headband on it. What made this one stand out though, was that the fabric was red. It was Sakura's. Naruto felt the overwhelming urge to cry and scream, but something wouldn't let him. _

"_There's still time." A strange voice said. _

_Naruto turned around and saw someone behind him. His face was covered in the shadows. "What?" he asked._

"_This is simply the future. A future that does not have to occur; there's still time to change it." _

_Naruto stood up, a part of him surging with renewed hope, another part overwhelmed with pessimism that he normally never felt. Despite his conflicting feelings on the man's statement, he desperately asked "What do I need to do!? Tell me!!" _

_The figure didn't even move out of the shadows to let him see his face. "Be honest with your feelings…there is only one person you need to save, and in doing so, you will save all." _

_Just then, the figure began to turn and walk away. "Wait!" Naruto screamed. "Who are you!? Who do I need to save!?" Naruto ran to catch up with him. "Tell me who you are!!!" Naruto finally reached him, and spun him around so that he was facing the blonde jinchuriki. However, before he could get a good look, some force began pulling Naruto away. The one feature he did see was the man's blond hair…_

* * *

Naruto blinked his eyes twice, and his vision finally came into focus. He realized he seemed to be looking into the night sky. He started to sit up, but stopped when pain racked his body. "I seem to find myself in these situations all the time these days." he noted. Naruto suddenly remembered the avalanche he was buried under. His eyes shot up in realization, and just as he was about to call out Shiguri's name…

"He's fine."

Naruto turned his head, and saw a very familiar and relieved face looking back at him, with a scar he would always remember. "Ir…Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka smiled warmly and patted him on the head. "It's been a long time. I guess we've both been busy with so many other things." Iruka began to help Naruto sit up against a rock, and offered him something to drink. Naruto drank it, and nearly spat it out discovering it was medicine, but finished it realizing it was for his own good. "You did a good job, Naruto." Iruka commented. "You protected Shiguri there when the avalanche came, didn't you? If you hadn't done that and taken the worst of it for him, he probably would've been killed."

"No." Naruto whispered.

"Huh?"

"I'm nothing but a screw-up!!" Naruto screamed, although in his state it barely came out as more than a whisper. "Yuji and Iori are dead because of me!!!"

Iruka's eyes widened as Naruto began to cry. "Naruto, Naruto!" Iruka made the jinchuriki face him. "Naruto…tell me everything that happened."

Naruto did…and that included what he found out about Iwa's latest battle plan. "No." Iruka whispered in disbelief.

"Yes. They're going to siege Konoha, and take every civilian and child they can hostage." Naruto looked into the fire. "I don't know what they'll demand if they achieve their objective…but I bet it has something to do with me."

Iruka nodded. He knew that Akatsuki was involved, and was gravely concerned for his well-being ever since. But even so, he couldn't be treated as a child to be protected; if they kept him in the village, they would have come for the young man anyway. "When did you find this out!?" Iruka demanded.

Naruto tried to remember, and his eyes widened in horror. "What day did you find me!?"

"It was three days ago, Sunday."

"It was the day before I was buried by the avalanche!!"

Iruka stood up and said "There may still be time." Iruka turned around and said "Zou! You heard him! We have to sprint for Konoha and inform Hokage-sama! Margay, Kangaroo, you stay here with these two, and once they're able to move, get back to Konoha as quickly as you can!"

"Yes sir!" The team replied.

Naruto began to stand. "I've got to go! They'll…"

Naruto, much to his disappointment, was restrained by Iruka. "No! What good do you think you can do right now!? You're more likely to get captured by the Akatsuki if anything else in your condition!" Naruto laid back down, frustrated that he couldn't do anything.

The Kunoichi, Margay, walked towards the two men. "I'd have expected most people to have died at any minute, even with treatment. You, however, not only survived, but you're recovering at a rate unheard of. In a few days, I'd expect you to fully recover…perhaps even tomorrow."

Naruto calmed down, if only slightly. "And Shiguri?"

"I'd imagine if you didn't shield him from the rock slide, he would have died. He's still hurt badly, but I feel I can get him back up to fighting condition within a few days." Margay bowed, and went back to attending to Shiguri.

Iruka then said "Look, Naruto. There's nothing you can do about the upcoming battle right now. And unfortunately, I'm needed back there. Since this will be a big battle…I think it's time we had a talk. Naruto…I know you found out about your real father."

Naruto sighed and looked away. Needless to say, this was a topic he would've jumped off a cliff to avoid. But, knowing Iruka, he would probably press him to the point of insanity. Best to get it over with. "So, what's your point?" Naruto asked, pretending like it was not that important of an issue.

"Naruto…I know that you've been shutting off everyone who knew." Naruto tried to think of a scathing retort, but found that the rage he had was once gone. As if reading his emotions, Iruka said "Once we form bonds with people, not even the deepest hatred can break them. You may be angry about what they did…but the fact is you still love them very much…including me."

Naruto gritted his teeth and shouted "And just what am I supposed to do about it!? They lied to me…YOU lied to me. How can I just forgive you all for keeping the truth away from me!?" Naruto couldn't understand why, but the comment felt completely forced. Not only that, but he could have sworn he felt his heart sink.

Iruka sighed in disappointment. "Sounds to me like you're thinking of some kind of revenge."

Thoughts of Sasuke immediately came to Naruto's mind at the mention of revenge.

"Naruto, I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you so many times. But think about it…back in the academy, you failed three times. If you knew the Yodaime was your father, a number of things could have happened…none of them good. For one, you might think that being his son would motivate you to do better. But because you were such a screw-up back then, you probably would have thought of yourself as even more of a failure; after all, your father was such a great man, and what did you have to show for it? There was also the possibility that in finding out about your father, your ego would have gotten over-inflated, and as a result, become a brat who felt he was entitled to everything. Even though you were something of a pain back then, at least you earnestly tried. Bragging about it could have gotten you killed, too. But more importantly, the decision was made in order to protect you from yourself. We knew that no matter what the Yodaime's will was, you would be hated. The Sandaime thought it would be best if you didn't know; otherwise, I couldn't imagine how you would feel as a child if you knew you were the son of one of our greatest heroes, and mistreated. Also, if nothing else, at least the village would always remember him as a hero; if the children knew otherwise, they possibly would have grown up hating him as well."

Naruto stared at him wide-eyed as he took in everything he was told. He tried to think of some good counterpoints…but nothing came to him. Iruka placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Naruto… believe me, the higher-ups who cared about you believed you had a right to know once you became of age. If nothing else, all the good and bad experiences you've had made you the person you are right now. And..." Iruka looked at him with the most earnest smile. "…I think making everyone believe you were once a nobody has actually helped you earn the respect of many more than you would have otherwise."

Naruto took a moment to ponder it. "Would…would I have won as many friends as I did if they attributed my progress as being the son of the fourth?"

Iruka stood up suddenly. "That's all I wanted to say. I need to get going now. I just felt that we had to talk about it…after all, anything could go wrong." Iruka chuckled nervously. "Naruto…" Iruka pulled Naruto into a hug. "I just want to let you know I am very proud of you. Though many still hate you, you have inspired so many others. You've grown so much and yet never lost what made you you, and you're the best thing that's ever happened in my life. Your parents…they would be very proud of you." With that, Iruka rose up. "Get well soon! After this is all over, we'll celebrate at Ichiraku!!!" Iruka and his companion vanished from sight, leaving Naruto and Shiguri in the care of the kunoichi.

* * *

Thunder boomed in the night sky. Rain soon followed. Unable to reach another village in time, Sasuke and Midoriiro made a make-shift hut with bark and leaves; neither was too happy about it though... "Just until tomorrow morning." Sasuke said. "We'll continue on our way then." Sasuke then turned to look at Midoriiro, and was instantly reminded of the change she underwent since her secret leaked out.

Instead of the cheery yet insane woman he had come to know, Midoriiro showed perhaps the saddest expression he had ever seen. Her tension was evident in the way she gripped her sword. Sasuke decided it was time for him to know the truth. Granted, it wouldn't exactly cheer up Midoriiro…but at least he would later know how to help. "Midoriiro…we're not going anywhere. And I doubt either one of us is going to sleep well. You might as well tell me everything." Not sure if his request got through, he turned her face to meet his, and said "I HAVE to know."

Midoriiro turned away and sighed. "I dunno…I'm pretty sure after what I tell you, you'd rather risk getting struck by lightning than stay with me."

Sasuke replied with the utmost conviction "I'll be the judge of that. Besides, I told you that I've done terrible things myself. Just tell me."

"Why?" Midoriiro asked, still in doubt of his honesty.

"Because I know what it's like to have a past you're ashamed of."

The two remained silent and stared out of their shelter for what seemed to be eternity, and Midoriiro finally said "Alright. But I won't blame you if you want nothing to do with me afterwards."

She took a deep breath, and still avoiding eye contact with Sasuke, began. "Like any child in Kirigakure, I started out in the so-called academy. Our school was much harsher than other ninja schools; we received lashes for every point missed on the written exams, and even during just basic training some kids will die. All drilling it into us that it was no game. I'd imagine that the other schools in the four shinobi nations at least allow their children to be kids; where I went, everyone was forced to become an adult too early. There were many, many times were I wanted to just give up and let them kill me…"

"So, what kept you going?"

"My family... or to be more accurate, one member of my family. I had parents, and a little sister. I suppose I didn't exactly love my parents…they were more than a little stern…but my sister was my best friend. Since we were only a year apart, we attended the same academy and confided in one another after training was done. I was worried what would happen if I let myself be killed…Taifuu would probably be lost, and she would have never made it. So for her sake, I kept pushing myself…and then came do or die day."

Sasuke immediately guessed what that meant. "You had to kill someone, or be killed."

Midoriiro nodded. "You're familiar with our 'customs'?" Sasuke caught the tone of sarcasm in the word customs.

"When I was twelve, my comrades and I encountered Momochi Zabuza. Our sensei explained that back when he was a kid, it was a graduation requirement to kill a classmate. Zabuza, however, killed his entire class, causing the village to reform its policies. You're only a couple of years older than me at best, so I doubt you were around at that time…"

"The policy change was only that the students were not allowed to kill a peer. Instead, we were pitted against convicted criminals who were not shinobi, mainly ronin. Even for the average genin, though, they were a dangerous threat. When my turn came, I feared for my life…the man was burly, and he enjoyed killing. 'The steel ogre', they called him. His skin was so hard that shuriken was ineffective. All I had were kunai and shuriken at the time; the jutsus I knew were the same as any other genin, and my taijutsu grades were a little below average. He shrugged off all of my attacks, and slammed me into the corner. He just laughed at my slumped form, hoping to toy with me some more. More than ever before, I feared for my life. He was too strong…and that's when something in me snapped. I stood up, and the ones watching later told me I had an intense look in my eyes that they had never seen before. 'If I can't beat you in sheer strength, I'll overwhelm you with speed!' Those were the words I remember shouting. I pushed my body like never before, and I ran all around him, avoiding his blows before he cocked his fists, and with nothing but a bent shuriken, cut him in all his vital areas. Soon, he went down and bled to death. Initially, I was horrified at what I had done. The teachers looked rather surprised as well; they in fact seemed stunned speechless. After assuring me that I passed, and that I would not be punished, they gave me a private instructor. He was one of the seven swordsmen, the 'Bloody Flash of the Mist'. He was well known for being virtually untouchable; he was said to be so fast that he could dodge a beam of light. Apparently, he saw the potential in me to succeed him. For him, I wasn't an easy student."

"Why is that?" Sasuke asked.

"Because I hated killing. As he found out, I would do it to save myself or others, but I would never kill as an aggressor. It was when he got Mizukage to hold my sister hostage without my family's knowledge did I finally cooperate. So for years, to ensure my sister's safety, I killed. It broke my heart every time I did an assassination, but my desire to keep Taifuu safe kept me going still. One day, I was forced to kill an entire family. I was beyond sickened at what I had done; I should have impaled myself there, but no, I returned to my sensei after reporting to the Mizukage. I usually trained with my sensei after completing a mission, but this time, we would not be training. No, I planned to make him fight for his life. It was no walk in the park, but I finally managed to land a fatal blow on him. I expected…no, I WANTED to see the utter shock on his face. I wanted to try to beg for me to spare his life, only for no sound to reach my ears. Instead…he smiled. It took me years to figure it out; he wanted me to kill him, from the beginning. He wanted me to BECOME him. I thought I would be free at last, but that smile made me feel trapped, like I could never be anything else but a killer. I continued to follow my orders. Soon after, I was reunited with Taifuu. While my parents were unchanged, she had grown up. She was strong, beautiful… …soon, we began working along side each other. We had a bond deeper than any pair of siblings in the village ever did. But then, IT happened…"

"What?" Sasuke asked. He was really beginning to feel sorry for Midoriiro; he put himself in the shadows, while Midoriiro had no choice in the matter.

"…the Kekkei Genkai massacre."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Naruto told him Haku's story; it saddened him that Haku died before he regained consciousness. He knew what it was like to have one's clan massacred. What shocked him even more was that Haku did not desire revenge…

"I don't know why it took so long, but I finally vowed to never let anyone control me. I could not allow people to be massacred because of something they were born with. So I turned on my comrades. Eventually, I encountered my parents. They were loyal to Kirigakure to the point where they saw me as nothing more than a traitor, and attacked. I was on the defensive, begging with them to stop, but nothing got through. They never saw me as their own flesh and blood, just breeding stock to give to Mizukage. When they managed to pin me down, and prepared to stab me, something in me screamed for me to live. I fought back…and in one stroke, I hacked them both down."

Midoriiro was brought out of her reminiscing when Sasuke suddenly clutched his forehead in pain. "Sasuke!? What's wrong!?"

Sasuke's mind was being tormented, tormented with memories of the past. Of Itachi. He remembered all the good times he had with his brother, then the cryptic message he gave him…

"_In order to overcome your barriers, you and I have to continue living together. Even if it means hating each other; that's what being an elder brother means…" _

Then the night of the massacre. The night Sasuke vowed his revenge. But some other memory showed up on that same night. After Itachi's challenge, Sasuke chased after him across the rooftops. Finding some shuriken stuck to the walls, he grabbed them and flung them at Itachi, who was still in his sights. A resounding clank alerted him that he at least nicked his victim. He touched down around the same time as Itachi, and noticed his headband was on the ground. Sasuke ran to attack him again, but stumbled, realizing he landed wrong. Itachi picked up his headband, and the two brothers met face to face. And Sasuke's eyes widened in shock: Itachi was crying…

"Sasuke!?"

Sasuke snapped back to the real world, and noticed he was lying on his side and his hands were pressed firmly against his temple. "Wh-What happened?"

"You passed out, kind of. You were grabbing your head and moaning, like you were having a migraine. You also kept muttering one word…Itachi…"

Sasuke slowly sat up, realizing what caused him to throw a fit. "You said you killed your parents." Midoriiro's eyes widened in shock, and she looked away. "Yes…"

"And I take it your sister witnessed you, and now she's after you for revenge." Midoriiro's eyes widened even more than before. "H-How did you guess that!?"

Sasuke looked at her silently for the longest time. "Lucky guess. So, with that knowledge…just what are you doing now?"

Midoriiro looked up into the sky, now showing signs of daybreak, answered "Repentance. Or to be more precise, I've been searching for it ever since."

Slowly, Sasuke stood up. "So have I."

"Huh?"

Realizing that he did not tell her his story, Sasuke replied "Sorry. I…I just can't tell you…yet…." Sasuke turned to look right into Midoriiro's eyes, which caused her heart to skip a beat.

"What was that?" Midoriiro thought. It got her excited, but not in the same way a battle would…

"Come on." Sasuke said, offering his hand to Midoriiro. The woman looked confused for a moment, then took it.

"Sorry." Midoriiro whispered. "I'm not used to people offering me a hand." Sasuke smiled slightly, and said "I'm not used to offering people a hand. Come on."

Without warning, he made a mad dash and pulled Midoriiro with her. "What's with this guy?" she wondered. Yet, telling him everything, and the fact that he still wanted to stay with her…made her feel strangely happy…maybe even a bit more than that…

* * *

A young woman arrived at the remnants of the battle that occurred the night before. She had long blue hair, and jade eyes. Her outfit was standard hunter nin attire, and was quite tight. She wore her Kiri headband across her waist, hence it had a longer sash. She carried something long, wrapped in cloth; a weapon presumably. After all, her sister had a weapon; it would be wise to have just as good a tool as well. According to the report, there was only one survivor. "Mizukage-sama will take care of him." she thought. The special ops had taken the bodies away and burned them. Still, there was plenty of evidence to show that a battle had taken place: shuriken embedded in the ground, blood spears, and a crater, signifying the power of a jutsu to be taken seriously. "Well, dear sister; I see you haven't lost your touch."

"Indeed." another voice said, startling the young woman.

She looked behind her, and her eyes widened in shock. She dropped her accessory and bowed quickly. "Mizukage-sama!!"

The Mizukage wore the standard kage robes and hat. And that was about all anyone could tell about him; his head was always down, never revealing it to the outside. This was not unusual among Kiri nins; it was standard custom for the Mizukage to hide his face. Even the selection process was a closely guarded secret. "You may rise, my child." Taifuu rose, avoiding eye contact with the superior shinobi. "I know it must pain you to hunt down the only family you have left…"

"She is no family of mine; not anymore." Taifuu responded.

The Mizukage barely nodded. He wasn't sure if she really meant that, but her voice was sure enough to indicate to him that at least she would fight. "Your loyalty to your village knows no bounds; a fine example to all Kiri nin. Anyway, I believe you know that despite all this carnage, that there was one survivor."

Taifuu huffed. "So be done with him." Kirigakure took "Failure is not an option" to the extreme.

"We did. But you see, he had an important piece of information for us before he 'died of his wounds.' He told us that a young man was with her…a man with the Sharingan…"

This caught Taifuu's attention. "The Sharingan? Yes, I have heard of it…but I was lead to believe the entire clan was wiped out…"

"It was. But there were two individuals with the Sharingan who survived. There's Hatake Kakashi, who was the one who killed Zabuza, which I need to thank him for sometime. The other was Uchiha Itachi; he was said to have joined Akatsuki along with my brother, but Kisame's body was recently found, and we imagine that Itachi met the same fate as he... It seems someone managed to escape that massacre…"

"Excuse me, Mizukage-sama. With all due respect, even if this boy possesses the Sharingan, I know I can take him." Taifuu clenched her fist in determination…

"That might be true. But even if you could, he would not be an easy opponent. You would be completely drained by the time you killed him, and when you go to confront your sister, your quest for revenge will have been wasted."

Taifuu gritted her teeth, wanting to make a sharp retort, but she knew he was right. "What do you suggest, my lord?" she asked in defeat.

"We must separate them. Draw Midoriiro to you. The special ops will take care of the Uchiha. No matter how strong he is, at best he can only hope to take them to hell with him."

"As you wish, my lord." Taifuu said, and bowed in respect. "Just what do you plan to do in order to bring Midoriiro to me?"

The Mizukage smiled under the shade of his hat. "I heard Konoha was at war. On top of that, right before their campaign, their village was attacked and in disarray. I think if we can get our marines to Fire Country, we'll have something quite useful on our hands." The Mizukage walked away, with his hands joined together behind his back.

Taifuu was uncertain about something. Casting a sideways glance to the floor, she asked "Sir, if she complies…will you really call of the attack?"

The Mizukage stopped. "And of what concern is it to you, my child?"

Realizing her mistake, Taifuu kneeled. "Forgive me, my lord!"

With that, the Mizukage continued back to his carriage, formulating his plan…

* * *

Shikamaru finished tying Iori's wrists. "Okay then. Hokage-sama is sure as hell going to be pissed with me for not finishing the mission; but she'll understand the importance of me coming back soon enough. Okay, let's go!!"

Shikamaru led his team and Iori through the forest. It was in many ways the safest and most dangerous way to go back to Konoha. It was safest in the sense that the foliage gave them good cover. Dangerous in the sense that the same applied to any potential enemies who knew the forest. Fortunately, Iori informed them that her team passed through here not too long ago; any would-be enemies should have been dispatched by now, and it would probably be a while before Iwa could replace them. Looking ahead of her, Iori noticed Hanabi walking alongside her sensei. Deciding now was the best time, Iori spoke "Um, Hanabi-san? You were the one…who got that thing out of me?"

There was a long moment of silence between the two, making Iori fear that Hanabi wanted absolutely nothing to do with her beyond escorting her. However, her fears were relieved when the Hyuuga finally answered "Yes."

Iori smiled slightly. "I just wanted to say…thank you. I don't think I could live with myself if I wound up killing anybody." Iori, remembering her dreams, then hung her head down low and muttered "Assuming I didn't before I found you guys."

Hanabi, without even looking back, replied "Don't worry; I believe it's not your fault."

Iori's face elated once again. "Really!?"

"You had no sense of self, and I doubt you would have got it back had that parasite not been removed. On top of it all, it was pushing you to exhaustion; I don't know where you get that endurance, but eventually, you would have died of sheer exhaustion. I couldn't imagine you taking that thing willingly too; no one would trade their free will for power."

Shikamaru was tempted to tell them about Sasuke, but decided it wasn't relevant at the moment. Just as Iori was about to say thank you again, Hanabi intersected. "However, the fact is you may have killed someone, or some people, on our side. While I'm sure it's not your fault, the fact is you must still be tried."

Iori hung her head down low, knowing she could not argue her way out of that. "Yeah."

Soon, Shikamaru called for another camp to be set up. It was odd to the others, because It was barely dusk, but then again, they had been walking for quite a while. Even stranger, Shikamaru asked Hanabi to guard Iori while he checked the area, while Uryuu and Kenshin stayed with them. The four adolescents just stood there in silence.

Minutes passed. Eventually, the group was beginning to think a full hour passed. Surprisingly, it was getting to Iori the most. Finally, she shouted "Alright, he has to be up to something!!"

Hanabi didn't verbally voice her opinion, but she had to agree. Even though she was a capable chunin, her sensei as a guard due to his Kage Mane was a much better choice in case Iori tried to make a break for it. However, after some pondering, she figured out exactly what her sensei was trying to do. Shikamaru didn't do much with Hanabi other than ask her side of the story. Shikamaru left any actual interrogating to Hanabi. It took her a while to figure out why, though. Shikamaru probably guessed Iori was naturally defensive around adults, and figured if questioned by a girl her age, she would relax and slip up any important information much easier, thinking she was with a friend. Hanabi had heard of the tactic used in some areas, even though it was rare and often mocked. With nothing better to do, she decided to give it a try. "So…was being a chunin everything you expected to be?" Best to start this type of interrogation with an out of the blue conversation.

Iori looked at her dumbfounded for a good minute, not knowing how to respond. Finally, figuring that it had nothing to do with her alleged "crimes", she muttered "To be honest, if they told me I was going to do all this just as a chunin, I'd have either signed up for early retirement or demand another promotion. Kind of ironic that before I was so gun-hoe about these sorts of things, and now all I feel like doing are menial chores at best."

Hanabi, to her surprise, chuckled at it. "Yes, I know they're desperate, but couldn't they at least give us a major pay raise?" The two girls began to laugh together, leaving the two boys clueless as to what was going on. "At least, that's what I think Hokage-sama should do!!" Hanabi said.

Iori replied "I suppose, but then again, compared to Naruto-sensei, I'm not worth much."

"Speaking of which, do you have any idea where they are now? They must be looking for you and worried sick." Hanabi laid her trap, waiting to see if anything slipped up.

Iori sighed "No. Everything was a haze after my fight with that purple-haired bitch. I don't recall seeing during my drugged-out state, so I'm hopeful that they're okay. Then again…" Iori started to sob softly. "…ever since you found me, we haven't heard squat from them. If they really followed me, they would have stopped me. Or maybe I really did kill them…"

Before she broke into a complete breakdown, Hanabi hugged her and patted her furiously on the back. "Don't worry, I'm sure they're alright! Neji-nisan and Hinata-neechan have spoken very highly of your sensei; from what I've heard from them, in this situation he's probably looking for you right now, worried sick about you and not caring about what you have done!!" Iori finally calmed down, and Hanabi whispered "It's going to be okay." several times. Assuming Iori willingly assaulted other Konoha nin, the only motives Hanabi could think of was some kind of resentment between her and the Hokage, or her team. Iori's disposition to the Hokage was neutral at worst, and the way she broke down proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was nothing going on between her and her team. As far as Hanabi was concerned, she was innocent, but she still needed to be tried by the council and judged by the Hokage. "I'm sorry I brought that up." Hanabi said, taking a seat next to Iori.

"Don't worry about it." Iori replied, wiping her tears with a handkerchief Hanabi gave her.

Hanabi's expression softened, and remembered something else. "By the way…I've been meaning to tell you for a while now, but with this crazy war, I've never had a chance."

"What?" Iori asked, quite perplexed.

"Back in the final rounds of the exam, I said some mean things to you. Mean, egotistical things."

Iori thought back, and remembered how she babbled about the Hyuuga being the greatest clan ever. Or something to that effect. "Oh."

"The truth is, I never really meant what I said, even though I was determined to win. I was trying to psyche you out, and I feel that I went too far. So…" Hanabi got up, faced Iori directly, and bowed. "My deepest apologies for what I had said. I was simply talking trash, but my way made it sound like you would never be a capable ninja."

Iori looked at her quizzically. After a second, she replied "Okay. I accept your apology." Then, rather unexpectedly, she gave Hanabi the hugest and naughtiest grin possible. "But, I think you more than made up for that when you passed out with that silly look on your face." Iori snickered at the memory, while Hanabi blushed deep scarlet.

She was told by her older sister that she was even sucking her own thumb in her tranquilized state. "Don't bring it up." she muttered in embarrassment. Taking her seat beside the red-haired girl, Hanabi brought something else up. "Speaking of which, when I woke up, father told me you had apologized as well. Why?"

Iori thought back to that day. "Well…initially, I went berserk when I fought you…and when I finally came to my senses, I realized I could have killed you."

"It was allowed."

"But that didn't mean I had to. My teammate was thrown out because he was about to kill another student who was clearly defeated. I'd imagine that the council wouldn't like the idea of me going berserk every time I felt outmatched; I would probably be considered a danger to my teammates if I followed through. There's a difference between learning to kill and doing it when there's no other choice, and becoming a murderer, after all."

Hanabi nodded slightly, not completely agreeing with her, but respecting her opinion. "Well, then I also accept your apology." Iori got up and bowed slightly, showing her thanks. The two stood silent once more, then Hanabi sighed exasperatedly. "Where the hell is Shikamaru-sensei!? What's going on, does he have endless diarrhea!?" Iori started to giggle uncontrollably. "What's so funny!?" Hanabi demanded, slightly irritated at her childish demeanor after 30 minutes of angst.

"You don't look like the type of person who would say things like that in such a manner!" Iori replied, still laughing her butt off.

Hanabi muttered "Just outside the Hyuuga compound. My father and the elders get on my case about my choices of words. I'm often afraid to express myself in public, just because one of them might be nearby."

"Come on, have you been listening to what people our age our saying?" Iori replied in disbelief.

"Yes, but the fact that I'm part of the Hyuuga clan puts greater pressure on me to have a more developed etiquette."

The conversation went on, and it eventually developed into something where both girls joked jovially with each other. "Nothing at all suspicious." Shikamaru emerged from the bushes away from the view of the two chunin. True, his main purpose was to see if Hanabi could get Iori to slip up anything, and it appeared that she was hiding nothing, much to his relief. There was another reason for this unusual tactic though: As he and Temari spent time together during her recovery, she became acquainted with his team. She became concerned about Hanabi being aloof, and nearly demanded Shikamaru that he try to find a friend for her. "It seems Naruto has passed on his greatest talent to one of his students." He noted as he made his way back.

* * *

Iruka and Zou made their way back into Fire Country. They were still a ways from Konoha; hopefully, the same could be said about the enemy battalion they were hoping to get ahead of. Finally, a decent forest to tree hop into came into view, and the two quickened their pace.

The two ninjas landed in the branches, and began to make a plan. "Iruka-taichou!! We have to locate the battalion Uzumaki told us about before they make it to Konoha!"

"Right!" Iruka replied. The two scanned the area while Iruka made a note of the terrain. "If my guess is correct, we're in the Red-Leaf Forest…if I commanded a huge battalion of ninja through this area, where would I lead them?" Iruka then looked southwest and pointed in that direction. "There's a trail for travelers that way. Since this area is sparsely populated, it would make sense that no one has seen anything suspicious just yet. Let's look over there."

After an hour of tree hoping, they could hear massive footsteps. Iruka's heart nearly jumped out of his throat. "Naruto told me his estimate…but still, to have an army this size!..." The two slowed down tremendously as the noise got louder, instead practically walking from tree to tree.

"An army this size…" Zou whispered under his breath. Iruka hated it when people seemed to repeat him, but in this situation, he couldn't blame his comrade.

Soon, they got to the trail Iruka thought of…and if not for the darkness covering them, their widening eyes could have given them away. The army was massive!! Iruka could not see where it began and ended, and it seemed he wasn't going to find out anytime soon! "No…even with two sanin and the Kazekage…" Iruka stopped himself; he couldn't think such things, not in a situation like this. "Konoha will prevail…somehow." It was always most important to believe in oneself and his village, that was what Iruka was taught. Iruka turned to Zou and whispered "Zou: We have to find our way around them. Quickly!!"

Zou seemed to stare into the army before giving a reply. "The best thing to do would be to wait for the end or try to catch up to the beginning of this long line. But I can't tell which is closer to us. By the time we find that out, we could fall drastically behind."

"What do your instincts tell you?" Iruka asked. Normally, he would give orders, but seeing as he himself was unsure of what to do, asking another wouldn't hurt.

Zou thought carefully for a moment. "See if we can get around them at the end. They have less chance of spotting us, and I think there's a shortcut to Konoha from here. That way, we should arrive at least a day before they do."

"I agree." Iruka responded.

Before they could make a move, two Iwa nin within the troops were joking around down below. "Oh, you think YOU can take on the Hokage?" one of them jeered, jabbing a finger at his friend.

"Hey, at least I'm humble enough to acknowledge I could never take on the toad sage!" the other replied. "Unlike a certain someone I know!"

The two laughed, and the one who "promised" to take on the toad sage twirled his kunai. "Just wait! I'll show that stupid old man! He'll never know…" Turning to the forest, he flung his kunai. "…what hit…"

"Shit!" a voice from the direction of the kunai shouted.

The two chunin looked into the forest dumbfounded. "…him." Realization dropped on them like an anvil and screamed at the top of their lungs "Hey!! There's someone in the forest, watching us!!"

"Lay siege to the forest!! Kill anyone you see!!" one of them commanded.

By the hundreds, Iwa nin jumped into the treetops. Neither Iruka nor Zou was hit by that stray kunai, but Zou's shout gave their position away. "Go, go!!!" Iruka screamed just as the enemy was on top of them. Quickly, they retreated into the forest with a swarm hot on their heels. It wasn't long before they spent more time dodging shuriken than running away and putting some distance between them.

Iruka dropped from his branch and swung to another. As soon as he landed, another ninja was there to greet him. The enemy slashed at him with a kunai, but Iruka ducked and knocked him off with a foot sweep. His hope to escape was crushed when two more descended upon him. Iruka kicked the one behind him and blocked a fist from the other in front of him. Reaching into his pocket, Iruka pulled out a kunai of his own and stabbed his adversary in the throat. "Zou!" he shouted. "Where are-"Iruka was cut off when another ninja pulled him into a headlock from behind. Reacting as he was trained to do, Iruka threw his opponent over his back. Problem was, he went down with him!

As he loosened his captor's hold, he saw what seemed to be a head fall from a distance. The headband from it flew to his face, and judging by the feeling of the carved symbol, he was positive that it was a leaf symbol. Iruka broke free, and touched down on the ground while his attacker landed his head on a hard rock. "Gotta get back up!!" his mind screamed. Wasn't likely, though; his best chance right now was to make a break for it on the ground.

Seeing as there was no time to mourn for Zou, Iruka pulled out a scroll and summoned a manrikigusari. Swinging the heavy metal chain, Iruka KO'd anyone who got too close to him. He managed to dodge fatal blows from shuriken so far, but one that just missed his eye by a hair reminded him his luck would run out if he kept this up. "I have to escape, NOW!!!" Iruka wrapped his chain around another soldier and snapped his neck, and flung both weapon and opponent to the ground. Making his hand signs, Iruka began his jutsu. "Katon! Kasuzume!" Iruka shot small balls of fire from his mouth towards his incoming attackers. The gang prepared to defend themselves from the fire, but instead of hitting them dead on, the fireballs diverted from a straight path and circled around them. At a rapid speed, the fireballs closed in on them. Not only did they burn them, they cut right through their skin as well!

Knowing it was not a particularly fatal technique, Iruka made a break for it. Just then, an Iwa nin cut off his path, and before he could react, the Iwa nin shouted "Doton!! Shukushu Chiri Gufuu no Jutsu!!" Out of nowhere, a massive dust devil formed, and instead of hovering away harmlessly like most would, it expanded and shot right into Iruka's mouth. Iruka tried shutting it, but the air pressure was too strong! Finally, it stopped. Iruka tried to take a deep breath, but to his horror it almost felt as though he was in a vacuum of some sort.. "How do you like it?" his attacker chided. "Your lungs are filled with dust and debris. It probably won't kill you; but with your body having trouble obtaining oxygen, you cannot run or fight effectively."

Iruka, trying to gather up all of his strength, jumped up and took a swing at the one whom casted the jutsu, but missed. He struck a couple more times, and found that indeed, he was getting winded already. Iruka collapsed on the ground, wheezing like he never did before. The shinobi surrounding him just laughed, driving the point that Iruka was powerless. "Can't fight…must…escape…" Iruka took off, practically running on all fours to carry him. With his shortness of breath, he didn't think he could escape on his legs alone. In fact, he just knew he wouldn't make it…

One of the lieutenants called to his underlings "Look at what we have here boys: An animal. A sick, wounded animal. You know what we do to even the most beloved of pets when they are no longer fit to live, don't you?" The Iwa nin laughed deviously, and hurled kunai loaded with explosive tags at the defeated chunin. Only a few hit him, but he could nothing to dodge the blast of the others. Seconds later, a resounding ball of fire echoed throughout the forest. It wouldn't be long before a forest fire destroyed the area, by the looks of hit. "Threat has been neutralized." The lieutenant called. "Inform the troops to double their speed; after all, we can't have them getting caught in the fire now, can we?"

* * *

Naruto stretched his legs the next morning. He recovered fully, and Shiguri was making good progress as well. During his recuperation, Naruto took some time to think about what Iruka said. Part of him was still reluctant to confront the truth. He was still upset. He felt what everyone did, including those who had acknowledged him, was wrong. And yet, try as he might…Iruka was right. Naruto couldn't hate them, no matter what. But what he really felt, he did not know.

Deciding to take a break from his pondering, Naruto walked over to Shiguri. The boy was awake, able to sit upright without much problem. As the kid sipped his medicine, Naruto took a seat beside him. "How're you feeling?" Naruto was hesitant to speak to Shiguri, but at the moment he had no one else to talk to, other than the medic Margay, whom he barely knew.

Without facing him, Shiguri replied "Better." It was clear he did not want to talk to him.

Deciding that he had to close the gap between them, Naruto continued the conversation. "The medic told me that you summoned one of your wasps to get help."

Shiguri shrugged his shoulders in response. "It probably would have been better if I could have smashed my way out of the rubble."

Naruto chuckled slightly at his attempt to sound more important than his sensei. "Maybe so. But still, that was very commendable on your part."

For too long by Naruto's standards, the two didn't look at each other or speak another word. Finally, Shiguri looked him in the eye and asked "Why did you protect me?"

Naruto looked back at him absolutely dumbfounded. "Is that a serious question?"

Shiguri sighed exasperatedly. He thought his way of expressing himself was plain as day, but then again, he had heard rumors about Naruto not getting anything "obvious." "Come on!! You know I haven't exactly warmed up to you since day one!! You know I'm still mad that everyone, including you, agreed I shouldn't be a chunin even though you know damn well I have the skills!!! And…" Judging by the way he choked, Naruto knew what he was going to say next. "…and let's not forget about your screw-up before we ended up here!!"

Naruto, though hurt by the last comment, just stared at him. Shiguri anticipated it would be out of hate…but there was none of that. Instead, it seemed to be nothing but pity and sadness. Naruto patted Shiguri on the back, softly of course. "Shiguri. What happened with Yuji and Iori was my fault. I accept full responsibility for that. And I know I'm not as close to you as I was with Yuji and Iori. I'm partially to blame for that too. But it doesn't change the fact that you're still my student, and one of my precious people."

Shiguri clenched his blanket and faced the ground, afraid to show Naruto his face. "What if they don't feel the same way?! What good is such a thing then, huh!?" Shiguri asked angrily.

"Doesn't matter to me." Naruto replied without hesitation. "Trust me, that's the way I lived all my life." Images of Sakura during his childhood flooded his mind, but he pushed them out, telling himself now was not the time. "Besides…even if I didn't feel that way, the fact is you're still a kid. I couldn't just let you die either way." Naruto gave Shiguri a hard slap on his back, causing him to yelp. Cursing himself for forgetting the boy's condition, Naruto rubbed the spot, muttering thousands of apologies. Then, Naruto added "Not to mention, judging by the way you phrased that last question, I think you were trying to imply that was how you feel about me. But it's a lie, isn't it?"

Shiguri's hands clenched his cup along with his teeth. But to Naruto's most shocking surprise, when Shiguri looked him right in the eye, he was actually crying. "NO ONE'S EVER GIVEN A DAMN ABOUT ME, EVER!!!" Shiguri threw his cup and smashed it against a rock. "I've been alone my whole life…" he said, in a much softer, subdued tone. "My grandfather never paid attention to me, and our only quality time was going over shinobi codes; most of which was scorned by the more moderate council members. I never knew who was right. I couldn't fit in with the other kids; how I found Yuji stumps me to this day. And now…" Shiguri chocked, and broke down completely.

Naruto, shocked by his "bad-boy" student's behavior, hugged him as if he was his father. "You're just not used to having people care about you. Shiguri, believe me, I've dealt with that feeling for the better part of my life. Having no one, watching everyone have a shoulder to cry on when you have none…I know what it's like to hate everyone for that. But I never gave up on finding my precious people who would become the family I never had. I think, so long as one has hope…no matter how you start out, you will always meet the people who will be there for you the rest of your life. I will be that person for you, no matter what. You don't have to return the sentiments."

Suddenly, Shiguri returned the hug, surprising Naruto that he could return it with such force considering he was still in fairly weak condition . "Thank you, thank you…" Shiguri choked out, barely above a whisper. Naruto smiled slightly, and patted him on the head.

After a few minutes, Naruto reluctantly broke the hug and walked up to Margay. "Do you think he's fit to move?"

Margay looked at him hesitantly. "It will take days before he can move on his own again safely; I need more time."

"What if I carry him?"Naruto asked back almost immediately. Margay was about to shout, but Naruto interrupted her. "We HAVE to get back to Konoha. I don't want to think the worst has happened to Iruka-sensei…but we can't leave it to him alone."

Naruto just stared at her, determined to get some kind of approval. Normally he would have brought Shiguri with him anyway, but if it really wasn't safe to move him Naruto couldn't take the chance. Margay rubbed her temples in frustration. "Perhaps…if you carry him on your back, _carefully_, we might be able to make it without too much trouble."

"Alright then." Naruto smiled.

Naruto walked over to Shiguri, and kneeled down with his back turned to him. Extending his arms behind him, Naruto asked "Is that okay? You think you'll be able to endure it?"

Shiguri didn't say a word; instead, he got up on his shaky legs, and ignoring the pain, made his way onto his sensei's back. "If anyone claims I'm slowing them down, I'll kick their ass, I swear to fucking Kami!!"

Naruto smiled, thinking he just saw a little bit of himself in the boy, and called back to Margay "Okay, we're ready."

* * *

Deidara looked into the canyons and mountains that dominated his home as he flew across the skies. Tobi, San and Hidan were on the bird with him. While San was meditating, Deidara pondered what was going on. "Finally, Kizu-sama's plan is set in motion." Deidara was still perplexed by the plan; they were not going after Naruto, not directly at least. Tobi would be fighting, which he didn't necessarily disagree with; after all, even if his intelligence was questionable, Tobi definitely had the skills. But it made him nervous what kind of opponent they would be facing. What kind of monster would they encounter to justify using Tobi? What confused him even more was that the opponent they were about to face was supposed to be alive no matter what, despite not being a jinchuriki.

"What I want to know is why I'm just back up." Hidan hissed behind the re-established Iwa nin.

Deidara turned around and sighed "You'll ruin everything if you get involved! Even if you had the skills, how likely is it you'll let the opponent live?"

The two just stared at each other dead silent. "Fuck you." Hidan whispered under his breath.

With impeccable timing as usual, Tobi came up to them and practically shouted "Deidara-sempai, who am I fighting?"

Deidara turned to him, with the wickedest grin on his face. "You'll be facing the most dangerous opponent known to man." He whispered as if he was telling a scary story.

Tobi took a step back, caught off guard by his "sempai's" tone. "You're joking, right?"

"Noo." Deidara responded. "It is a beast that burns the flesh off of man. A look into its eyes can destroy a man's soul. Its strength is unfathomable." With each description, Tobi took a step backwards. "It's…" By now, Tobi was at the edge of the bird's tail. Deidara smiled widely. "It's…" Suddenly, he ran up to him and screamed "…SOMETHING I MADE UP COMPLETELY!!!"

"AHHHHH!!!!" Tobi flapped his arms widely to keep himself from falling, but if anything it probably sent him down towards the earth. He screamed the entire time down…and the entire time being pulled up when Hidan caught him with his tendrils. However, even after being hoisted back to safety, Tobi flailed uncontrollably as if he was still falling. The other two S-class criminals just stared at each other as their "comrade" behaved in a manner that wasn't exactly described as intelligent.

Sighing, the two kicked him out of his delusion. "Get yourself together, fool!!" they both shouted. During the whole predicament, San appeared unfazed. Inside, however, he was beginning to lose faith in his sensei after seeing the people he was associated with.

Tobi finally collected himself, and stood. "So, what am I really fighting?" he asked, rubbing his head only mildly embarrassed.

Deidara shrugged his shoulders. "Some girl. Have no clue why you should handle it though."

"How will we know where and when to find her." Hidan asked, still skeptical about the "plan."

Deidara just responded "Kizu-sama says he has a good informant in Konoha. That is all."

* * *

Sakura quickly popped in another food pill. Currently, she was on a mission with three other ANBU ninjas. She swore to herself that this war was driving her crazy. She was always there on the front lines, both fighting and healing. There was only one day when she was allowed to come home, and that was only because she had to report back to Konoha. Tsunade, seeing that Sakura wouldn't have anything to do that day, nor would her chosen teammates for the mission come back to start tonight, decided to let her go home for the day. _"You look tired and cranky, not that I'd blame you. Take the rest of the night off and sleep on a real bed. I'm sure that will refresh you for tomorrow."_

"Oh, shishou, how wrong you were." Her mother was the only one home, and Sakura was not in the mood to talk to her, even though now she regretted it. She didn't have much of an appetite either, so she didn't have a chance to enjoy real food. None of her peers were there either. She wanted so badly to see Ino again, just to chat about dumb stuff and have fun. Of course, there was also HIM. Sakura had finally come to terms about her feelings for Naruto, but she still needed to see him one last time. She hoped that they could put everything behind them, but if not…well, she came to terms about that too. If anything were to go wrong, she was glad she could at least finally apologize to one of the Miyamotos to his face; she never thought she would form such a deep bond with Ryu-sensei's son, and it certainly surprised her to be thought of as a big sister. In fact, it made her feel very important after what seemed to be a long time. Thinking of Konoha made her think of the taking a bath at the hot spring, maybe eating some Thai food, the next yaoi doushinji… "Ugh. Can't think about these things. Must…concentrate…"

Although they were resting, they were still in the middle of a mission. She couldn't allow herself to truly relax; because of that, she was starting to resent Tsunade for giving her that one day off; it only made her want more R and R. Deciding it was time, and for her own sanity, she shouted "Alright men!" Break's over!! It's time to move out!!" Obediently, her fellow ANBU members rose and took to the trees.

There was said to be a group of powerful Iwa nin, one of whom was said to have a history with Kakashi-sensei when he was a kid. Their mission was to catch them by surprise, and slaughter them. Sakura hated the idea of killing them simply because they were enemies. But after looking over the files of her targets, she recognized it as a threat and agreed to the mission. Charging in head on would have been a mistake; even with her as the leader, such a thing was a downright idiotic tactic. Her plan was to rig the surrounding area with traps, throw explosive kunai into the campsite, and anticipating them to scatter, she and the others would dispatch them one by one if the traps didn't kill them first.

She snapped back to the present as she realized they were almost there. At the edge of the forest, she held her fist in the air, signaling for her comrades to halt. Quickly, she inspected the area…and was shocked at what she saw. She found the targets, but they were lying on their stomachs. No ninja in their right mind would do that here!! "Which could only mean…" Turning to her team, she whispered "Stay there. I'll check it out."

"Hakumei!" one of them whispered. "This could be a trap!"

"I know. And that's exactly why I need to go down there."

Quietly, she touched down on the ground. Quickly and stealthily as possible, she made her way to the supposedly sleeping shinobi. She recognized the ninjas laying there…these were indeed her targets. She turned one over, and saw him covered in his own blood. Opening his eyes, she saw that they were completely fogged over. She probably didn't need to check his pulse at this point, but with all the strange jutsus she encountered, it was probably best to be sure. Pressing her fingers against his neck, sure enough, he was dead. Standing up in horror, she wondered who would have done this. "It can't be other Konoha nins; this mission was given to us alone. Which must mean…" Her eyes widened in realization. "…this mission was a setup from the beginning!!" As soon as she turned to give the order to retreat, the real trap was sprung.

One of her comrades was blown to pieces. Another was sprayed with what seemed to be acid and convulsed in pain. But the real kicker: a kusarigama was launched at her final soldier, who got away with just a scratch. As soon as he hit the ground though, his torso spewed open, as if someone stabbed him with a sword.

"Ahh, it feels good to do that after so many years."

In that instant, the attackers revealed themselves: Akatsuki! Sakura immediately recognized Deidara. Judging by one of their techniques, the other was Hidan. "But Shikamaru defeated him! How can he possibly have a body now!?" Then another with short black hair and a spiraled mask appeared. "Shit." Saying this was not good wasn't even an understatement. She was alone against THREE Akatsuki members. At least she knew Deidara's and Hidan's abilities. But the new guy's…Sakura's heart sank as she realized that this would be the place where she would die. Though she shed tears underneath her mask, her resolve remained strong and she prepared to fight. "If I'm going to die, I will take them down with me!! Even that immortal freak!! Besides…" she thought back to Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke became the person he was now because of his desire for revenge. When his family was killed, all he could live for was killing his brother. If she was killed with just one of these men alive, she knew Naruto would hunt that person down…and she did not dare imagine what lengths he would go to for him. "Naruto has suffered enough. I won't let these guys be all he lives for!!"

"Deidara-sempai, is that her?" the masked one asked. Sakura was rather surprised by his voice; it was rather gentle and innocent, nothing like the cold-blooded killers she thought Akatsuki was made up of.

"Yes." Deidara replied while grinning from ear to ear. "There's no mistake about it, that's her. You can take off your mask if you wish…Haruno Sakura."

Sakura was momentarily stunned that they knew her identity. Putting it in the back of her mind, Sakura tossed her mask to the side. It actually felt good to be staring death in the face with her own. "Just what is it you want with me!?" she demanded.

Deidara's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, I remember you! You're that nine-tails jinchuriki's friend!!" He saw her when he and Sasori captured Shukaku, but he was more focused on Naruto, and didn't stick around with Sasori to see what she could do. "I suppose it would make sense for her to advance with him." Deidara began to inspect her, rubbing his chin. Her hair was quite unusual, but not unattractive. While her figure was not the most voluptuous he had ever seen, it wasn't half-bad, a very nice balance actually. The only turn-off he could think of was her forehead, but that was easily overlooked. "Yes, it's all beginning to make sense now. No wonder we were ordered not to kill you." Deidara licked his lips in anticipation.

Sakura blinked at the statement. Thinking she got what they meant to do, she snarled "Sorry, but I wouldn't recommend that. I'm not exactly too fond about being the damsel in distress. I promise I'll be too much trouble to make ransom worth it. You'll probably wind up killing me just to protect yourselves."

Deidara chuckled. "We'll see about that. Tobi! I think Hidan and I will join you!! Even if she's an ANBU ninja, she shouldn't be too much trouble!! Not for the three of us!!" Deidara turned his eyes towards Hidan, who was twitching his weapon reflexively. "A limb, Hidan! A limb, you got that!? And it better not hit a vital artery!! We need her alive!!"

Hidan groaned "You guys are no fun!!"

Deidara turned back to his student. "San, you stay back here. I know for a fact this one is too much for you." San nodded very slightly, and the three men began their attack, running towards the young lady.

Sakura reached into her back pocket, keeping her eyes on all three. "If I have a chance, it's to surprise them. They probably don't know about my strength!!" She threw her smoke bombs on the ground, hiding her in a cloud.

While Hidan seemed confused, Deidara was unfazed and continued his course."Ha! Smoke won't save you!!! I have very good eyes!!!" Deidara made a clay bomb, and threw it to her location. It detonated, setting off a large explosion. But to Deidara's surprise, Sakura cart wheeled away from the blast just in time. "She's fast!" Sakura jumped right above him, cocking back her fist. She threw her punch down, which Deidara dodged by a hair. However, that wasn't enough to dodge the debris that would send him flying. As he fell face first, he realized the point of Tobi coming. "I see it now!! This is why Tobi is the opponent best suited for her!!"

Turning her attention to the other two, Sakura narrowly dodged a blade that scratched her, and in that instant realized she did not actually dodge it; she was caught. "Oh no!!"

Hidan licked the blood off, and grinned manically as his skeleton like skin began to form. "Don't worry. You're going to be alive; just not kickn'!" Hidan stabbed his leg, screaming in both pain and ecstasy, and he heard Sakura do the same. "I hope your pain as well as mine will be enough to crave Jashin's lust for blood!" Sakura was kneeling, and bleeding. Hidan grinned at the sight, but became perplexed when he noticed a green aura around her wound. Then he noticed her hands were clasped together in that same spot…"Wait! She's…a medical ninja!?" That second, Sakura rose, unharmed. Hidan looked down, and realized that his wound hadn't healed as well because his scythe was still stuck in his leg! Looking back up, Hidan was impaled by a barrage of kunai. None of them killed him, but with her strength behind them, it guaranteed that he would be stuck to the ground for a while.

Landing, Sakura finally turned her attention to Tobi. He didn't appear very threatening; he was just standing there, as if he didn't know what to do. No matter how much she told herself appearances could be deceiving, she couldn't figure out how he could possibly be an Akatsuki member. Sakura ran to him and jumped into the air with a flying side kick. Her foot touched his head…and then she went right through him. Unprepared to land, she slid and tumbled across the ground, nearly dislocating her leg. Quickly recovering, she got into a guard stance and stared at Tobi. He most certainly did not move; something else caused her to miss. "What happened?" Sakura quickly rushed him, and threw a hook. Like last time, it passed through him. She threw another, but Tobi actually dodged that one and proved to be as agile as her. Tobi aimed for her head with a spinning jump kick. Sakura, however, caught it, and squeezed tightly. "Ghost your way out of this one!!!" Sakura began spinning like a top, holding onto him as she moved. Much to her delight, in response to her movements, Tobi was screaming.

"SHANNARO!!!" Sakura let go, causing Tobi to fly like a rocket. Judging by the angle, it looked as though he would hit a tree and become the closest thing to the human arrow. Though clearly panicking, Tobi made a few hand signs and became a cloud of smoke. The smoke cloud floated like any other, but then like an entity of it's own, swirled at an amazing speed and landed right behind Sakura. Tobi once more took shape, and Sakura saw he made at least one hand sign. "No time to dodge or block!!"

"Enton!! Ishnuhachi no Jutsu!!" What seemed to be small fireworks went off right near Sakura's face. She tried to avoid injury from the bursts, but found that the smog stung her eyes horribly more than the little explosions would.

"Ahh!! What is this!!?" Her eyes were tearing up, and her reflexes wouldn't allow her to open them. The next thing she felt was something slamming into her stomach. Tobi punched her across the face a few times, and with a spinning kick, sent her to the ground in a heap.

Tobi began to jump up and down with excitement, like a hyperactive child."Deidara-sempai!!" Tobi yelled. "Did you see that!? I'm winning!!"

Deidara, along with Hidan, were up on his clay bird, observing the action from a safe distance. Angrily, Deidara yelled back "You idiot!! Finish her before she wakes up!!"

Tobi called back "Why? She's just playing dead. If I get too close, she'll kill me. Can't you tell by the way her eyes are fluttering?"

"Shit." Sakura landed with her hand behind her back; she hoped to catch him off guard so he couldn't use his jutsu. She got up, her bluff having been called and revealed her kunai.

"Impressive." Hidan noted. "I have never seen that dope fight before, so I wasn't expecting much. But it seems he does have skills…and some brains in at least one area."

Deidara nodded. "Yeah. I'll never forget when we faced the Sanbi; even though I landed the finishing blow, he did an impressive job of holding it back. Ever since then, I've been afraid to get on his bad side. It's all because of his ability to combine the fire and water elements, forming smoke. Now I see why Kizu-sama wanted him to fight this girl; her super strength makes it too risky for us to even touch her. And her medic training will allow her to heal any cuts, bruises and burns we inflict on her. But nothing can smash smoke, and…"

Sakura hacked, interrupting his train of thought. Pushing her hands onto her chest, she began to cleanse her lungs. However, Tobi attacked once more, forcing her to retreat. Judging by the way she breathed, it was obvious she did not get a chance to heal herself.

"…something inflicted by fumes is not as easily cured as a normal wound. Even if she's stronger and smarter than Tobi, his attacks will slow her down, and soon..."

"Enton!! Kareki Hayashi no Jutsu!!" Smoke sprayed from the ground, surrounding Sakura. It stung her eyes again, and blocked her vision. She couldn't even see her body. She also chose that opportunity to breathe unfortunately, and felt like her lungs were on fire.

"Oh no…" Sakura cross-blocked Tobi's attacks, but she couldn't keep up with him forever.

Up above, Deidara laughed manically. "It's going just as Kizu-sama planned!! I can't wait to use you against that jinchuriki brat bastard!!!"

* * *

Kizu, back at the base, took a sip of sake. Thanks to the rings he endowed each of his subordinates, he could see everything his henchmen did. So far, everything was going to plan. And if things started going downhill…well, his telepathic abilities should help them out if those idiots couldn't do it by themselves. In fact, judging by the kunoichi's slowing response times, he figured it was just about time to do hi part. Just then, he heard the clank of a familiar cane coming his way. "Of all the…" Kizu silenced himself, and rose, reminding himself that he still had an act to put on. "Madara-sama; how may I serve thee?"

Madara humphed, and took a seat of his own. It was clear by the look in his eyes that he was anxious, cranky, and furious. "I'm still wary of this 'plan' of yours. So many things could go wrong, so many things have gone wrong…" he went on without naming any specifics.

Soon, Kizu asked cautiously "What specifically troubles you, my lord?"

No longer implying anything, Madara spilled it."It's your 'new disciple', Tobi. Simpleton does not even begin to describe him…"

"Well, that I will agree with you on…" Kizu offered.

"Why did you recruit him? There must have been more qualified ninja to select from. Do you trust him with HIS intelligence?"

"No, but that's why I make sure he always has a partner, and if it makes you feel any better, he is much smarter than he looks when it comes to combat."

Madara gritted his teeth in response. "I find that too hard to believe, but at this point in time, we have no choice but to pray you're right. However, his presence in the organization is the cause of another concern of mine. I believe his birthplace was here in this village, correct?"

"Yes, that's right." Kizu confirmed.

" Do you have any idea the implications of recruiting a man from this forsaken place!? These savages may convince him to fight AGAINST us!!!"

"Ahh, but that's where you're wrong. You see, Tobi remembers very well how the villagers here treated him. I doubt he would want to serve them at all. Betrayal…at least, in terms of helping the natives…is nothing you need to be concerned about."

Madara shifted silently, still not convinced. "Just how did you select Tobi?"

Kizu stretched his arms, remembering how he came upon the unusual and difficult protégé."Well, I was planning to take up a disciple from around here for a while back then, before we selected Itachi. Tobi came across me by chance. He was a bum, kicked out on the streets and forced to fend for himself. You see, Tobi had a very, VERY unusual deformity. From what he told me, his father wanted to kill him at birth. His mother died, and he came to be as I saw him then. I figured I'd just experiment with him a bit; I didn't actually expect him to be worth something. If he didn't meet any of my standards, I thought I could always use a good practice dummy. I gave him elemental cards, and his vanished in a puff of smoke. At that moment, I KNEW I found someone special. Not only did he have a kekkei genkai…he proved to be adept at martial arts, and his experience on the street gave him remarkable agility. It proved, however, to be extremely difficult to make him fight at all. I suppose that's because inside he's still a child. He did not like to fight at all, even when he knew he could win. Fortunately, he thinks of me as the father he wished he had. So, I just hint that I won't 'love' him anymore should he not complete his mission. That's how I'm able to keep him in line, and that is why he will help me deliver you the Kyuubi."

With that, Kizu rose from his chair, and bowed. "Now, if you will excuse me sir, I believe it's about time for the real operation to begin. In order for it to succeed, it requires my full attention."

As he turned, Madara called "Kizu!!" The Akatsuki turned around, facing his master. "It's almost time for the containment period again. Do NOT make me wait."

Kizu bowed slightly, and walked out of the room. "Senile old fool." He muttered. "Soon enough, you'll see who really has been in charge here." Kizu grinned wickedly at the thought of turning the old man's world upside down. "But that will have to wait. Until I have all of them, and then we will rule this world…"

Walking down the corridor, he entered a new room. This one was almost completely empty; the only object occupying the room was the statue of a fearsome deity. Kizu walked to the center, and took a seat in a meditative like manner. "If the intelligence Danzou has offered me is correct, it's going to take a while before I have to jump in."

* * *

Sakura was sent spinning like a human top after receiving a back fist from Tobi. Granted, she had been hurt much worse by other taijutsu attacks than this. But due to her asphyxiation, she was always on the verge of collapsing. Medical-ninjutsu couldn't help her in this situation; to pull out the toxins from her own system would take immense time and concentration, something she did not have in the middle of a fight. And it was proving extremely difficult to just hit Tobi; most of her hits went right through him, and he proved to be extremely agile as well. "Can't let it end like this…" She got into a guard stance once more, but feeling as though she already lost. "There has to be a way…"

Seeing that it was worth a shot, Sakura threw the explosive kunai she was saving, and like before, went through Tobi. Sakura hoped he didn't notice the explosive tags and would stay there, mocking her and get caught in the explosion. But to her bitter disappointment, Tobi jumped into the clear, and landed behind her right has the explosive tags went off. "Enton!! Haimetsu Ryu Bourei no Jutsu!!" From both his arms, two dragons heads made of smoke erupted. These heads each divided into nine smaller ones, and they approached Sakura at high speed. Unprepared to defend herself, one head grabbed Sakura by each of her limbs and her neck, forcing her into the air. The rest pounded into her; it was the ninjutsu equivalent of being caught in a full-nelson and getting punched by another. One of the dragons hit Sakura so hard she was forced to open her mouth, and as a result took in nothing but fumes.

"I can't win…" Sakura felt like her lungs gave out on her, and her eyes became too heavy even for her to lift. The jutsu dissipated, and Sakura plummeted to the ground. Feeling as though nothing could save her, Sakura made farewells to people that would never hear them. It was pretty amazing how time stopped when one felt they were near death. "Shishou…thank you for everything you taught me. For the first time in my life, you made me feel worth something. Kakashi-sensei, thank you for looking after me. I know I wasn't the best student, but I'll never forget how you and the others taught me what it's like to be a real ninja. Ino, you were always my best friend. I'm sorry I nearly ruined it over our crush for Sasuke. Mother, I love you. Naruto…" the memories she had with the boy she once scorned only to become her true love flooded her mind. In that moment, her eyes snapped open. Suddenly, Sakura was filled with an overwhelming urge to live.

"I WILL NOT DIE HERE!!! AND I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN…" Sakura flipped and landed on her feet with a resounding impact in the ground. "…NARUTO!!!"

The three Akatsuki members were stunned at her recovery. However, Hidan knew from personal experience that it was purely psychological; any physical wound she received was still taking its toll, even if her mind wouldn't let her notice. "Nothing to worry about." Hidan commented. "She's back on her feet, but the advantage is still Tobi's."

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Deidara warned. "From my personal experience, these Konoha nin seem to draw power from their emotions and determination, very different from what I was taught back at Iwa." Deidara looked down, and saw Sakura's face, raw with the determination he spoke of. "This is one time where I'm hoping I'm wrong."

As Sakura prepared to fight, Tobi held up his hand and said "Please, I don't want to fight you."

Sakura's face changed from battle ready to perplexed in that instant. Her hand went behind her back, which Tobi guessed meant she was going for a weapon. "Akatsuki is made up of S-class criminals! Why would he be pleading with me to stop?" Sakura pondered.

Tobi continued "I have the advantage. There's no point in hurting you anymore than I have to. Kizu-sama promised me he doesn't want you dead; I know that after this, he will let you go. All he wants is the jinchuriki. So please…surrender."

Sakura yelled back "Why would someone like you show mercy!? You're a criminal!!!"

Tobi shook his head. "THEY may be, but I'm not. Kizu-sama is just using them to achieve a greater good." Deidara and Hidan weren't exactly receptive of this, but expected no less.

"What kind of good could come out of sacrificing people just for who they are!?" Sakura yelled back, crying. "They may have monsters inside them, but they are people first and foremost."

Tobi stayed silent for a moment, looking to the ground questioning his deeds for the first time. "I don't know. But Kizu-sama…"

"You don't know!? YOU DON'T KNOW!?" Sakura screamed. "You're nothing but a blind follower!!"

Tobi shouted back angrily "Don't talk like you know Kizu-sama!!"

His outburst shocked even Deidara. "I've never, EVER heard him get mad before…" When he was mad, Tobi sounded downright frightening.

Tobi calmed down still facing the ground when he replied "I don't like the sacrifices anymore than you do. In fact…" Tobi clenched both his fists "…I'd imagine I hate it even more than you do." Sakura didn't let guard down, but soon became more interesting in listening instead of fighting. "Stealing, murdering, exploiting…I hate all those sins, and I have been a victim of many of them so many times…My father tried to kill me at birth, and it was my mother's love that saved me. But the villagers never accepted who I am. They called me a monster, threw stones at me…no one else's suffering could possibly compare to mine." Sakura immediately thought of Naruto at the mention of a childhood marked by hatred. "One night, they burned my house, killing my mother. I lived on the streets since then, on the verge of starvation and nothing more than a beggar." Tobi finally looked Sakura in the face. "Then, Kizu-sama found me. He taught me ninjutsu, and asked me to become part of the Akatsuki. He said with my help, he could create a world of peace and righteousness. How could I, someone who has suffered every wrong brought upon by man, refuse? I joined, promising that no one would have to live like I did ever again."

Sakura had to admit, she was stunned. She was actually inclined to help him find real friends and a life he could enjoy. But she pushed those feelings aside; sad as it may have been, he was still a dangerous enemy. "Don't give me that bullshit!!" Sakura yelled. "He's using you!! I helped fight against the swordsman Zabuza!! He had a pupil who had a childhood of nothing but sadness! He taught the child well, but it wasn't until his death that he thought of him as something more than a mere weapon!! Don't you see!? He's only using you!!"

Just then, Sakura noticed a clay bird and the kusarigama coming straight at her from the side. She became so lost in Tobi's speech that she took her eye off the other two. Bracing for the impact, she felt her self tackled and underwent a weird sensation. It was as if her molecules were being separated, but she felt no pain. The sensation passed, and she realized she was in Tobi's arms. Tobi let her go and quickly jumped away. Sakura's eyes widened in amazement. "Did he just…protect me!? "

Tobi's attention turned towards his two comrades. "Deidara-sempai!! Why did you do that!? That's not fair!!"

Deidara shouted back "You idiot!! You spent all that time talking when you could've taken her out!!! In fact, she was using the time she spent debating with you to heal herself!! We were trying to do your job for you!!!"

Tobi called back "Yes! I know…I just felt she deserved to know…" Once more, he squared off against her. "Thanks for the concern…but I've got this under control."

Sakura did the same, thankful that she felt she could breathe effortlessly again. Though the process drained her chakra, she could still fight. "Good as I feel, I'm not at my peak. But that's okay. Now, I think I know how to fight back!!!"

* * *

Koungasenki sipped a cup of coffee as he continued his guard duty. Same snow, same dead people, same people who looked like they were about to drop dead any minute…he was getting bored out of his mind. "Whatever Deidara-sensei is doing, it better be important…because I am THIS CLOSE to cutting him up when he gets back…." he growled to himself

"Chishio-san!!"

Koungasenki turned to a fellow guard. "Please tell me that fat bitch you like to call Tsuchikage-sama is going to send me on a mission. If you really want me in a good mood, it better be in an assassination."

The guard replied "He wants us to open the camp to some prisoners we'll be taking; they're not Ainu, but he says he doesn't give a damn about how they're treated really. So long as they live."

Koungasenki sighed, unimpressed by the news. "That's it?"

"We have specific orders not to kill these prisoners; apparently they are to be used as some kind of leverage. I don't know much more than that."

"If Konoha is smart, they'll just tell us 'fuck'em'." Koungasenki said to no one in particular, much to the guard's dismay.

"Well, then I guess they're not." The guard laughed, while Koungasenki's expression remained blank.

"Go back to talking to your imaginary friend, asshole." was the only reply he got. Sighing, the guard continued with his duty. "Why do I get stuck with the psychos…?"

* * *

Yuji looked through his binoculars, observing the situation. Bored guards, what seemed to be routine activity…if he and Hyouike were going to do this, now was the time. "You ready?" Yuji asked.

Hyouike sighed "No…but there's no turning back now, I guess. And…" Hyouike looked towards the camp. Yuji could tell she was clearly afraid. He began to despise himself for making Hyouike join him in this plan that even he had to admit was pretty dumb. Even though he felt he couldn't do it alone, it was an outrage to make a person not trained in the fighting arts to pull this off. But when Yuji offered for her to back out, she outright refused. Besides, he just couldn't let this go on, and even if the Hokage cared to do something about these camps…if Hyouike's story about the Nidaime Hokage was true, someone in Konoha would prevent any action that should be taken. Hyouike turned back to him. "I'm tired of hiding and doing nothing. I still think this plan is asinine…but I'll go with it. I may not be able to do much, but I WILL let them know that I refuse to be afraid of them anymore, and they WILL feel my hatred. Unlike them…I have a reason."

Yuji nodded in understanding. "Fair enough. But if for ANY reason it looks like you're about to die, run. Run, and don't look back. Not even if it looks like I need help. If there's a jam I can't get out of, you sure as hell can't help me. Understood?" Slowly, Hyouike nodded her head. Satisfied, Yuji said "Okay then. Get into your position."

As he turned to leave, Hyouike called "Wait!" Yuji turned around. Hyouike seemed unsure of something. But not of his plan; it was about something else, Yuji could tell that much. But what? "Listen…back then, in the cave, I said some pretty mean things. Hurtful things that you did not deserve. I was surprised to find someone who had no idea who my people were. It surprised me even more that you did not think of me of a monster…"

Yuji interrupted "Why would I?"

Hyouike gave him a sad smile in response. "Human beings treat others they perceive as different like animals. It seems to be in everyone's nature, sadly." Hyouike looked him right in the eye. Yuji's eyes widened to see she was clearly crying. "But not you!! You're…you're different. You don't see differences, just other human beings. It…it felt nice to see someone who was not an Ainu treat me as a person and not as a monster." Yuji felt stunned by her announcement. "You're….you're one of the nicest boys I have ever met." Hyouike's face seemed to turn scarlet red.

As Yuji pondered what she meant, he almost gasped as his body temperature rose. "Wait…she doesn't like me!!! Does she?"

Before he could react, Hyouike practically tackled him, and kissed him on the nose. Yuji formed a blush that matched his partner's in response. Hyouike pulled away from him, breathing heavily. "Good luck." she whispered before running to her position.

Yuji stood there for a good second before realizing he had someplace else to be. He tripped on several occasions just getting to his position.

"_Stop being such an idiot, Yuji!!"_ a familiar, feminine voice yelled at him.

Yuji nearly panicked, and stammered "I-Iori, I…" Then he remembered that she wasn't here. That's when the memories he spent with her flooded his mind. And not only her, but Shiguri, Naruto, and Sakura as well. "I've been so obsessed with helping these people…I've forgotten about them." For a second, he believed it may have been wrong to go off oh his own quest when his real comrades were fighting and dying elsewhere. But when he looked back at the camp, Yuji's resolve to make a difference only grew. "Guys, I'm sorry. But I made a promise that I cannot back out of. I'm sure, especially under these circumstances, you would all understand. I hope, despite my absence, you're all okay. If not…I take full responsibility for everything." As he got ready, his thoughts drifted to Iori once more. "I wonder how she would react if she saw Hyouike kiss me?" For some reason, the thought of it made him very scared.

* * *

"Ugh." An Iwa nin grunted as he hefted a body over his shoulder. "This is fucking gross!"

"Don't let it get to you." another said to him, also carrying a corpse. "These animals don't deserve a proper burial."

"Maybe, but these decaying bodies in the open will be the death of us yet!! At least burn these fuckers!!" They threw the bodies into the crevice, where they joined many others.

As they turned around, one of them commented "There's not many of these Ainu left, are there?"

"Makes me wish Tsuchikage-sama would let us finish all of them at once!!" the other commented.

Their conversation was interrupted when a hand touched his shoulder. At first he thought it was some other guy's, but when he looked at the hand, he noticed entire pieces of its skin were decaying. When he turned around to look at its owner, his voice completely left him: it was one of the corpses!! Both of the Iwa nins hearts were going far more than a mile a minute as they turned their heads towards the crevice. Suddenly, several corpses came leaping out at them. The two Iwa nin screamed and curled up in a ball.

Several guards, Koungasenki included, rushed to the scene, prepared for the worst case scenario. "What's wrong!?" they yelled. Many of them stopped dead in their tracks as they witnessed what looked to them like a scene from a zombie movie. But not in fear.

"Wait a minute…" one of the guards muttered. He ran over and grabbed one of the "attacking" corpses by the head. Nothing to tell him it wasn't undead…except that he felt something tug it backwards. "There's someone controlling them!! Attack that way!!" he pointed behind the crevice. Little did they know, their counter would come too late.

Yuji was already on the move, and ready to begin phase 2. "Alright, Hyouike; go."

* * *

Upon hearing her signal through the radio, Hyouike dashed into the camp. Just being in there nearly gave her a heart attack, but somehow she pressed on. Her purpose here was not to be caught, but to escape with others. She whizzed by several of her fellow tribesmen who were going through the hard labor and morning exercises, and that would prove to be the hardest part of the plan for her.

She wanted so badly to look at them, see if they were people she recognized, and find out if any other members of her family were still alive. But no, she could not allow herself to do that; she would only get herself and Yuji killed. All that mattered right now were getting all captives out. She could take a roll call later.

She ran to the power station, which was left unguarded due to the commotion Yuji had caused. Running down to the basement inside, she found the propane tanks that provided the camp with heat and electricity. "Okay, here goes." Hyouike placed an explosive tag Yuji had given to her on the tank. She only had a few seconds; Yuji assured her that she would have ample time to get away. It didn't occur to her until now that ninja were much faster than ordinary people. "I hope he was thinking in terms of the speed of the average person!!" Hyouike screamed inside her head.

She bolted out the exit, and collided with someone, causing her to stumble back onto the ground.

"Well well, what do we have here!? It looks like a little Ainu girl!!"

Hyouike looked up in horror at the Ainu nin who was upon her. He was big, scruffy, and smiled wickedly at her, imagining the things he could do to her. Before he had a chance, his neck seemed to constrict, and he was thrown into the air.

Yuji appeared in his place, and took Hyouike by the hand. "You idiot!! What are you still doing here!?" He took the biggest leap he could with Hyouike in tow. Fortunately for them, it was enough to clear the ensuing explosions. Yuji didn't waste any time when they landed. "I'm going to tear down the fences over there; you free the others!! This time, no freezing up!! Got that!?" Hyouike nodded, and ran off to the bunkers.

Yuji got ready for the next phase. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" Yuji slammed a bloodied thumb into the snow, and summoned the spiders his father was famous for. He could barely summon one spider for battle; but the ones he chose were not used for fighting. They were going to be used for communication instead. Leaning down to the tiny arachnids, he whispered "When I scream the signal, relay the message to the one at the damn, got it?" Yuji couldn't really see them nod, but he had no choice but to put his faith in them. And Hyouike.

* * *

Sakura pulled out a kunai and hopelessly attacked Tobi once more. "Stop it!! That will never work!!" he shouted. Little did he know, Sakura was not blindly attacking him out of desperation or fear.

There was one thing Sakura learned from experience when battling enemies supposedly stronger than herself; there was always a pattern in the way they fought. Sakura learned to always pay attention to every detail, even in the heat of battle. And Sakura noticed something unusual about Tobi (among other things). "Time to test my theory." she thought. Sakura slashed her kunai through Tobi's midsection, and like before, it went through him like he was nothing.

"You can't hurt me!! Don't you know that by now!?"

Ignoring Tobi's taunts, Sakura almost immediately attacked once more with a roundhouse kick. Tobi flipped right over her and landed behind her. Before she could turn, Tobi caught her off guard with a leg sweep.

As she tumbled to the ground, Tobi activated another jutsu. "Enton!!Enshuriken no Jutsu!!" The air near him condensed and blackened, taking the shape of shuriken. Sakura rolled out of the way as they tried to impale her. As soon as she got out of range, Sakura jumped back to her feet and was truly ready to fight now.

"His body always becomes smoke the first time something attacks him. But whenever there's a follow up, he dodges. I wonder…" This part Sakura had to make count. "…how he responds to genjutsu…" Sakura pulled out a scroll, and summoned a huge happo shuriken. "First, the smog part." Tobi, not wishing to waste anytime. In response, Sakura threw her weapon, and just like before, it went through him.

"This is the end!!!" Tobi screamed as he threw his punch; suddenly, it stopped midway. Glancing at his wrist, he saw that he was shackled to the ground. "What!?" Tobi realized what was going on… "Genjutsu!!"

Quickly, Tobi did the release technique. It came almost too late, however; Sakura was right in his face. He backed away as quick as he could, but Sakura's left hook just caught his arm. Though Tobi could still fight, that graze was enough to leave a nasty bruise. Tobi looked at his wound in awe. "No one has ever injured me like this, except for Kizu-sama…"

"I got it." Sakura said with a satisfied smirk across her face. "Your enton bloodline is impressive. You can even become smoke itself; that's why you specifically were the one chosen to fight me: your master couldn't risk injury to his other henchmen. There's one problem, though: there's a 15 second interval before you can do that technique again. That's the gist of it, no?"

Despite his masked face, Sakura could tell he was stunned. "You figured it out." Tobi admitted. The fear in his voice was evident, try as he did to hide it. "But I was prepared for such a thing. As you could see, I've made up for my temporary inability to perform the technique with agility. And your genjutsu barely worked that time; it won't work again."

Sakura only smiled in response. "Don't count on it; I'm pretty fast myself." she said confidently, pointing to herself to emphasize the point.

Tobi got into a guard stance, and Sakura did the same in response. Just like before, one fighter resonated with fear, the other with confidence. But this time, who resonated with what was reversed. "Let's go!!" Tobi yelled

The two opponents dueled with kunai, each testing the waters. Taking the offensive, Sakura slashed at Tobi. Instinctively, Tobi activated his intangibility jutsu. "Shit!" He knew he should've had greater control, but years of experience hard-wired the instinct into his body. Tobi immediately backed away from Sakura, realizing that mistake could cost him. Sakura rushed to his side, and launched another roundhouse kick. Tobi leapt into the air, successfully avoiding it like he had been before. However, he was about to find out the hard way that Sakura was not kidding about her agility; using the torque from her first kick, she preformed a spinning jump kick, which Tobi had no hope of avoiding. Nonetheless, he twisted his body in a feeble attempt to avoid a direct hit. Sakura's boot nailed his upper right arm, and Tobi could feel the bone within snap. "AAAHHHH!" Tobi managed to break his fall with his now "good" arm, and ran away to put some distance between him and Sakura. Quickly, Tobi evaluated his condition. "My humerus is broken…but as long as my hand can still move, I can do a good amount of jutsus. Have to be careful, though; I can't move my arm like I usually do. I'll have to stretch my right towards it."

This time, Sakura was the aggressor. Getting down on one knee so he could bring his hands together despite his broken arm, Tobi quickly cast another jutsu. "Enton!! Dome Enmu no Jutsu!!" Tobi removed his mask, and black smog spewed from his face before she could get a good look at him. Almost immediately she reminded herself that she should probably be more concerned about the black mist as opposed to her adversary's true appearance.

She moved to the side to avoid the cloud, but a bit still managed to graze her cheek. When it did, she could feel her skin burn right off. Realizing what it did, Sakura got away as far as possible before it could do more damage, but a glance behind her showed that the mist was encircling her. The only way to go was up, and she couldn't leap far enough to land in a safe area. "Well, I've gotten out of a similar jam before." she growled in determination. Sakura took an explosive tag from her pouch and threw it to the ground. Leaping up into the air, she cleared the explosion, which in turn cleared the area of the acid-like smoke. Landing, she sprinted towards Tobi once more. The Akatsuki member did not have enough time to cast a jutsu in his current condition. Sakura pulled out her kunai, and aimed for Tobi's heart. Like before, Tobi activated his intangibility jutsu, despite knowing that this attack was a trap. Slowed down tremendously, he had no chance of dodging the next attacks. But if he hadn't, he knew Sakura would have killed him right there.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you…" Sakura hissed. "…not yet anyway. I'm going to make you talk!!" Sakura held back her strength as she pummeled Tobi. She was running dangerously low on chakra now anyway; if things got serious again, she probably had only one or two good attacks left in her. And she had to save them for Deidara and Hidan. "Where is Soragakure!? And what does your master really want!?" Despite the beating, Tobi remained silent. "Tell me!! Tell me, goddamit!! You've tormented my team for too long!! And I'll get answers out of you anyway I can!!!"

Tobi may have been unable to fight back in this situation, but he had some tools on him just in case. He threw a smoke bomb to the ground, blinding Sakura and distorting her senses. At this point, her body was much more sensitive to smoke and fumes than usual, even with her medical jutsu, and Sakura stumbled back coughing. With will power alone she fought off her body's natural reaction. She spotted Tobi to her left, and began to sprint towards him. But it just occurred to her that the interval for Tobi to cast his jutsu may be up. Not wanting to waste any physical attacks, Sakura threw another explosive kunai; her last one. This time, Tobi did the correct move and dodged, the blade missing him by a hair, but that was Sakura's intention in the first place; she cut the tag to reduce the explosion time. As planned, the bomb went off, and in a panic Tobi cast his intangibility jutsu once more. As soon as the explosion was cleared, Sakura grabbed Tobi by the head, and threw him into the other side of the meadow. Sakura ran, not daring to waste another second before he could render himself untouchable again. "Tell me what you know!!!"

Tobi couldn't take this abuse any longer; he had to fight back. He had to defeat her in one move. "Enton!! Bourei Katanna Buumeran no Jutsu!!" Smoke gathered within Tobi's right hand, taking the shape of a samurai sword. One would at first guess that this was for close combat; but dueling was not Tobi's intention. He threw it, and it spun rapidly like it was designed for throwing.

Sakura didn't see it coming in time, and dodged too late. The blade, despite being seemingly made of nothing but smoke, cut through Sakura's shoulder. It was no mere scratch; the blade cut Sakura's trapezius, leaving her left arm limp. Despite the pain, Sakura pressed on. "Just one attack!!"

Tobi, stunned at her determination, threw all the shuriken he had. "Fall!!"

Sakura rolled under the sharp objects, and launched her legs into Tobi's face. She couldn't concentrate her chakra like she normally did…nonetheless, it was a bloody good kick if she said so herself. "Good thing…I've got nothing else left in me…" At this point, Sakura hoped she could bluff her way out of fighting the other two. But right now, she had to be sure her principal opponent was really out of commission. Tobi's mask shattered, unable to take the force. Sakura jumped away to take a good look at Tobi…and gasped in horror.

The right side of Tobi's face was covered in burn scars…probably from the abuse he told her about. But his left side, no one could have done that to him; it had to have been developed prenatally. On his left side was a small, deformed, and probably useless eye. A slight nose was present underneath it, and was inverted on what would be its side. But what shocked her the most was the second upper jaw where his cheek should have been; half a set of teeth were present instead, with lips to go with it.

Tobi looked at her with his two good eyes, gazing knowingly. "Now you see. Now you see why everyone has called me a monster."

Sakura's face nearly contorted in horror when she saw the deformed lips move with the ones he used to speak. She heard about this phenomenon before: parasitic twins. Sometimes, the Zygote would split into two separate embryos, which would eventually give birth to identical twins. But the process didn't always finish, creating certain deformities. The most common result from this was Siamese or conjoined twins, two individuals who shared some parts of their body. But in the rarest of cases, the second individual never formed; before her was an example of that.

"I know what I look like. And that's why I want to create a world where I will be judged by the person I really am." Tobi gave a slight chuckle, although Sakura could tell by the tone of it he didn't find anything about it funny. "People have trouble doing that on their own."

Sakura couldn't find the will to fight this man anymore; it was no wonder he was manipulated into joining the organization, despite his childish demeanor. And as wrong as he was about Akatsuki's intentions…she couldn't blame him for feeling that way. They were, in his view after all, the only real family he had. Finally overcoming her shock, Sakura spoke. "I understand…I understand what it's like to feel like you're all alone, and unloved. My friend….the one your organization is trying to capture….felt like that his whole life. He was the Hokage's son, and his father sealed the nine-tails in him. He did it not to create a weapon, but to protect us all. He was supposed to be a hero, but instead we all shunned him." Sakura cried as she talked about Naruto. She saw how cruel people could be, and Tobi's face was a glaring reminder of that. Tobi's own will to fight was lost as well. This was the first time he saw anyone ever cry for him. Not even his master seemed to show such compassion other than training him. "I understand why you're so loyal to Akatsuki…" Sakura continued. "…if I were in your position, I probably would have done the same thing…" Sakura then seemed to get her angry self from a minute ago as she screamed "But it doesn't change the fact that what they're doing is wrong!!! They're only using you…do you think Kizu would have adopted you if you did not have the potential for ninjutsu!?"

Tobi's face widened in shock. He always had the utmost love and respect for Kizu. But it never occurred to him that Kizu would have even taken him in had he not shown promise. Now that he thought about it, it didn't seem likely that he would…an overwhelming feeling of sadness and doubt flooded Tobi's mind. But he had been a part of Akatsuki for too long to simply give it up. Tobi shouted back "Even if what you say is true, what alternative do I have!? No one else wants me!!! Even if I'm nothing but a tool, a life with purpose is better than none at all!!"

"You're wrong!!" Sakura screamed back. "Purpose is important, but only if you have real bonds as well!! What happens when you're considered no good to them!? Will they care for you!? Spend time with you!? No…just like a tool…they'll discard you." Sakura's tone softened with that last sentence. "If I were crippled, bed ridden, or forced to retire…I'd need someone to be there for me. And I know so many strong shinobi who would do just that…" Slowly, she began to walk towards Tobi. Though Tobi's body instinctively prepared for an attack, he knew it wasn't going to happen. He lacked the will to fight back anyway, as Sakura's words touched a cord within him. With her good arm, Sakura caressed Tobi's deformed side. The touch made him flinch…and stirred inside him a feeling he never felt before. He didn't know what it was…but it felt nice. "Come with us." Sakura said almost pleadingly. "I can protect you. You will find real friends, both in me and Naruto. If you wish…" Sakura stroked Tobi's deformity soothingly, acknowledging the pain he must have felt because of it. "…I can even remove this…"

Tobi was simply frozen. Kizu said they would be family so long as he would serve him while Tobi knew Sakura's request did come with conditions, namely Akatsuki information, once they were met he wouldn't be discarded. And his deformity…Kizu said there was no way to treat it. How he wanted to be rid of it…

Suddenly, Sakura leapt away from him. "Look out!!"

Tobi rolled away as Deidara's clay bird landed right where he and Sakura stood just a moment before. The bomb went off, but fortunately it wasn't enough to kill anyone. Still… "Deidara! This fight…"

"…is no longer yours." Deidara commented as he and Hidan leapt to the floor from his giant clay bird. Trying to sound unusually diplomatic, Deidara told the scared man without facing him "You've done enough, Tobi. She's used up most of her chakra, and now she doesn't have enough to heal herself. I doubt she even has enough to fight back. We'll take it from here."

Sakura's breathing became erratic as she got ready to face off against the other two, who were in perfect condition. Tobi looked at her, then at his teammates. His mind was conflicted in a way he never knew before. "What should I do!?" Just as they got ready to attack, Tobi, though still unsure, grabbed Deidara by the arm and pulled. "Wait!!" Tobi yelled. "Let's at least hear her out!!"

"Tobi…" Deidara hissed viciously, with none of his usual humor. "….I suggest you sit down and cool your head."

"Deidara-sempai!! She's not an enemy!!" Tobi insisted.

Deidara's response to Tobi's protest was to backhand him to the ground. "You should have never been allowed into Akatsuki!!" Deidara took a moment to think about what he said. "No…you're not fit to be a shinobi to begin with." Deidara looked at him mockingly, then turned back to face Sakura.

The two remaining members rushed up to Sakura at a speed she could not hope to match. Sakura pulled out her last kunai to defend herself. The two backed away from each swing, but they knew the odds of her landing a fatal blow were pretty low…especially on Hidan. And she was already wounded and worn-out. It was only a matter of time now. Tobi was about to leap into the fray, when a voice yelled _"Stop it, Tobi!"_

Tobi knew from experience that he did not hear it physically" Kizu-sama!" Tobi immediately froze in fear at the realization.

"_I watched everything. I am very, very disappointed in you, Tobi."_ Kizu said. _"After doing well for so long, you hesitate. No, not only that, you almost sided with the enemy!!" _

Tobi's best response was to stutter. "But Kizu-sama, she…"

"_Only I can make this world a better place. She is misguided by naïve ideals. And she's wrong about your face as well, Tobi; NOTHING can fix it. If it could be fixed, do you doubt that I would have seen to it to have it fixed properly?" _

Tobi just remained silent. Truthfully right now, he was unsure. _"Who took you in when nobody wanted you!? Who trained you, made you stronger!? Gave you a purpose!?"_ the angry leader demanded.

Tobi collapsed on his knees as his mind tried to process everything that went on. But in the end, he submitted to his old master. "You, Kizu-sama."

"_Now sit down and watch how it's done. This shouldn't last long."_ Tobi reluctantly obeyed his master, and watched as Sakura fought back at Deidara and Hidan. And knew she had no chance of winning.

* * *

Yuji gripped the fence, thankful the electricity was off. He probably should have thrown a live animal on it to make sure, but he had no time to correct himself on the proper procedures. Having been fully recovered, he easily tore the entire thing down. "There!"

Looking behind him, he saw Hyouike running towards him, followed by many Ainu…although far fewer than he had hoped for. They were also moving slowly; most likely from malnutrition. It was also highly likely that many of the occupants have been in the camp for so long, that they could no longer comprehend freedom. "Yuji!!" Hyouike shouted, waving towards him.

"Hyouike!! There's no time!! Get their butts out of here!!!" Yuji motioned frantically; he knew this was going to be a close call, but still!

"You fools!! They're getting away!!"

Yuji recognized that voice: Koungasenki!! Yuji found his rival in the air, with several kunai in his hands! By the angle he positioned them, Yuji could tell that each strike would be a fatal shot to the cerebellum. "NOOO!!!" Yuji ran straight ahead, seemingly right towards Hyouike.

"Wha? Yuji!?"

"Heads up!!"

At the last second, Yuji leapt onto her shoulders and used them as a boost. In turn, this caused her to fall face first into the snow. Hyouike screamed "What's the big idea, you jerk!?"

As desperate as her fellow people were, some retained their sanity enough to help her up, which was amazing considering their anorexic-like condition. "Please, hurry. Your friend is doing this for us." Hyouike nodded, and continued to lead them to freedom.

Yuji's mind on the other hand was focused on the Iwa nin directly in front of him. As was Koungasenki's…"YOU!!!" Before Koungasenki could react, Yuji fired his wires, wrapping them around his opponent's body. Using a good portion of his chakra, he twisted his body fast enough to defy gravity and pull himself towards Koungasenki. His speed knocked the wind out of the Iwa nin, and as he fell Yuji pulled him back up with his wires, and spun him like a top. In an instant, he threw him to the other side of the camp.

Taking a moment to evaluate the captives' position once he landed, he glanced behind him. He could still see them in the distance. "They're still within range. At this rate…shit, five minutes is too long…" Turning to his wrist watch, he set the timer alarm. "I'll have to make the best of it that I can." If he was off the mark…he would kill them instead of saving them…

"YOUUUU!!!" Before he knew it, Koungasenki tackled him and pinned him to the ground. The scared teen pulled out a kunai and attempted to stab him, but Yuji cross-blocked it, and directed it to the muddy ground. Jabbing his thumbs into his opponent's eyes, Yuji broke free and kicked him in the face. He held back this time around; not so much for concern of his opponent, but he needed to conserve all the chakra he could…because he was outnumbered, and even if one blow could kill each one, it was no guarantee he would hit them all. The fact that Koungasenki was here did not help matters any.

As he fought off guards with a small degree of super strength and spider gauntlets, Yuji carefully kept track of the time. "Damn, this is taking too long!!" He felt like he'd been fighting forever, but barely a minute had passed; he really hated the theory of relativity. Just then, Yuji felt an incredible pain shoot up his leg. Looking down, he saw that he had stepped in a bear trap. Not giving a thought has to why it was there, he bent down to remove it, but was pulled of balance when the chain at the end was tugged. Yuji screamed as the blades dug even deeper into his flesh

The ninja who caught him laughed like a child bullying another. "You're going to pay for this, little brat!" The others ganged up on him and kicked him like a sack of potatoes, and Yuji in this situation could defend himself just as good as one. This went on for a good minute, until Koungasenki pushed one to the ground and broke up the fight.

"You fucking retards!! You're letting the prisoners escape!!!" The guards looked dumbfounded at him, then their eyes widened as they realized exactly what they had done. Koungasenki thrust his arm wildly outside the camp. "Go after them!! They couldn't have gotten that far!!!" Quickly, they behaved like real ninjas for once. Koungasenki watched them go, as he eyed his rival. "I take it you killed my boss here. He'd have been screaming his head off at me by now. Still, he was a jonin, so…"

"Placing an explosive tag in his office might have helped." Yuji grunted back, a little bit less than enthused. "Plus being drunk off his ass."

Koungasenki nodded, showing he was not surprised." I have to give you credit for surviving…but it's pretty pathetic that you lived only to die here."

Yuji actually laughed at that. "So true. But if I die, this whole place goes with me." Just then, the watch went off. Yuji was looking so forward to that just a moment ago, and now he was afraid he should put it off longer. But he couldn't take that chance. "Hyouike, I hope you and the others got out of there in time. If not…please forgive me!!" With that, Yuji made a series of hand signs.

Koungasenki stepped back, expecting an attack. However, nothing happened. Koungasenki laughed slightly. "What was that supposed to do!? Were you calling for mommy!?"

Yuji rolled his eyes. "You're right about the fact that what I've just done wasn't meant to hurt you…not directly, anyway."

"What?" That part got his attention

"This operation has three stages: First, the diversion. That was me manipulating those corpses. To be honest, I wasn't sure it would work; but your men fell for it. Second was breaking out the prisoners, as you just saw. Third, well…" Yuji gave a sly smile. "…that one's a bit complicated…."

Koungasenki picked Yuji up and punched him across the face. "Explain!!" he demanded. When someone who looked defeated smiled, that was never a good sign.

Yuji only smirked at him more. "Well, I had to bring even more chaos upon this camp; otherwise, you'd just round those poor people up and bring them back here. I found the answer to that problem, but the problem was I could not be in two places at once. So, I had to make a little stop before coming here; the reservoir. And make a little telegraph line with the help of some friends…"

Koungasenki was perplexed at what Yuji was trying to tell him. He looked at Yuji's arm, and noticed a spider crawling on it. He also noticed that smoke seemed to be smoldering off its abdomen. It was then that realization struck him like a ton of bricks. "No…" In a panic, he dropped Yuji and ran all over the grounds. "He summoned spiders!! Enough to form a line long enough to reach the dam!! That smoke is a communication pheromone, and when it hits the last one…" Frantically, he looked all over for them. But finding bugs in such a wide area was not exactly easy or productive.

"You'll never find them, and even if you do, I'll release them before you can kill them!!" Yuji shouted.

Indeed he found one, but by now the message must've gotten through. As he looked across the horizon, he realized he would never make it in time. "No…"

Finally, the last one at the dam secreted a saliva on an explosive tag attached to the wall, and was dispelled. Like being propelled by a giant hose, the water burst forth with incredible speed.

Koungasenki turned back to his rival, his face with pure malice etched all over it. "We'll both live through this…and you won't like it one bit. That I promise you.""

Suddenly, before he knew what hit him, Yuji was swept up by a tidal wave.

* * *

Hyouike pushed the last of her fellow tribesman up a cliff. As she did, it scared her how light and frail her people were; it was like she was forced to become the adult who protected the sick and injured children. But she had to remind herself that her father was no longer there to hold her hand; she needed the strength to do this on her own. And her mother…"No. I must not think of such things…" she reminded herself. She never found out her fate…

"There they are, catch them!!"

Hyouike looked behind her in horror as the Iwa nin from the camp were gaining on them; very quickly, she would've emphasized. Frantically, she looked up, but higher up the cliff was too steep to climb. Even if they could, the ninjas would be steps ahead of them. "No…"

The Iwa nin pulled out their kunai, preparing for a slaughter. Suddenly, they stopped as they heard an ominous roaring sound. "What was that!?" one of them yelled. The next second, a giant flash flood swept them off their feet, and quickly began filling up the canyon.

Hyouike screamed as she and the others backed against the cliff, afraid the water would claim them as well. Fortunately, just as the water reached their surface, it began to recede into a calm river. Hyouike breathed a sigh of relief. "Yuji…thank you…" It was just then that tears stroked down her face. "What if...what if he didn't make it out in time!?" The night before, Yuji explained everything. She told him over and over his third phase was suicidal, but he insisted upon it.

"_It's dangerous, I know. But I've got great chakra control; I'll ride the water as it carries me." _

"_Yuji…" _

"_Those men right there; I'm amazed that they can still survive. I don't think they can for much longer though…we can't wait…." _

Hyouike finally caved in and trusted him that night. "I shouldn't have…" she whispered to no one in particular. But someone did hear her.

One of the men placed his hands on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "That was a very brave boy. Knowing that he planned this…I just know he survived…" He then knelt down as Hyouike turned to face him. "And I know that we cannot let his efforts be in vain. We'll wait until the water has receded, and we shall search for him…Hyouike."

Her interest was piqued, and looked at the man closely. With his ghastly thin condition and shaved head, he looked nothing like someone she knew. "Do I know you?" she asked, stumped and not really caring at the moment

The man smiled slightly, seemingly understanding. "Don't worry, I know I look nothing like I used to." he answered. "You were only four years old when I first met you; I would often apply medicine to any scrapes you got playing with the boys. You were such a crybaby back then…" he chuckled

Hyouike's eyes widened as she recognized that gentle laughter. "Spring-san?" Spring was a travelling doctor, who used to stop by her family's home often. But when the genocide began, he disappeared.

The man smiled warmly at her, just as he did back then. "Yes, yes. I'm so glad you're alright, little one." Hyouike hugged the man from her memories. "It's such a shame that your father was taken from us. But your mother…there's a chance she's still here."

Hyouike looked at him in disbelief, tears filling her eyes. Her father sent her and his wife away with a group trying to find haven in another land. Hyouike eventually snuck away; she just couldn't leave her father behind. She left her mother a note saying she promised to come back with her father. Indeed, she found him…only to watch him die. "My mother…she…" Hyouike now regretted doing that to her; she probably believed her to be dead now.

Spring added "I don't know for sure. The guards at the camp often spoke of recent captures. I haven't heard anything of a group similar to the one your mother joined being mentioned." His face then became serious. "Still, our priority is to reach safety!!" As the Ainu tried to make sense of what to do, they heard a voice. At first they tensed, but as the tone of it became clearer…they got a good feeling that they weren't in any danger.

"Over this cliff!!" a strangely enthusiastic voice called. They didn't sense a hint of bloodlust in the stranger's cry.

"Lee-sensei!! Are you sure!? We've been traveling in circles for hours!!" another voice called.

"Don't worry, Jaa-kun!! I know it's just around this corner!! You'll see soon enough!!" Soon, a young man in the strangest green outfit the Ainu had ever seen came into view, looking into the horizon. "Strange." he noted. There's not supposed to be a river here. And it hasn't rained recently, so I have no idea where this water…" the man took a look down. His face immediately went from unimaginable enthusiasm to utter shock. "…came from." he muttered softly, still unable to comprehend the sight before him.

Soon, three adolescents caught up to him. "Lee-sensei!" the girl in the group yelled. "This is not the best route!! If you look at the map here, you can see clear as day it's more efficient to…" she joined her comrades in their dead silence upon seeing the starved Ainu. None of them could believe seeing a whole group of starved naked men like this. "Not even in Kiri would something as cruel as this ever happen." Lee whispered. It made him sick to his stomach. If he ever found out who did this, he would happily open all nine gates to make the one responsible think hell wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen to him.

Hyouike looked at them, and noticed their insignias. "Those are…Konoha ninja!!"

The leader of the group got his bearings straight and jumped down to meet them. Many of them backed away, but nonetheless Lee saluted them. "My apologies. My name is Rock Lee, and those three up there are my students. We were in the middle of a mission…but upon finding you, it will have to be put on hold. Your hour of need cannot wait." Lee was being unusually serious, but even he knew his "cool" demeanor was completely inappropriate. "Crystal!! Get all the blankets you can!! Chan, Jaa-kun!! Find as much game as possible!! It probably won't be too good for them, given their condition…but we can't risk starving them further!!"

Lee's team was about to leave, when suddenly Hyouike broke through the crowd and grabbed Lee by the sleeve "Wait!!" His team halted as they listened to her. "A ninja from your village saved us, and in doing so, he was carried away by the flood." Tears were rolling down her face as she told them.

Lee kneeled down and gripped her shoulders. "His name…please tell me his name!"

Hyouike struggled to speak coherently. "His name…his name was Miyamoto Yuji!!"

Jaa's eyes widened upon hearing his name. "Miyamoto-kun…he was here!?"

* * *

For nearly two hours, the barren canyons in Iwa resembled white water rapids. Now, the foreign water receded, and it became a calm river. Suddenly, a hand latched onto the flat surface of sedimentary rock that became an island in the flood. Yuji pulled himself out, gasping for air. The cold water put him near hypothermia, and the way he was tossed around disoriented him greatly; he believed he may have even hit a few objects on his way over there that he didn't have to. Just then, Yuji's stomach twisted, and he vomited on the rock. "Ugh…I've had…better days…" Yuji began to continue climbing, but yelped in pain when he put weight on his right foot. "Shit, I should have remembered about that piece shit of metal around my foot." Slowly, he managed to lift his foot out of the water, and inspected it. The bear trap that snagged it was removed, but in this case that was a bad thing. The water must've literally torn it away, causing intense tearing. Yuji was sure if he looked closer, he could see bone; he was too afraid to. Worse still, he had no means to treat it. "Shit…if I ever get out of this, I'm going to hound Sakura-nechan into teaching me some medical jutsu."

Feeling like there was nothing more he could do, Yuji flopped on his back. "After this, I'm just going to go home and sleep for a hundred years. Maybe Shiguri could sneak in some hentai manga for me. A date with Iori would be nice too…" Yuji blushed at that last part. "I hope she's not around to hear me say that out loud…I'm in no shape to take a beating from her…"

Just then, he noticed something bob up in the water. It was white, and though he could only see the top, he could tell it was in the shape of a sphere. Before he could even guess what it was exactly, it busted open and something flew out. Whatever it was landed on Yuji's bad foot, making him scream in pain. "Did you enjoy the ride?"

Yuji's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked straight into Koungasenki's eyes. "No…it can't be…"

Koungasenki chuckled. "My hariton is to blame, you could say. Before the water came running over here, I cut myself again, but this time, I spread the blood in a circle around me. Then, I used it as a base to form the sphere I created. The jutsu is called Kessho Ken. Fairly generic, I admit. But that's not important. What is…" Koungasenki put more wait onto Yuji's foot, causing him to grunt in more pain. "…is that you're through. You should worry, not because I'm going to kill you, but because I'm not. Never cared much for those Ainu people; they were just scapegoats so that we wouldn't realize the Tsuchikage and the Daimyo that rules Earth Country are the ones causing all our problems. Deidara-sensei's planning to overthrow them both, but doing so will mean the end of your village as well. And I'm going to make you helpless to do anything but watch."

After that, screams filled the landscape.

* * *

Sakura stumbled back as she avoided Hidan's Kusarigama. If her arm was working, she would've been able to back flip away, but in her current condition, all she could do was scoot away. Sakura rolled when a clay spider leapt at her, but it would do her little good; in her crippled state, she had no hope of avoiding the blast. The explosion sent her flying, and the kunoichi landed on her front side.

She struggled back up the best she could, but a hand yanked her up, and next thing she knew, she was face to face with Deidara. "You're supposed to say thank you, bitch!!" Deidara punched her across the face, sending her stumbling back. She'd taken much worse, but right now, she really didn't need this.

She yelped when something sharp cut her back; if it was meant to kill her, it should've been a direct hit. That meant… "Oh no…"

Indeed, the worst had happened; Hidan licked his scythe to take in her blood. "And now…" His skeleton-form appeared, and the circle that represented his cult surrounded him. "…time to end this boring fight!!"

Sakura predicted he would stab himself like Shikamaru reported he usually did. However, he twisted the chain around his knee, and pulled with both hands. Sakura screamed as she felt some supernatural force crush her knee-cap . Finally, the kunoichi collapsed, and this time, there would be no comeback. Her despair was beyond the point of crying. "This is it. My body is broken, and I'm out of chakra. There's no point in hoping for someone to come to my rescue. And now…" As the three loomed over her, Sakura's mind simply froze. She knew they would use her against Naruto…now the question was how. Would they leave her as she was now? Would they mutilate her to get their point further across? Her knee injury was most likely permanent…would they bribe her with a treatment not even Tsunade possessed? "No! I WILL NOT SELL MY SOUL!! I'd rather be in a wheelchair than betray Konoha!!"

"Hold her down." Deidara ordered.

As Hidan and Deidara held down her arms, Sakura struggled the best she could, futile as it was. She managed to lean to her left and bite Hidan's fingers. "AAAGGGHHH! STUPID WENCH!!!" the "immortal" screamed.

Just then, Sakura felt something burn her other arm. "Ahhh-!"

She turned her head to see Deidara's tongue lick her skin, and everything it touched was burned as if her skin came in contact with acid. "The saliva from these hands is the chemical that allows me to create explosive clay." Deidara explained. "Except for my own, it is very corrosive against flesh. In fact, in the right concentration, they can even dissolve tissue right down to the bone. So…" Deidara closed his hand-mouth and placed it over Sakura's open mouth. "…I suggest you don't move. I wouldn't want to feel my tongue melt; would you?" Sakura reluctantly complied. She couldn't give up hope yet; she knew someone would save her. All she could do was trust in the rest of her comrades. "Tobi!! You know what to do with those jewels!?" Deidara shouted .

Tobi was too stunned for a moment to respond. "Y-Yes Deidara-sempai!!" Tobi fumbled getting them out of his pocket, and rushed over to their prey. Tobi memorized exactly what he was supposed to do; however, after everything that happened, he was uncertain if this was really right. But his trust for Kizu would not allow him to go against orders. Tobi looked Sakura right in the eye, and placed a jewel over her face. "I'm sorry, but this will take some time; I'm not as efficient with only one good arm. This will hurt too…so please bare with me." Sakura looked at the blood red piercings, wondering what purpose they would serve. She winced as Tobi placed them on her face; it was more painful than it should have been, as Tobi constantly fumbled with securing them in the right place. After what might as well have passed for torture, Tobi placed three piercings to each side of her nose and one on her chin. "It is done, Kizu-sama."

Suddenly, Sakura felt a surge of energy within her. The force within her body didn't hurt, but the splitting headache she had to endure was one of the worst moments of pain she had ever felt. She screamed out loud, forgetting about Deidara's acid tongue. Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Feeling returned to Sakura's body, but something was off. Her wounds were completely healed, and her chakra was restored. "They healed me? No, it can't be!!" Sakura could not think of a single reason for such absurdity. "They injure me only to heal me!?" Then, she felt her hands press herself off the ground. And that's when she realized she did not command her body to do any such thing. "My body…what's happening!?"

Hidan and Deidara let her go, as without her control, her body looked around their surroundings. "Kizu-sama…" Deidara asked cautiously. "…are you in there?" Both he and Hidan got ready for a fight, just in case Tobi screwed things up.

Sakura felt some other force mover her mouth, and no matter how much she commanded her body to stop, it proceeded as if nothing inhibited her "Yes, Deidara." It was her voice, her body…but her mind and soul were helpless. On top of that, though it sounded like her and came from her throat, this new voice spoke with a taint of malice she never had before. "No! Get out of me!!! Let go!!!" In her mind, Sakura completely panicked. To feel one's body move against their will, and to hear their voice speak words that they would never say…nothing in her ninjutsu training could prepare her for this. At least when Ino tried to take control of her body, she was unaware of it at first, and able to fight it off.

Kizu, now in Sakura's body, flexed his host's fingers. As he inspected the body, he commented "Not much chakra, but superb control. Well, Lady Tsunade…" Suddenly, he punched the ground nearby him (her?), creating a massive crater. Deidara and Hidan jumped back, not wanting to become collateral damage.

"Shit!" Hidan cursed. "He's bad enough as it is without super strength!!"

Kizu, now in Sakura's body, laughed manically."You should be proud of yourself, Lady Tsunade!!! You've endowed this young girl with great power. But you should've been more careful; you never know when your own students might betray you…" The mad grin from Kizu's new face faded, as he turned his head slowly to meet Tobi's face.

Suddenly, Kizu was upon him, and sweeped him to the ground, pressing against his broken arm. Tobi screamed, unprepared for his master's actions. "…Isn't that right, Tobi!?" Kizu yelled, referring to his supposedly rhetorical question from one second ago.

Tobi stammered "K-Kizu-sama…I meant no disrespect, I swear…"

Kizu only squeezed the broken arm tighter. "I am the only one you can trust!! Understood!?" he screamed impatiently.

Tobi winced so loud it may as well have been a cry. "Yes!!" Truthfully, he didn't mean it…but he did not want to upset the man that raised him any further, nor incur his wrath.

Kizu let him go, and faced his other subordinates. His laughter and expression, coming from Sakura's body, was one of the creepiest things the two had encountered in their lives. Opening his new arms, Kizu declared "Now, it's time to implement the rest of the plan!! But first, I need a uniform more fitting for me…"

* * *

Naruto, who was carrying Shiguri on his back, and Margay, ran through the grasslands that bordered Fire and Grass country. "Naruto-sensei…" Shiguri asked. "…do you think that army managed to get to Konoha before we did?"

Naruto yelled "No, I won't allow it!! And even if they did, we'll stop them the instant we find them!!"

Margay, nervous for her patient and the jonin's overall plan, commented "Up ahead should be a forest; if they're close, we'll know; not even a dense forest like that could hide such an army!!"

The three shinobi focused on the task at hand, but suddenly came to a screeching halt. The forest that Margay had just spoken of was burned to the ground, its trees black as coal and resembling the skeletons of monsters. Shiguri, oblivious to the meaning behind the sight, asked "It's supposed to be the time of year for forest fires, right?"

Margay shook her head. "That's true. But natural forest fires don't normally cause this much damage…"

"…which means there was a battle here." Naruto finished her sentence for her. Looking into the dead forest, Naruto said "Well, we've got quite a ways to go before we catch up to them!! We need to speed things up!!"

Margay grabbed Naruto by the arm, halting him. "Not by tree-hoping!!" she warned. "The trees are dead; if we try to climb, we could fall and incur unnecessary broken bones. We'll have to navigate through the stream!"

The three made there way down to the ravine; Naruto could not help but notice the destruction the fire caused. The water had dried up, and the sight of dead fish made Naruto want to puke. Though he wasn't an animal or environment freak…it angered him that men destroyed this place for their own selfish reasons. "I'll stop them all…and lands like these won't have to suffer again!!"

As he raced through, he stepped on something that emitted a metal clank. Naruto stopped, and kneeled down. Shiguri, impatient as usual, shouted "What are you doing!? You're wasting…" Shiguri shut up when he saw what Naruto picked up; a Konoha headband.

"It could have been other shinobi from our village. Or…" Naruto's eyes widened as he realized another possibility. Hastily, he handed Shiguri to Margay. "Give me a few minutes, please!! I'll be back!!"

Not even giving her a chance to protest, Naruto raced across the dried ravine. "Iruka-sensei!! Iruka-sensei!!" He didn't want to believe it, but given the fact that Iruka went after the army after he told him about it, it was very likely he was caught in the middle of this. For all the years he'd known him, Iruka's rank remained stagnant…although he was sure he was a capable fighter and most likely a good tactician, there was no way he could have fought off a horde as huge as that. Even Jiraya and Tsunade combined would've had a challenge on their hands. Naruto then thought back to the dream where he saw everyone's graves…"No no no no NO!!!" He didn't want to believe it, but it was looking that way; the dream seemed to be coming true. Just then, something grabbed his ankle. Startled, Naruto jumped away and drew a weapon.

Although the sight before him posed no threat, his body refused to relax: Iruka was right there in front of him, mangled, burned and too weak to move. Seeing Iruka looking so helpless…. a kunai to the heart would have hurt less. "Hey." He said. Calling it a whisper wouldn't have done it justice.

Naruto ran over and immediately hugged him. "Iruka-sensei!! You're alive!!" The situation looked beyond bad, but seeing his teacher alive was more than enough to give Naruto hope.

The jinchuriki began to cry in relief, but Iruka whispered "Not for long…"

Naruto had to restrain himself from picking him up too hard, which he would have done with a mildly injured person. "Don't say that!! Margay is here!! She'll fix you up in no time!!" Naruto wished he had as much hope as he made it sound.

Just as he said that, Margay and Shiguri found him. Margay cried "Iruka-sempai!!" After setting Shiguri down, she ran over, and immediately began to inspect him.

"Well?" Naruto asked, afraid of the answer. Spending time with Tsunade and Sakura, he put great faith in the power of medical ninjutsu in his younger years. But as he grew older, he began to realize even they had limits. On top of that, Margay was a standard medic-nin; she was no where near the power of the ones he knew like family.

Margay inspected him furiously, looking everyplace several times. If Naruto wasn't mistaken, she went over his body far more times than necessary to make a diagnosis. Finally, she ceased, and began to cry softly. "I'm sorry. He must've been like this for days; it's incredible he's managed to survive this long. But because he was untreated for so long, his body has decayed well beyond what I am able to heal"

Refusing to accept that as an answer, Naruto cried "No!! We'll take him to Tsunade!! She'll be…"

"If that were possible, then yes! But Uzumaki-kun, we're too far away!! We'll never make it in time, and…" Margay struggled to fight back tears. "…at this point, just moving him, especially at the pace we have to go, could kill him…"

Naruto's clenched fists went limp in disbelief. "No…" Naruto collapsed, and couldn't stop his tears from flowing; not that he cared much at this point. He thought of all the good times he had with Iruka…eating ramen together, goofing around, and sometimes just hanging out side by side…and realized what a fool he had been to throw it all away. Iruka was always there for him, and Naruto spent his last months on earth angry at him…which he realized was forced, a way of seeking some form of retribution he felt he was owed. "I made…I made a terrible mistake…and I can't take it back…" There would be no Chiyo-basama to make things alright this time…

Iruka's hand then touched his. Naruto, somewhat reluctant to look at him after the way he treated him, looked into his teacher's eyes. Naruto realized that he had nothing to lose at this point. "Iruka-sensei…I've been such a fool. I never imagined…it would ever end…but especially not like this!!" Naruto screamed both in disbelief, and anger at himself. "You were one of the first people to care for me, and I let this…this anger…blind me to everything."

Iruka tried his best to stroke Naruto's cheek and help him stop crying, but he was too weak to do even that. But despite his emotional state, he still had all of Naruto's attention. "Naruto, please. I understand; you never knew your real family, and it made you so mad that everyone kept it from you. I should be the one apologizing…for not telling the brother I never that the family that brought him into this world was amazing and everything everyone in Konoha wanted to be." Iruka hacked violently, coughing up huge globs of black blood, but that could not hope to come close to drive Naruto away.

Realizing time was short, Naruto spoke again. He would not waste one second. "You know…I never really thanked you after all these years, for everything you've done. Ever since that day when you saved me from Mizuki, I thought you would always be right there for me. I should have known…just how fragile that dream was. Asuma's death should have clued me in that just because you were strong enough to protect me, doesn't mean you'll be strong enough to…to…" Naruto couldn't finish, and began to break down again.

"Naruto." Iruka called in a hoarse whisper. "Come here." Silently obeying, Naruto moved closer. With the last of his strength, Iruka caught Naruto in an embrace. "You don't need me anymore; you've grown so much. I know it's going to be hard on you…but there are so many others that care for you. They will help you through anything you need, just like I did. In fact…" Iruka's lips curved into a small smile. "Hokage-sama told me something about you getting you-know-who, is that right?"

Despite the situation, Naruto had to blush with a small smile on his face. He confided with him about his crush on Sakura, back during their first dinner together. Something about sweeping her off her feet. He almost laughed too, thinking about what he said back then. "Truthfully…we broke up not too long ago."

"But you still like her, right?"

Naruto had to cry and laugh at the same time. "After this is over…no…the first chance I get, I'll tell her how I really feel."

Iruka nodded his head, although it was barely even noticeable. "There we go…there's the Naruto I know."

An unfamiliar hand rested on Iruka's shoulder, grabbing his attention. Shiguri stood at his side, though his head was hung low. "I…I wasn't the best student you had…" Shiguri turned to face him, clearly crying. "But I'm sorry I wasn't!!"

It seemed to take Iruka a good while before he recognized him. "Oh yeah…it's…okay. I've had worse." Iruka coughed up more disgustingly black blood. "Besides, you had a lot of potential…I personally recommended Hokage-sama to leave you under Naruto's charge. Thought he could straighten you out."

Those words made Shiguri believe that even after graduation, he looked out for him. "If he hadn't…I might not even be here…"

Iruka opened his mouth to speak more; but his voice had lost all of its strength, and nothing could be heard. Naruto realized that it was almost his time. Both he and Shiguri embraced the chunin in a hug, as did Margay. "I love you, Iruka-sensei." Naruto whispered. No response was heard from Iruka. Naruto looked into Iruka's clouded eyes, and realized one of the most important people in his life had moved on to the next world. Naruto did his best to hold it in…but it was overwhelming, something not even he could fight off. Naruto held his head up, and screamed into the sky.

* * *

Upon Naruto's request, Margay did another healing session with Shiguri. This time, he ordered her to use all of her chakra to heal the boy, at least to the point where he could use his doton jutsus without much strain. When she asked why, Naruto only commented "To make him a grave."

Margay, upon understanding his motives, made no further objections. When he was healed, Shiguri cast a simple jutsu to make a perfectly rectangular hole in the ground, and from there, Naruto laid his first teacher in gently. The three ninja then covered the grave with dirt, leaving Iruka to his eternal rest.

Shiguri, reflecting on Iruka's passing, took a glance at Naruto. Not too long ago, he would've laughed at the idea of seeing a grown man cry. Upon actually seeing it though, it made him feel the opposite. "This isn't exactly my specialty…" he thought to himself. "…but he deserves something." Tugging at Naruto's sleeve, Shiguri whispered "Sensei." Naruto glanced at his student, seemingly indifferent to whatever he had to say. "I'm…I'm sorry about Iruka-sensei!!" Shiguri shouted suddenly. Sighing, he said "I'm not very good with apologies. But…I don't like seeing you like this. I want to do anything I can to make you feel better…even if it's just a little bit."

Naruto smiled slowly, even though there was really nothing to be happy about. "It's more than enough." Naruto made one last prayer, and turned to his two comrades. "Would you excuse me a minute?"

When they nodded yes, Naruto walked around the ravine to an area where they couldn't see him. He didn't know why, but he suddenly remembered the letter Gaara left for him. After witnessing Iruka's death, Naruto didn't want to take the chance of missing out on something important. As he pulled it out of one of the vest pockets, he realized he left it inside for quite a while; the letter was all crumpled up. "I hope it's not a picture." Naruto thought as he opened up the letter. To his relief, it wasn't. He began to read:

_Naruto,_

_First, Jiraya and I owe you a great apology; we wanted to tell you for so long the truth about your father. We knew you deserved to know, we were just…scared of how you would respond. However, as much as I want to write about your family, currently, there is something much more important you need to know about. It's about Sakura; her father has arranged a marriage for her. I've managed to convince him to postpone the wedding until the war ends, and I'm doing everything I can to break the union altogether. It's a private affair that our government normally has no business with, and I have not found any laws regarding marriages that are ruling in my favor. However, even if I do find something, that might not be enough. Sakura told me that you took your anger out on her as well; right now, she has no idea how to approach you. Even if I break the arrangement legally….she still considered going through with it. She's lonely, and feels terrible about what happened. I know she badly wants to confront you about it…but the way things are right now, it seems she wants to simply run away from it all more than anything. Naruto…what happens between you and Sakura is your business. But what I will NOT have is the two of you drifting apart. You and Sakura were teammates for the longest time; do you really want to throw away the link the two of you had? Do you want to stay angry at the one who was at your side during your youth, as well as us? Such a bond should not be so carelessly discarded, no matter how big a rift forms between you. If Sakura still chooses to go through with this, it's her choice. But the two of you need to talk. You'll never know when your last chance to set things right will pass by. Whether the two of you simply stay friends or become something more…I know that Sakura will be by your side forever once you do. And as always…I have the utmost faith in you that you will do what you have to in order to set things right._

_Sincerely, and with the utmost love and respect,_

_Tsunade_

Naruto crunched up the letter in shock. His mind simply couldn't process it. "Sakura…getting married!?" He remembered back when Sakura begged him to bring Sasuke back, that he made a vow to himself to help Sakura anyway he could, no matter what that would mean. Seeing her happy would be enough. But after their brief relationship as a couple…he couldn't take this. Naruto clenched his forehead as he realized he was on the verge of losing two of his precious people. One to death, and another may leave, never to return. What made things worse for Naruto was that he would have no time to figure out how to resolve this; Konoha needed him, and if he didn't focus, thousands could die. But that pressure did not diminish his resolve to set things right with his former teammate. "Sakura…please wait. Your life is yours to live, and I will always respect that no matter what. But please…wait for me, so that we can at least talk. Because I don't want you to do something that you don't truly feel happy about."

Naruto then walked back to his two comrades. Margay exhausted herself healing Shiguri, so this time Naruto carried her on his back. "Shiguri…think you can beat me in a race to Konoha?" Naruto asked in a mocking tone.

Shiguri, getting the implied meaning, grinned, despite how serious the situation had just become. "In a race to Konoha…I think I can convince the village to name you the 'Tortoise Hermit'." he jeered.

Naruto snickered, and yelled "You're on!!!"

Before the genin knew it, Naruto sprinted off. "Hey! You're supposed to say ready set go!!!" The two ran off, back to fight for the life of their home.

* * *

Pretty long chapter, if I do say so myself. Not much to preview except: THE SURGE!!!

Also, I'd like to comment about Tobi's face in this fic. His face is based on that of a Thai man who had a similar condition back in the 60's, and like this fic, his dad did want to kill him at birth. It was quite fascinating to watch. After he was found by westerners, he was treated with plastic surgery and had those extra parts removed.

Tora-Tiger

Kurosai-Black Rhinoceros

Gouman-Pride

Zou-Elephant

Taifuu-Typhoon

Manrikigusari-A chain with two heavy metal weights at its ends. Used to disarm, maim or even kill opponents

Kasuzume-Fire Sparrow

Shukushu Chiri Gufuu-Parasitic Dust Tornado

Enton-Smoke Release

Ishnuhachi-Swarm of Bees

Kareki Hayashi-Dead Forest

Haimetsu Ryu Bourei no Jutsu-Necro Dragon Ghost

Dome Enmu-Corrosive Mist

Bourei Katanna Buumeran-Ghost Katana Boomerang

Kessho Ken-Crystal Sphere


	30. I Will Bring You Pain and Fear

Hi everyone!! I am truly, TRULY sorry this took so damn long!! I've been busy with volunteering at 2 different places and studying for the GRE. As a result, I could no longer do all of my pastimes all at once, which led to dividing it all in very OCD-ish ways. I'll try to step up the pace again, but you all know how it is: Life can be unpredictable.

Also, you may have noticed that with some reviews I actually responded to directly. It just seems more efficient when the review is fresh on my mind, and it saves me time when I post new chapters. Without further delay, here's the next one!

Disclaimer: Okay, here's the f*****g deal!! Whoever keeps accusing me of copy-right infringement, stop it, or I will burn every volume and DVD of Naruto to the ground, so no one can own it!!

* * *

"So, this is the army you've prepared." Kizu noted as he observed the Iwa troops from the treetops with his subordinates. "Impressive, better than I had imagined."

Deidara, grinned greedily as he replied "You're most welcome. Iwa, after all, is the largest of the great shinobi villages by far. Even if our forces are reduced to 20 percent, we could still take on Konoha directly."

Hidan just huffed in annoyance as he listened to the two of them. He was beginning to wonder why he was brought back when Kizu wouldn't even let him fight. "So, you got the girl's body, all thanks to Tobi. Now what?"

Kizu quickly replied "This girl is the apprentice of the Hokage. Konoha is much softer than other shinobi villages; I'd imagine no one would dare touch this female, let alone try to kill her…However, that brings about a new set of problems; they just may attempt a retrieval mission. There shouldn't be too many who can fight this girl directly one on one, but as a team, anything is possible. That's why I still need you two: To protect me from being taken back. Formidable as this girl may be, I'm sure there are others who can counteract her abilities. This operation can only succeed if I am present."

Hidan nodded, seemingly satisfied. Still, something nagged him. "May I…?" he began to ask.

Kizu laughed wickedly, his henchmen still not used to the way he sounded. "By all means; kill to your hearts' content." Hidan slowly began to smile in response.

Suddenly, an Iwa nin sprinted up to Kizu and pressed a kunai against his throat. Before his subordinates could react, he hoisted Kizu above to the canopy. Deidara stared hard at the ninja holding his boss hostage; not that he was worried. "Let's see…your name was…" Deidara snapped his fingers, trying to remember. "…Itten, I believe. Anyway, what the hell do you think you are doing?" he asked without raising his voice.

The Iwa nin's hand quivered at how calm Deidara behaved. Not a good thing when one was taking a hostage. But he did his best to not show it. "This woman…she killed my brother!! I saw it with my own two eyes!! Do you think I would let such an opportunity go by? She may be possessed, but even so, I must still make her pay for her crimes!!" Emphasizing his point, he pressed the kunai into Sakura's neck just enough to cause her to bleed slightly.

Deidara just rolled his eyes in response. "Great, another wanna-be avenger." Making eye-contact with Kizu, he asked "Shall I, or will you?"

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine." Kizu replied sinisterly. Quickly, he thrust his palm into his captor's ribs, deep enough to shatter them completely. Before he had time to react, Kizu thrust his hosts' fingers into the nin's lungs and twisted. With Sakura's strength, it felt more like Jell-O than a human body. The shinobi spewed blood from his mouth, and fell to the ground below.

Wiping some of the blood off his face, Kizu leapt down to rejoin his subordinates. "Well, I'd say we're only a few hours away from Konoha; let us get a move on before we have to deal with more idiots like him."

"I told you that you should have your hood on." Deidara warned as cautiously as possible. "An Anbu ninja like her has probably made lots of enemies from my homeland."

"You think I'm concerned about that? Even if this host body is killed, I will be safe. Still, I should put the girl's mask on; she is an ANBU after all, and it would look unusual if she came back without it. Besides, it will cover the toys on this girl's pretty face." Kizu replied. As Kizu walked by Hidan and Deidara, he glared at Tobi suspiciously. As punishment for his near betrayal the other day, Kizu forced Tobi to walk around with his face exposed, and an arm cast in a sling to prevent him from interfering in the operation. He still couldn't get over it; never before had he seen a ninja pacify another through kindness. Looking back at Tobi before putting the mask on, Kizu thought "Hopefully, he's learned his lesson. But I can't take any chances. It's too bad…even if he wouldn't kill anyone like usual, at his peak he would be quite useful for this." Still, both either healing Tobi or letting him remain as he was were double-edged swords. He could see Tobi was confused, and to let him loose was too dangerous. Still, he kept him around just in case.

As if that wasn't enough to deal with, there was one downside to the current jutsu Kizu used that he had to deal with: he could hear his host's thoughts. Sakura had a stronger spirit than expected; even now, she was still fighting him from within. Kizu yawned thinking about it. "Didn't get a wink of sleep last night." He thought to himself. "Well, I've pulled three all-nighters before. This should only take one."

* * *

Yuji breathed deeply, anticipating the torture he would endure while trying to forget that which he had already went through. He had heard stories about torture before, and then of course there was Ibiki, who was a textbook example of such a victim. Right now, he wished he took them and his word more seriously. Pressed against an electric fence on low power, hot water torture, being forced to swallow substances he would rather not talk about…and that was all in one day. On top of that, Yuji's foot went untreated, and his captor wouldn't even allow him to limp as they moved from room to room. The searing pain that came from it made him feel sick and week, and if nothing was done soon…Opening his eyes, and taking a glance at his foot, Yuji groaned. "Might be too late already." His foot was sporting a very unhealthy looking reddish pigment.

Chained to a bed, Yuji did everything he could to mentally prepare himself for whatever was next. He already tried simply breaking the chains, but he was used up most of his chakra just to keep himself from drowning during the flood. Problem was, he could only fathom and resist what was already done to him…and he knew whatever was coming would be worse. Just as he calmed down, Koungasenki came in, smiling like a maniac and brandishing a pair of pliers. "Those nails of yours are looking a bit long." The Iwa nin jeered. "I'm afraid I'll have to trim them down a little."

"Oh shit, this is going to hurt…" Yuji pretended to relax back into the bed and forced a smile on his face. "Oh, good! I thought you've forgotten all about me!" He would at least try to keep his tormentor from getting the satisfaction of him writhing in pain.

Koungasenki growled in frustration. Granted, most experienced shinobi should be able to endure torture of this level…but a kid like this should've broken down long before. "Quiet." He replied coldly. "Don't make me consider applying these pliers to…a rather sensitive part of your anatomy. Assuming, of course, you're man enough to have one." Just as he was about to advance on him, someone made a knock on the door. Frustrated, Koungasenki swung it open. An Iwa chunin stood right in the way. "What the fuck do you want!?" Koungasenki demanded.

The chunin, unprepared for his outburst, fumbled "Due to the destruction of the concentration camp Handan, your teammate, Genkkakushojou, requested that you rejoin your comrades."

Koungasenki snorted in disgust. "Can't you see I'm a bit busy right now!? She might be lonely, but that's her problem right now!!" he groaned, tilting his head towards his captor.

The chunin continued "But don't you know about the siege? Or do you simply want no part in it?"

Koungasenki immediately silenced himself, and his look of annoyance was replaced with one of curiosity. "Genkakushoujou is participating in it!?" He received he letter from Deidara days before that Iwa was planning to send a huge concentration of its forces directly at Konoha. By shinobi standards, this was a foolish maneuver. Even with their huge numbers, Konoha would retaliate with all sorts of traps. But then again, he knew that's what they wanted Konoha to think. And if his teammates were in it, he knew he would be missing out on something fun.

The chunin stuttered "Y-yes. I believe so."

Koungasenki looked back at Yuji, and smiled. "Well…" he walked over, and lifted Yuji away from the bed, simply straining his bonds until they were broken, much to his captive's dismay.

"Wait a minute!" the chunin screamed. "You can't take him!! He's a ninja like us!! If anything happens…"

"Relax!!" Koungasenki sighed as he tied security explosion tags to various parts of Yuji's body, and a gag. "He's beaten as it is, and as you can see, I've taken the necessary precautions. Besides, he can't be much older than 13; even in Bloody Mist the ninja do everything they can to rescue their young. I think he will make a fine addition." Hoisting him up on his shoulders, Koungasenki grinned. "So, you have a connection with the human summoners?"

"Yes. They're scheduled to summon any stragglers left behind in 2 hours. Simply hold on to me and we will be there in an instant." Yuji could only lie helplessly over his captor's shoulder as they went, but like a real shinobi, instead of praying for his safety, he thought about what to do next. "I'll find a way out of this…I have to." he told himself.

* * *

Back in Konoha, the two remaining Sanin, plus Gaara, gathered in a room overlooking a map. The three looked over all the strategies they could apply in this war. There was more to it though; they also had to keep track of other events that at a glance may have nothing to do with the war, but in fact might be related. Jiraya pointed to one area, recalling a specific event in mind. "I just got word a forest fire started in this area right here. It could be nothing; but the area is conveniently between us and Earth country. Plus, there's a trail there…perfect for transporting an army."

Gaara asked. "Are you proposing we scout the area?" Gaara would have offered to send his own troops to do the job, but most of them were concentrated on keeping Iwa out of Wind country, and Suna had the smallest shinobi army of the five great nations; he simply had no one to spare

"Small team. That's all." Jiraya said gruffly. "Three of our own should be able to verify this."

Before Tsunade could offer her opinion on the matter, a Konoha nin came rushing in the office. Tsunade had to resist the urge to yell; after all, if a mature shinobi came running into her office without knocking, it had to be for a very good reason. "Hokage-sama!! Only an hour away, a huge troop of Iwa nins!!"

Tsunade stood. It looked like there might not be any need to scout the forest Jiraya suggested, at least not now. "How many?" It had to be a good number if it turned out to be the Tsuchi-kage ordering on an all-out frontal assault.

"I…I couldn't even estimate how many!" the ninja gasped. "I'd dare say even a million!! We need to take evasive action, now!!"

Tsunade's heart stopped at the sound of his voice. Iwa had the largest army of the great nations, but a million!? In shinobi warfare!? It was unprecedented. Even she and Jiraya combined with all the available shinobi of Konoha would have a hard time defending the village. Putting herself together, she once again took her role as Hokage."We can't risk facing them head on. Get Hatake Kakashi, Akimichi Chouji, and Izunuka Kiba!!! Jiraya will accompany you as well!!" The three ninja she named plus Jiraya had the most chakra at the moment, and would be perfect together as an offensive barrier. As Jiraya followed the nin outside, Tsunade muttered to herself "If Naruto were here, though, it would be different. His bushins always had plenty of chakra to spare; he'd even brag that he would do this all himself."

Naruto was long overdue on his report and Tsunade feared the worse for him. If there was one thing she hated about being Hokage, it was that she did not have the freedom to mourn and worry for the shinobi closest to her during times like these. Naruto and his team were listed MIA; while she hoped for the best, it was almost a guarantee they were dead, and in a war like this, conducting a search party was almost impossible. Naruto wasn't the only one gone; Sakura was late as well, even if by only a day. She cracked under pressure less than this and got the sake out each time. Kami knows how she was dealing with her fears now.

Tsunade realized that in addition to making the perfect defense, she would have to call upon an efficient offense as well. Not to meet them head on, but to pick off their numbers subtly in true shinobi fashion. She turned to her new assistant "Get me Yamato, Yamanaka Ino, and Tenten!! Bring them here immediately!!"

"R-Right!" Hinata squeaked with surprise as she rushed to get them.

Gaara then walked to Tsunade. "Something's wrong. It's ridiculously obvious; they might as well have hired a band of samurai for this job. They must be planning something, something that we cannot foresee."

Tsunade nodded. "I know. Iwa has always been the most populous hidden village by far. But to concentrate nearly seventy percent of their forces on this village in a full frontal assault…Still, I have to treat the situation as it appears. And I'm prepared for the worst." She would later find out that she had no idea how wrong she was.

* * *

Shiguri panted as he desperately tried to keep up with his sensei, who was tree-hoping at breakneck speed. "Oh man, how does he do it!? I know jonins are supposed to have incredible speed and stamina, but DAMN!!" They've been running for nearly a day at almost full speed, and needless to say, Shiguri wasn't ready for a test of endurance like this. Granted, the food pills helped, but it bothered Shiguri that he didn't see his sensei pop in one this whole time. He, on the other hand, already had several. In fact, now that he thought about it, he may have swallowed the last one.

"Just a bit more Shiguri!!" Naruto called from ahead. "We're almost there!!"

"Hey, I'm no quitter!!" Shiguri called back in frustration.

Just then, other ninjas jumped from the trees. And Naruto could tell from their hostile demeanor that they weren't from Konoha. "For the love of…!" Naruto shouted. Quickly, he formed his kage bushins and Shiguri got his Dragon Tongues ready in response. Margay pulled out a kunai in defense as well. Naruto's clones pummeled the attackers, and Shiguri sliced anything that came near him. Their flexibility kept the enemy from getting too close. Naruto was doing just fine on his end, but it wasn't long before the others recognized him.

"Is that…?"

"Yes! It's the Jinchuriki that traitor has talked about!! If we catch them here, Tsuchikage…"

Before the shinobi could finish, Naruto flattened his face with a punch that Shiguri swore matched Sakura's, tucking the enemy into bed a bit early, perhaps even permenately. "If you're going to say something about capturing me, don't make it about a promotion!" Naruto yelled in disgust.

Shiguri, loosing the defensive, ran towards Naruto. Looking at the numbers, he realized they really had to work together now. "Hey, sensei!! You know you can't win without sacrifice, right!?" To emphasize the point, Shiguri winked at the two adults.

Naruto got the meaning, and immediately hurled all the spare shuriken he had into the canopy. He was no Tenten, but his shurikenjutsu had become quite excellent, if he did say so himself.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped when he heard "Don't move!!"

Naruto turned around, and saw an Iwa nin press a kunai to the back of Margay's head, her arm locked to prevent her from escaping. "Some proud warriors you turned out to be." Naruto commented in disgust.

"If you're looking to fight someone with honor, check with your local samurai. Now, just come with us. I'm sure you know the routine."

Naruto just shrugged nonchalantly. "No."

Surprised, the nin stabbed Margay's shoulder, eliciting a scream from her. "You think this is a fucking game!?" Most shinobi in this region cared about their comrades, and taking hostages almost always worked. Instead of backing off, Naruto slowly advanced on him. "You wouldn't dare." The Iwa nin hissed. Something wasn't right. Suddenly, Shiguri thrust his Dragon Tongue right through Margay and into him. As he coughed up blood, he spat out "No way. You Konoha nins are too soft. You wouldn't…"

"You're right." The woman he thought he took hostage showed up from underneath the branch they were fighting on. "They most certainly would not."

The Iwa shinobi took a look at his supposedly deceased hostage, and it turned into a bushin of Naruto, who also seemed to be bleeding profusely. "Hey, we know how to cheat too." The bushin dissipated completely, and the Dragon Tongue was yanked out of the man, leaving him collapsed on his knees.

Naruto could tell from his vest this was the commander, and felt they were safe for now. Before Naruto could sigh in relief, another group of Iwa nin sprang from the trees. "Of all the-!" Okay, so the strategy of taking out the leader didn't always work. The trio jumped down to the ground before they could be impaled. There was no telling how many of these nins there were; they had to get out of here!! Tree-hoping was the fastest, but that was where they were most likely to be. Naruto yelled "Shiguri!! Do you have an earth jutsu that can possibly help us out here so we can get to Konoha faster!?"

Shiguri got next to him and quickly replied "You know, I think I have just the thing!! You're going to be doing all the work though!!!"

"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted. "This isn't the time for jokes!!"

Ignoring him, Shiguri shouted "Doton!! Kakugon Mawashigurama no Jutsu!!"

Suddenly, the ground Naruto and his two comrades were standing on broke off, forming a narrow rectangle beneath them. Much like a coiling snake, it rose, and the two ends joined together, forming a wheel they were inside of. Suddenly, Shiguri's remark became clear. Naruto, quite pleased with the results, simply said "Give me he a hand here."

The three began running, and the boulder-wheel went with them. The Iwa nins tried to stop them but their shuriken simply ricocheted off the moving rock. The only thing they could do was get out of their way.

* * *

The Mizukage meditated in his tent, clearing his mind of all distractions. He would need a focused mind to pull off the feat he coveted. Taking down Konoha, or any village within the Great Five, was no easy task. One misstep could put his own village in danger. Then there was Midoriiro. After the seven swordsmen were deemed traitors, he made it his mission to end their lives. What kind of example would he set otherwise, by letting nins whose strength rivaled his own get away scott-free. There was only one left, and she had to be dealt with. However, even if he did succeed in killing her, her sister was just as much of a threat…

Just then, a small newt appeared; he had a contract with the newts, and often sent them along with his most trusted men. "The Inferno Squad has reached the southern borders of Fire Country." The small amphibian reported.

"Any setbacks?"

"Possibly, they said. It appears that Iwa is getting ready to attack Konoha. To interfere could prove dangerous, since neither one is our ally."

The Mizukage smiled under his mask. "Far from it. By the sound of it, this sounds like a perfect opportunity. Tell them to let Iwa do the work; when they're gone, we'll finish Konoha off, and if there's nothing left…well, Iwa will have become our next target by default. Relay that message for me."

The newt disappeared, and the Mizukage turned to his left, where his unofficial bodyguard stood: Taifuu. "Would it be alright if I requested you to deliver the message to Midoriiro?" the Mizukage asked, as if he was a father talking to his daughter.

Taifuu, who stood right by him, bowed. "You never need to ask, only command, Mizukage-sama."

The Mizukage smiled and replied. "Good girl."

He handed her an envelope, and as she tucked it away into her uniform, Taifuu asked "Mizukage-sama, shall I send the message by killing the young man she was with? I just believe it will be more…effective that way."

The Mizukage thought about it, and waved his hand. "No need. From what we were told, the men successfully held him down. I don't think he's anything to worry about. To be safe though, try to immobilize him." He then stood, and in response, Taifuu kneeled. The Mizukage touched her shoulder gently. "I know your pain, your yearning for revenge. Don't act hastily; the time to avenge your family will come. I promise you. Simply do exactly as I say, and you will have what you desire most." With that, the girl vanished.

The Mizukage chuckled softly; at best, she was just as strong as her sister. "Killing two birds with one stone indeed." He thought to himself, savoring how all of his ambitions would be soon fulfilled.

* * *

Kakashi got ready to defend his position as ordered. Preparing for the inevitable onslaught, his body trembled, not in fear, but in hate. Memories of his team's mission into Earth Country began to cloud his mind. Of Minato trying to reach him. Of Obito, dying for him. And Rin… Kakashi could never get over what had happened…he wanted his two students with him at this moment more than anything. The emotions boiling up inside him scared him; if Naruto or Sakura were here, they could at least keep him in check. If his old sensei would here, he would fix the problem altogether.

"I wish Minato was here too." A voice called. Kakashi turned to his side to see Jiraya. "They would have fled on sight if they had seen him again. Would make things a lot easier." Jiraya sighed. "I really wish Naruto would've let me tell him all about his father. I should have from the start. But then…"

Kakashi patted his elder comrade on the shoulder. "I understand why you kept the truth from him. I'm to blame as well, and had as much responsibility as you to tell him. But now that the truth about his father is out, he needs to know about his mother."

Jiraya nodded in agreement. "I'll tell him. When he's ready to hear me out."

Just then, Chouji and Kiba joined them. "Yo." Kiba waved. "Never thought I'd be fighting amongst the big leagues. Although, now that I am, it makes me realize we're beyond deep trouble." Kiba scratched his dog's head, trying to keep his spirits despite the grim situation.

Chouji shielded his eyes as he looked into the forest. "Looks like you won't have time to worry about that. Get ready; they're coming."

Judging by common sense, it was unlikely what they were witnessing was Iwa's entire army. But they were sure wishing they did as they came out. "This is it men!! Run over them!!"

A rainstorm of shuriken rushed at them, but the Konoha nin were prepared. "Doton!! Doryuheki!!" A wall with dog heads shot up, blocking the shuriken.

"Don't stop!!! Climb over it!!!" The Iwa nin, some of whom knew it would be suicidal, climbed over in an attempt to dog pile their opponents. Their commander's orders were absolute, and tradition held it was a great honor to die for Iwagakure.

However, death came to some sooner than expected; a giant tongue whipped forward and caught some of them. The toad Jiraya summoned picked off as many of the ninja as possible as if they were flies. When it looked like some would get through, the sage yelled "Now, Chouji!!"

Chouji grew to an enormous size, and ran into the wall. The stone wall collapsed, leaving many Iwa nins to fall and for those lucky enough to avoid death, be put out of commission nonetheless. "Your turn, Kiba!!"

"You heard him, Akamaru! Let's do it!!" Kiba leapt on Akamaru and the duo charged "Getsuga!!" Two spinning whirlwinds pummeled the army. After the jutsu was dispelled, Kiba flew off Akamaru and hurled kunai at everyone in sight. Landing, he took a second to scan what was left, only to feel his eyes widen in size. "All that, and we didn't put a dent in their numbers!"

One Iwa nin managed to capture Kiba in a full nelson, but Akamaru grabbed the attacker by the jaws and flung him away. As more were about to lunge on top of them, Chouji used his Nikudan Sensha to flatten them. Stopping, he expanded his limbs and swung the attackers away. Then, Jiraya and Kakashi charged straight into the crowd, each with a rasengan in his hand. The men fell like bowling pins on contact. However, the two elites were taken by surprise when someone created an earth dragon and fired upon the two.

Kiba and his dog rushed over to help, but powerful smokebombs were thrown in front of them, distorting their senses more than they would have for an ordinary ninja.

"Doton!! Tsuyatsuya Doriine no Jutsu!!" Chouji found his feet stuck in the ground, and began to sink.

"Oh shit!!"

The Iwa nin who cast the Earth Dragon snickered in satisfaction. However, he was met with bitter disappointment, when he realized Jiraya summoned a toad stomach in the nick of time, protecting both him and his junior comrade. Upon seeing this, the Iwa nin began to charge at the organic shield, hoping sheer numbers would tear it down. Grabbing his elbow, Jiraya forced Kakashi outside. The sage lit a match, threw it into the stomach and dove out himself. The stomach was impervious to everything from the outside. However, the inside was extremely flammable. The explosion that followed sent more of the nins sky-high the second they got close.

The explosion didn't help just the two experienced nins; it also created a breeze that blew away the smoke choking Kiba and Akamaru. Recovered, Kiba yelled to his dog "Chouji!! Go get him!!"

Akamaru ran towards the sinkhole engulfing Chouji, while Kiba kept any would-be attackers at bay. The only think sticking out of the ground was Chouji's hand, and if Akamaru didn't act now, something terrible could happen. Although his body began sinking as well, he swam through the soft ground, taking Chouji's hand in his teeth. Then, Akamaru spun in his Getsuga, tearing both of them away from the quicksand. Despite his bloody hand, Chouji was grateful and briefly patted Akamaru to show his gratitude. "Thanks boy." Chouji then took out a string lined with kunai, and wrapped it around his body. "Nikudan Hari Sensha!!" Chouji expanded once more, and if he could offer any consolation to his enemies, it was that being sliced was quicker than getting crushed.

Everything seemed to be going in Konoha's favor again, but Jiraya and Kakashi were not as optimistic as their two younger comrades. "They're weak, but they're beginning to take a toll on my chakra." Kakashi said. "And they probably haven't sent their strongest yet."

"Hang in there!! " Jiraya yelled. "Tsunade's probably sending a stealth team to take out the rest!!!"

* * *

The general looked at the scene from behind the mountains with his telescope. While he was surprised at the strength of the ninjas defending Konoha, he didn't actually expect the first wave to make it through. In fact, they were supposed to be a sacrifice in the first place.

Turning to the side, he stared at the Hokage monuments. "There it is. According to Tsuchikage-sama, the civilians and students should be there." Turning behind him, he called "Ebukuro!"

The Iwa nin he called appeared right before him. "Yes sir!"

"Summon your birds and send them to the monuments! We'll take them right there!"

Obediently, he followed his commander's orders. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" Birds appeared, and took off into the sky. They were large enough to carry two people, so they couldn't fly over there without being noticed. They had to go around the mountain, but the general believed that they could keep Konoha occupied long enough without them noticing.

Suddenly, Deidara appeared and addressed the general. "Excellent. Remember, wait until my signal; we can't do this when their guard is still up."

The general simply scoffed at him. "I still don't trust that comrade of yours… or you, for that matter. You betrayed us once before; why Tsuchikage-sama let you back in isn't for me to question. That woman may be essential to this operation, but she's a traitor just like you. 'Never trust one who betrays their comrades, lest they betray you as well', the saying goes."

Deidara simply smiled. "Oh, you'll find this to be to your liking. Promise" Of course, when this was all done, Deidara was planning to kill them all…

* * *

"Finally." Shikamaru muttered. The trek back to Konoha was long, boring, and on top of that, escorting Iori was a pain. She behaved just fine, and he knew she was innocent; but because of protocol, he had to watch her closely. He was really beginning to hate protocol. That was what made the trip ridiculously unpleasant for him. Watching someone like a hawk when he knew they were innocent of any crime was the biggest pain in the ass. But the council would be all over him if he implied he took his eyes off her for even one second.

Before he could think of anything else, something whizzed past his line of vision when they came upon a cliff overlooking the forest. He stopped, and stared intently. There it was again. "Kunai. It had to be." Motioning his students and captor behind a rock, Shikamaru once again took position of field captain. "Hanabi. Find out what's going on."

As commanded, Hanabi activated her Byakugan and scanned the area. Before she could answer, Shikamaru already understood how bad the situation was; Hanabi's face trembled, if only for a second. "Our village…Iwa is attacking it!! I can't even estimate how many…"

Shikamaru couldn't even say troublesome to describe this event. If a Hyuuga couldn't count the enemy…they were most certainly in deep shit. "Alright. I suppose you all know what to do." Hanabi and her two teammates nodded, ready to fight for their village.

Before they took off, Shikamaru signaled them to wait. Walking towards Iori, he drew a kunai and quickly cut Iori's cuffs. "Wha…"

"It was simply protocol. I trust you. And even if I didn't…it's not exactly a smart idea to go fight and guard a captive at the same time." Iori slowly smiled at him. "Just follow me; I'll trap them, you take them out of commission." Shikamaru and the four junior ninjas leapt into the forest to join their comrades.

* * *

Down in the forest, the battle for Konoha continued to rage. "Mokuton!! Karyudo Shinkan no Jutsu!!!" Yamato created a square hole in the ground that the advancing Iwa nins fell through. The hole itself wasn't that deep; but the wood spikes below would quickly finish most of them. Yamato didn't have long to even grin at his small contribution, as an enemy ninja ambushed him from the side and shattered his skull with boxing gloves made of stone. The ninja grinned briefly at what seemed to be a clean kill…but then was pulled INTO the tree trunk he was standing on. Yamato emerged from the other side, leaving his prey with nothing but his face free to move. "Be thankful that I am in a good mood today; otherwise I would have finished you off like I'm supposed to." As soon as he landed, he immediately created a plateau to defend himself from a horde of shuriken he spotted at the last second. "Crap, there's too many!!"

From the other side of the forest, the Iwa nins looked ready to move. The commander of this troop yelled "Alright men!!! Full speed ahead!! Remember, to die for Tsuchikage-sama is the greatest glory one could hope for! Don't turn away, not even if death is imminent!!" Just as they were about to charge, the man to the commander's side fell. Normally he would have been undeterred…but this strike came from directly behind, meaning there was a traitor within. And what's more, he recognized the kunai. Instead of rage welling up inside of him, he felt fear and uncertainty. He couldn't even think it was him! It didn't make sense!! And he could not carry out his duty as his commander…not without taking his own life afterwards. Deathly afraid of the answer he would receive, he turned around and whispered "Son?"

His eyes widened in horror as his own 14 year old son leapt forward and sliced his throat with the very kunai he hand-crafted just for him. The others were equally confused and horrified, and stopped in their attack all-together. It wasn't uncommon among them to betray one another, but to see a son, especially as young as the one before them, kill his own father was unthinkable. The boy seemingly regained his senses, and stared in horror at the blood in his hands.

From behind the bushes, Ino gripped her own heart in disgust, unable to block out the blood-curdling scream from her ears. She herself could not believe she had just done that. It was war; she had to pick a target that would best immobilize the attacking forces, and she did so without thinking about the moral consequences. She had to put it in the back of her mind for now though; right now, she had to do her part to protect everybody. There would be time for self-pitying later…a part of her wished there wouldn't be, however.

It seemed she wouldn't have to worry about it for now, though: wood grew out of the ground in a corkscrew pattern, squeezing the entire stunned troop together. "Good work, Ino!" Yamato called as he sprinted towards her hiding spot.

"Shut up." The blonde muttered under her breath.

Just then, more Iwa nins appeared out of the forests and attacked the two. Yamato did everything possible with his wood jutsus to keep them at bay. However, as Ino engaged an enemy in a kunai battle, an enemy charged at her from the side. There was not enough time for her to use a mind jutsu or simply dodge. However, as she prepared for the worse, the attacking nin stopped a bit short. In fact, he seemed to be paralyzed altogether. "What the-?"

"Now!!" someone shouted. Four kids then leapt out of the bushes, and each knocked him out with distinctive taijutsu styles.

"Wait!" Ino nearly screamed aloud. "Those are Shikamaru's students!! Which means…" Her teammate and lifelong childhood friend finally jumped into sight. "Shikamaru!"

"Nice to see you're still alive, Ino." Shikamaru commented rather nonchalantly, but knowing him for as long as she did, she knew his comment was genuine.

Ino then looked to Shikamaru's side to and realized something was off. Like all jonin, Shikamaru only had 3 students. But she counted four, and the last one looked awfully familiar. "Shikamaru…Isn't that Naruto's student?"

Shikamaru just sighed as Iori stared back at her nervously. "It's…it's a long story."

Ino, trying to sound as impartial as possible, said "I have some questions I would like to ask her."

Before Shikamaru could respond in the red-head's defense, Yamato shouted "It will have to wait I'm afraid!!" The jonin pointed to the oncoming hordes.

"Oh, for the love of…there's no end to them!!!" Shikamaru yelled. Everyone got into a fighting stance, preparing for the worse.

Then, something landed in the middle of the incoming battalion…and sent the Iwa nins flying like leaves in the wind. The Konoha nin defending themselves felt a powerful tremor from the impact.

"Could it be…?" Yamato wondered…

"Yes!" Ino shouted happily. "It's Sakura!" Indeed, the pink-haired kunoichi was making short work of the enemy's chunin and genin. Then, they retreated.

Before Ino could shout praise to her best friend, Shikamaru said "Something's wrong."

"What the hell are you talking about!? This is Sakura for crying out-loud!! She sent those so-called 'ninjas' crying!!" Ino retorted.

"It is Sakura for sure, that much is true." Yamato confirmed. "But Shikamaru is correct. The Iwa nin have been known to think of their kage as god; why did they disperse like that? Under normal circumstances, they would have carried out orders to the death, much like samurai."

"Are you suggesting that Sakura has turned on us!?" Ino almost shouted in anger and disbelief.

"Keep an open mind to every possibility." Yamato reminded the young kunoichi. He couldn't imagine it himself…but shinobi had to put their feelings aside in order to address the problems in front of them in a practical way.

As soon as the Iwa nins had fully dispersed, Sakura turned towards them. She was wearing her ANBU mask, which was required whenever she was on the field. Ino was in the middle of one day of R and R before the attack, so she wasn't given a chance to put on her own gear on. She then walked to them….rather slowly. Sakura would most likely not act familiar with them in her ANBU gear, protocol for keeping her identity secret, but she was moving unusually stiff. It was as if she was hiding something. When she finally approached them, she said, rather bluntly, "I must see Hokage-sama."

Ino blinked at the way she said it. Something was…off. She couldn't quite describe it, but even when trying to maintain cover, Sakura was being unusually blunt.

"Did you not hear me? I must see Hokage-sama. If I don't meet with her in time, we could be overwhelmed by the enemy!" Sakura sounded desperate. Even if she was telling the truth, in a more excited state, Sakura would have surely referred to the Hokage as "Shishou-sama".

"You can tell us just as easily." Shikamaru commented, trying to keep a cool head. At this point, it couldn't be so urgent that only the Hokage had to know.

"Can you quickly think of what to do once I tell you? I think not. It's quite urgent, and I suggest we head to her office this instant." She said, attempting to hide the impatience in her voice.

Now even Ino was beginning to have doubts. Even if it was urgent, Sakura had always held Shikamaru's intelligence in the utmost respect; she should have told him on their way to the Hokage's and later Shikamaru would have offered some useful advice to her. Still, it was too soon to jump to conclusions. But she knew something was definitely not right. "Let's go."

"I'll go too." Shikamaru said. "I have some important business with Hokage-sama myself. " Turning to Iori, he gestured his head, signaling for her to come with him. He also made a quick "Sshh" gesture with his finger. Very fast, but it was enough for Iori to get the message.

Sakura seemed to be hesitant. But relenting, she said "Very well."

Shikamaru ordered his students to come with him, and Ino whispered to Yamato "Hang in there. We'll be back as soon as we can." She didn't dare whisper anything to suggest she and Shikamaru were going to watch Sakura like a hawk; there was too much risk of being heard. But all three of them just knew what to do.

As distressing as it was to face possibly more enemies alone, Yamato was actually quite relieved that Ino and Shikamaru could look beyond their own biases. "Stay safe."

* * *

Kakashi and the others were being worn down, and fast; the number of Iwa nin was simply astounding. Kakashi thrust his Raikiri into an enemy's chest, and used what little strength he had left to keep himself standing. It wasn't the smartest idea to use such a big jutsu against common ninjas, but his other techniques were being countered by a few of the enemy teams.

Akamaru was crippled, effectively cutting Kiba's strength in half. Chouji was down to using his clan's pills to fight back…but Kiba snatched them away before he could even swallow the green one, noting that in a crisis like this, Tsunade would have no time to make an antidote. Jiraya was wearing down as well; he was nearing 60, and lately he had been having arthritis-like problems, among other things.

"We'll make it through this…somehow." Kakashi heaved. Truthfully, he wasn't sure they would. But it was better to keep one's spirits up against impossible odds instead of resigning oneself to death.

Just as it looked like all hope was lost, the oncoming troops stopped. One of them tapped a radio in his ear. "We've been ordered to withdraw and standby!!!" He shouted to his comrades. Just like that, the entire troop backed away into the forest.

"What's going on!?" Kiba yelled. "They had us!!" While he was relieved, the only reason he could think of for their withdrawal was pity. And no matter the circumstances, that didn't sit well with him, no matter how badly such luck was needed.

"Don't be upset, pup." Jiraya said, patting him on the shoulder. "Anymore, and we would have been history." Jiraya eyed the landscape suspiciously. "Still, for them to just back off like that…they're planning something."

Kakashi couldn't agree more. Before he could state his opinion, something to his side caught his attention. He swore he saw something pink. "Sakura? Could it be her?" Kakashi then called to the others rather casually "Listen, I don't know if she can, but this would be a good time to get some treatment. "

"You go on ahead." Jiraya called. "I got some espionage to do." Jiraya summoned a small toad, and opened its mouth. Then, to the younger ninjas' amazement, he simply stepped in the mouth and somehow compressed himself in order to fit. The toad's stomach didn't expand at all and didn't seem to be in any pain. As if nothing was wrong, it simply hopped away.

"How…how did he….!?" Kiba stuttered in disbelief.

"That's Jiraya-sama for you." Kakashi noted, smiling underneath his mask. "Let's hurry." The two simply followed orders and followed the senior

* * *

"Excellent." Tsunade thought. Earlier, Tsunade saw Shikamaru and Ino racing towards her tower with an ANBU ninja. She ordered Hinata to use her Byakugan to identify the ANBU ninja, and Tsunade's heart swelled with relief upon hearing it was Sakura. While the current situation was nothing to ignore…it did give her some peace to learn that her student was okay.

Calmly, Tsunade waited with Gaara in her office, as after what seemed to be an eternity Sakura finally opened the door to her office and stepped inside. "Forgive my lateness, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed. "Hokage-sama?" Although Sakura was required to call her that in public when wearing ANBU gear, in the privacy of her office…it was a bit strange; she never did it before, and Tsunade didn't mind in the least when it was just the two of them. Even with Gaara around, she wouldn't have minded. On top of that, she seemed to ignore Gaara altogether. Deciding to let it slide, Tsunade said "I hope you have a good reason for being late."

"Indeed. I was nearly captured by the enemy, and I had to remain low."

"And the rest of your team?" Tsunade didn't like the way Sakura spoke about it; if what she said was true, she was way too calm about it. And she knew her too well.

Sakura hesitated for a moment. "Dead. All dead."

Tsunade was becoming suspicious. She couldn't imagine betrayal from her of all people…but then again, she couldn't have imagined Orochimaru's betrayal back then either. "I suspect that you have something more important than an overdue report, Hakumei."

Quickly, Sakura looked around, as if seeing who she was talking too. Realizing that she meant her, she straightened up. "Yes."

Inside, Kizu was panicking. He realized that even if Tsunade wouldn't realize the whole truth, she was now onto him. "Shit! I should have known something like this would happen!!" Still, the best thing to do for right now was to go along with the plan as close as possible. Tsunade, as he thought, knew something was not right. But she wasn't going to jump to conclusions just yet. For now, she thought, she would go along with the act until she knew exactly what was up as she listened to Sakura continue.

"During my absence, I spied on the troops that are attacking us now. I would've taken them all out myself, but I am ashamed to admit by myself it wouldn't have been possible. As you can tell, they are planning to overwhelm us with brute force. By most standards, an idiotic tactic, but with their numbers I believe it will only be a matter of time before they achieve their goal. Before that happens, you must evacuate the civilians into the bunkers. They know how to tear down our walls, and will no matter what that may mean."

Tsunade thought about it for a minute, and not just about the civilians. She didn't trust Sakura's strange behavior…but the danger from Iwa was more obvious. Besides, she was right. "Alright. Follow me. Kazekage-sama, will you be so kind as to wait here for my return?" Gaara simply nodded curtly as Tsunade led Sakura out the door.

Tsunade led Sakura down the hallway, and not only to Sakura's surprise, took another person with her. "Hinata, come with us." Both Sakura and Hinata seemed surprised by the order.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, she is just a chunin…" Sakura stated rather coldly.

"Do you doubt my judgment, Hakumei?" Tsunade asked sternly.

Sakura stuttered "N-no, Hokage-sama…" Kizu had to remind himself while posing as a subordinate, not to question the superior's orders.

Hinata herself was not sure why Tsunade asked her to come along. Truth be told, Sakura's comment hurt her a lot. But she stayed silent as the three kunoichi traveled down the elevator underground to ANBU headquarters. When they arrived at the bottom, several ANBU on standby meditated.

"Inform them. I will trust you in getting everyone to safety." Sakura bowed, and went to them, giving commands. "Hinata, did you notice the way Sakura addressed you when I told you to come with us?" Tsunade whispered to Hinata.

Hinata thought about it. "Well…while I wouldn't expect anything more, hearing Sakura-san put it so bluntly like that was unusual; she's usually a very nice person."

Tsunade nodded. "Hinata, use your Byakugan again, and tell me what you see. Don't worry about the others; just focus on Sakura."

Hinata did as she was told, and activated her bloodline once more. Taking a good look at Sakura, Hinata whispered "Hokage-sama, did Sakura get her face pierced recently?"

Tsunade's eyes blinked. "No…in fact, she's squeamish about piercings of any kind…." Tsunade realized just then she may indeed have a problem. "Hinata…go back up and wait for me in my office. I'll be there shortly."

Hinata bowed, and made her way back up. "Sakura…" Although she was often jealous that Sakura had Naruto's heart, she had always considered her a dear friend. She also knew what the Hokage was thinking…and it would break her heart as well as Naruto's if she was proven correct.

* * *

A pair of ANBU ninja, plus Sakura and whatever chunin were still available, ordered the civilians to evacuate. They could hear by the noise that it was only a matter of time before their village would be overrun, so they gladly obeyed the soldiers.

"Hurry up!!" a feminine yet angry voice called. The crowd almost balked, but kept moving at a steady pace.

Two ANBU escorts looked at Sakura. "Isn't Hakumei behaving…a bit strangely?"

"We were told by the Hokage's slug to expect something like this."

"Expect what?"

The two turned around to see the legendary Copy ninja, Hatake Kakashi, standing behind them curiously. Since Kakashi was a former ANBU ninja himself, he was well respected by the ANBUs and often treated as one of them. They decided telling him just enough information would be alright…if anything, it might even be helpful. "Hokage-sama said Hakumei was acting quite strangely. Perhaps you can be the judge of that."

Kakashi looked at Sakura, and noticed by the way she moved that she was unusually anxious. "Yes…do you have a plan?" The two whispered to him as low as they could, and Kakashi nodded.

Kakashi walked up to Sakura, and patted her shoulder. Sakura quickly withdrew away from him, clearly agitated. "What's wrong, Hakumei? You seem to really be on the edge." Kakashi said, being careful to maintain his calm persona but not making it sound like he was ignoring the gravity of the situation.

"Can't you see we're in the middle of a battle!? Do you want the deaths of innocent civilians on our hands!?" she shouted back, almost furious. "If not, I suggest you help me!!" As if to emphasize her point, an explosion went off right near the walls that protected the village.

Taking the hint, Kakashi went along with guiding the civilians to the bunkers inside the Hokage monuments. However, both Kizu inside her and Kakashi knew something was up…and were eyeing each other very suspiciously.

* * *

Deidara waited patiently at his post. Through his scope, he could see the civilians nearing the bunkers. "Perfect." Konoha would have no choice but to negotiate. While the primary purposes of ninja villages were independent militaries, they also needed normal civilians such as farmers, doctors, and even businessmen to sustain them. Even the most savage ninja village would make an effort to save what they needed, and Konoha would obviously try to save them all. Of course, if Iwa's demands were met, it would still mean the end of Konoha as an independent village. "They'll most certainly try a counter attack." Deidara thought. "But they won't have long to come up with a plan that could work!!" The blonde smiled in anticipation. "I wonder what you'll do!!"

"Deidara-sama!" one of the foot soldiers called.

"You're bothering me. What is it!?" Deidara snapped.

"Koungasenki is here!!"

Deidara's face perked up. "Isn't he supposed to be a guard right now!?" he asked.

"The camp was destroyed." Deidara turned around to see Koungasenki, carrying someone over his shoulders. "They were a waste of time anyway. I enjoyed the slow torture and everything, it was just….SO SLOW." Koungasenki emphasized.

"Kounga-kun, I'm glad you are able to participate. I would have convinced Mutsuguro-chan to take part in this operation, but given my current position I thought it was best not to push my luck." Deidara replied with a smile. "Genkakushoujou and San are waiting right above the monuments. Give me your hostage; go meet them as quietly as you can."

Koungasenki did so, and whispered into his ear "A word with you, if I may." Deidara nodded, and knelt down to listen. "If there is a time to take out that fatass who dares calls himself a kage, now's the time. I know you're not here for conquest, at least, not yet. But even if you have no desire to return, at least allow us to take over. While he is no better morally than any other Kage we've had, at least the ones before him earned their power and actually helped the village to live on. This one doesn't give a damn; all he cares about is money and sake. His policy for reducing the potential jonins has held everyone back. Genkakushoujou had to coerce him with her drugs just to get us up to chunin level when we should be special jonin at least. And I suspect that he may have promoted San a rank higher than us only to show the people his standards are not quite that rigid. Mutsuguro will be the downfall of Iwa, even if we take down Konoha and Suna. While I know patriotism is not something high on your priorities list…it is on mine. At least, MY vision of what it should be."

"And what is your vision, my dear boy?" Deidara asked, gleefully curious.

"Chaotic and bloody." Koungasenki replied with just a notch below a whisper.

Deidara smiled, and whispered "Don't worry. I've already made arrangements for Mutsuguro-chan to come down here. He and the other two kages will meet for negotiations…but whichever way it goes, I'll make sure it turns on him. However, as for who's going to lead Iwa after that…I'll leave it up to you."

Deidara patted his student's shoulder as he formed an insane smile. "Internal violence has always fascinated me. I can't wait to see who will betray me first…" It took Koungasenki every ounce of actual discipline he had to suppress himself from laughing…

"Deidara!!" one of the soldiers called.

The Akatsuki member rolled his eyes. "What is it?" He was starting to think he should have made the soldiers referred to someone else.

"Something seems to be happening in the village…it's seems that they're barring off the civilians from the shelters."

Deidara's eyes piqued. "Interesting…" Deidara got his clay bird ready and zoomed in on the village. "It seems they've figured it out. Good thing Kizu-sama anticipated this."

* * *

"You fool!! What do you think you are doing!?" Sakura screamed.

Just a moment ago, Kakashi created an earth wall between the bunkers and the civilians. The civilians and children were now more confused than before, and were on the verge of panicking. It was a tough decision for Kakashi to make, but there was even greater risk to them if the two of them gave opposing commands. They would have lost it immediately if it seemed their protectors were arguing over what they should do, so Kakashi decided a physical barrier would be best. "I'm not sure the comrade I knew is really the one behind the mask." Kakashi replied coldly.

"What difference does it make!? Can you not see the chaos around you!?" Sakura yelled as she flailed her arms around.

"Yes. And it is precisely because of that chaos that I need to make decisions with a clear head." The copy nin replied, calm as ever. "I have decided that A: you're an imposter. Or B: a traitor."

Kizu had to restrain himself from pulling out a kunai; but using his host's fists to pummel the masked man seemed reasonable enough. "YOU….!"

Sakura lunged at him, but stopped short. "I noticed something odd about you too, Hakumei." Shikamaru appeared from behind the crowd.

Looking down, Kizu saw their shadows connected. "I see…he puts chakra into his shadow and uses it to capture me."

"Thanks." Kakashi called back. "With her strength, it could've gotten ugly real fast."

Ino appeared to his side, and prepared her mind jutsu. "Shintensen no Jutsu!" Ino looked into her mind…and fell back with a scream.

"Ino! What's wrong!?" Kakashi asked as he helped her up.

"I couldn't find out much. Like before, I was forced out. But this time, it was different. Whatever it was, it is not her…" Ino looked at her friend in fear. "Whatever it was, it was pure evil…I never felt such hatred in my life…"

Finally, Tsunade appeared. She didn't speak a word, nor did her face betray any emotions. "Shikamaru, bring her deeper into the village. Ino, I need you to stay with the other villagers. Keep them safe." Ino nodded in understanding; whatever was causing Sakura's strange behavior, Tsunade didn't want to expose her identity; even if she was ruled innocent, the civilians would distrust her greatly.

After a few minutes, she, Shikamaru and Kakashi, with their prisoner in tow, walked into the center of town, which was completely empty. The Hokage calmly walked up to her…and thrust her hand across, shattering her mask.

Kakashi was shocked at what he saw; he couldn't imagine how Tsunade managed to keep calm. Sakura's face was studded with piercings; it was completely unlike her. Her eyes, instead of bright green, were a pale grey. But her sneer…it was that which got to both of them. "You…" Tsunade hissed. "You are not Sakura."

Sakura smirked. "Impressive. I guess Konoha chose wisely when they made you Hokage."

"Who are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

The only thing holding Tsunade back at this point was that even if her mind wasn't there, it was still Sakura's body."If I may venture a guess: Kizu, leader of the Akatsuki." "Sakura's" face widened in surprise, confirming her suspicions. "Itachi left us a message. You coerced him into joining you using his family, and had a special jutsu to keep him in check. I see no reason for Sakura to betray us, which means you are controlling her body."

Sakura's face slowly relaxed, and she laughed. "I underestimated you. I can see why you were chosen to be Hokage, Tsunade."

"There's one thing I don't understand; I know what you're after, and it doesn't involve this village."

"Yet." Tsunade reminded herself; anyone trying to obtain the power of the biju had to be using it for war. But for now, that wasn't important.

"Well…you'll learn soon enough. Of course, with what we're planning to get what we want, your entire village will be affected as well, but it was necessary to obtain our prize. Wouldn't have made much difference anyway; you see, I plan to destroy the entire ninja world."

The way he said it so calmly sent chills up Tsunade's spine. "Well, it's over, for now. All I'll have to do is pull off those jewels and Sakura will be back to normal."

Kizu just smirked. "It's not that simple. You see, these jewels are directly fused into her skin. You try pulling them off with all your might, you might take her face as well. They can only be removed when I choose for them to be. And second…"

Tsunade turned as she heard a loud bang behind her, right where the crowd was.

"…I didn't think I could pull this off just by impersonating her from the beginning. I just led you to believe that was what I was trying to do." Before Tsunade could blink, Kizu sucker-punched her in the stomach, sending her flying into the apartment building behind her. Shikamaru broke his concentration, and Kizu was free. Quickly, he escaped back to his prize…

* * *

"What's happening!?" one of the chunin screamed. Suddenly, he was blown away by an explosion that seemingly came out of nowhere. The civilians and academy students were about to panic, but the few ANBU kept them in check.

"Do not panic!! Stay calm!!" As soon as he set his hands down, he too was blown away by a futon-katon blast.

A beast with a traditional mask stood in the man's place, and retreated back to its master: into Hidan. "Not bad. Kakuzu had some interesting killing techniques. But!..." Hidan threw his scythe at an attacking nin. "…I still prefer my method!!" The scythe missed its victim by a hair…but it was enough to get some blood. "Yes, yes!!" Hidan screamed. He brought his weapon back to him, and licked the blood off. "Let the ritual begin!!" Hidan formed his trademark trigram around him, and his skin transformed into a skeleton-costume form. Without warning, he stabbed himself. Both he and his victim felt the intense pain to be expected. But as was known by those who fought him and lived to tell about it, Hidan did not die. Too bad the same could not be said about his victim. "Ohhh, it feels so good after going without it for so long…"

"You!!!"

Hidan turned around and saw a blonde woman hurl kunai and shuriken at him. Hidan didn't bother blocking them, and simply took it. "Wait, I know you!!! Yes, just like last time….tell me, where is that pineapple-haired punk!? I've a bone to pick with him!!"

Ino didn't answer him, and instead launched more kunai. "I know how he attacks…this will be no problem!!" Ino cut her pony-tail, and flung the hair at Hidan. Suddenly, the strands of hair came to life, and wrapped around his arms and torso. "Without that scythe, you can't use your special ability!!!" Ino prepared to slice his head off; she knew that he wouldn't be killed, but at least he would be immobilized. But just as she got close…Ino fell back in pain. Looking at her stomach, Ino saw that some sort of tendril from Hidan's body impaled her. "No…it can't be…he's dead…" Ino collapsed in a heap as Hidan withdrew the tendril. Taking a quick look at the hostages, he shouted "Alright, boys and girls!! You know the deal: Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt!!"

"Except you!!" Another ninja attacked from behind. His sword went right through Hidan's body. Of course, the rouge nin was unfazed.

"What the fuck was that!?" he shouted angrily.

Suddenly, something pricked the attacking nin. He slapped his neck….then relaxed. "Heh, heh…" Lazily, almost zombie-like, he walked over to a civilian couple in the middle.

"W-what are you doing?" the husband asked, hugging his wife close to him.

The ANBU just continued to laugh like a drunkard, and raised his sword.

"Akashishi!! Stop!!" One of his comrades blocked his sword before he could strike them down. "Snap out of it!" Akashishi did not answer, and swung his sword wildly at his partner, laughing the whole time. Before it could become a full-scale fight, they were both doused by a shower of acid. The last ANBU nin protecting the civilians unsheathed his two ninjato and prepared to face off against whoever dared to attack his village. However, a crystal shot up from the ground and stabbed his stomach, taking him out. Now anyone who was not a ninja was easy pickings.

"May I have your attention please!!" The civilians looked up to see a man with blond hair atop a clay bird descend to the ground. The man said "I'm sure you can tell that this is obviously a hostage situation. And if you don't cooperate…well, then you obviously don't know what a hostage situation is!!" Suddenly, Iwa nin leaped from the mountains down to the ground below. Birds also flew down and circled the helpless villagers. "I'd imagine reinforcements are arriving. Hold them off boys!!" Deidara commanded. One group of Iwa nins faced off against the incoming reinforcements, while the second with the help of the giant birds carried the rest out of the village.

"No..." Ino struggled back up, gripping her wound. She saw with one of her eyes that Hidan was about to stab himself, likely killing her in the process. "…I won't…allow it…" Ino threw all of her smoke pellets on the ground, creating a large smokescreen.

"Won't do ya much good." Hidan jeered. "I can still…" A small fireball shot out and hit Hidan's hands, causing him to drop his scythe, and the sharp end impaled his foot. "Damn it, you bitch!! Now I gotta do the whole fucking ritual all over again!!"

Before he got the chance, someone kicked him into the mountain. Gaara stood in his place, his face as cold as ever. "Akatsuki…" he growled. At his command, the sand erupted from his gourd as he directed it towards the Iwa nin. Some of it knocked them away, but he focused most of his sand on saving whatever non-ninja he could.

"ARRGGHH!! I can't get through !!" one of them cried.

"Forget about it!!" one of them cried. "They're coming!! Fall back!!!"

* * *

"Are you alright, Hokage-sama!?" Kakashi yelled as he helped his superior up.

"I'm fine. Just caught off guard." Tsunade replied. "Quickly! The villagers!!"

Tsunade and the others ran to the floor of the monuments, hoping they were not too late. When they arrived, they found Gaara and other Konoha shinobi standing in the middle of the ground, looking up. Surrounding him were several globes of sand. "The villagers!!" Tsunade shouted. "Kazekage-sama, thank you so much!!"

"Now's not the time to celebrate. I couldn't get all of them." Gaara said as he pointed up.

Kizu, in Sakura's body, sat on the walls and laughed down upon them, with Hidan at his side. "You scum." Tsunade hissed. Tsunade wanted to scream at him to release her, but somehow everyone knew they had to keep it a secret, for Sakura's sake. Assuming, of course, they could get her back.

Kizu didn't utter a word. Instead, he pulled out a scroll, and drew from it a VHS tape. Without warning, he simply dropped it. Kakashi quickly caught it. Without even looking at it, he just knew what he would see on it. "I suggest you take a look at that before you try anything foolish." The possessed Sakura sneered. With that, Kizu and Hidan simply sprinted up the cliff. Kakashi handed the tape over to Tsunade, neither one able to take their eyes off the cliffs. Even if they ran to catch up with her, they'd lose track of her and lose time looking for her when they needed to plan how to retrieve the villagers.

Shikamaru spotted Ino and picked her up, as Gaara released those he had saved. "Is there a doctor among you!?" Shikamaru shouted.

"Here, give her to me; I'll take her to the clinic." One of the remaining civilians said. Normally, the Hokage treated ninjas, but everyone understood that she had no such time.

"We're here!!!"

The group whirled around to see what seemed to be an intricately carved boulder roll their way. They got into their defensive stances and shielded the villagers, almost eager for blood from the recent events.

"Calm down, it's just us!!"

Everyone lowered their guard when they recognized the voice. "Naruto?" Tsunade whispered.

Without warning, Naruto, Shiguri, and a kunoichi from Iruka's team leapt out. Tsunade dropped her kunai in disbelief. She wanted to hug him so badly…but there were more important matters. Even so, the situation was so overwhelming that she couldn't help but cry. Seeing him safe when her other "grandchild" seemed to be suffering a fate worse than death was just too much for her to put on a decent poker face. Naruto and his two companions rushed towards them. "Ba-chan!! I know we're under attack!!! Just tell me where-" Naruto and Shiguri stopped dead when they noticed how eerily quiet the village was, almost as if nothing attacked the village at all. "Guys…if there's something going on that I need to know about, I need to know, and I need to know it now."

Tsunade simply nodded. "We need to head to my office, right now. Kakashi will fill you in."

As Kakashi walked over to Naruto to explain everything, Shiguri took notice of something else. "Iori?"

"Shiguri?" The two kids just stared at each other for the longest time, and then rushed at each other. They both laughed madly, and cried as they hugged each other.

"I thought you were dead!! I thought you were fucking dead!!" Shiguri nearly screamed.

"I'm just glad you're okay!!" Iori replied. She looked behind him, and her smile turned into a worrisome frown. "Isn't Yuji with you?"

Shiguri's face frowned quickly. "No. You mean he's not with you?"

"Guys." The two turned to face their sensei. "I'm worried about Yuji too, but we don't know where to begin. Right now, we have to focus at the task at hand. It's hard for me too, and not just because of Yuji." The two nodded reluctantly. Still, Iori quickly rushed up and gave her sensei hug, which Naruto quickly returned. "I'm glad to see you're safe too." Naruto whispered. After that, the Naruto and the other Konoha nins he was familiar with ran to the office.

* * *

Naruto didn't know what kept him from stopping dead in his tracks or from losing it completely once he heard the news. He didn't even remember walking into the office as Tsunade put the tape in. Naruto wanted to keep saying "It can't be," but he knew it would do no good.

He snapped back to attention when he heard the static on the TV. Finally an image appeared, something that made his heart sink. "S-Sakura?" Her face was pierced and studded, her eyes a pale gray. Instead of standard ninja attire, she was wearing the cloak of Akatsuki. But it was that evil smile that let him know that it wasn't Sakura. Not the one he knew and loved. To her sides were Deidara, and…Hidan!? That wasn't important right now. They defeated the two immortals before, they could do it again!

"_If you're watching this, it means you know who we are and our objective."_ Sakura said. The way she said it was…so unlike her. Naruto couldn't let it go. _"Now, you will hear our demands. As you know, we should have a sizable number of your non-ninja civilians hostage. And I think you know one thing you need in order to get them back: Uzumaki Naruto. Alive. But don't think for a second that alone will grant you your hostages back. No, in addition, the Hokage and the Tsuchikage must meet. The Tsuchikage will have a treaty written, requiring Konoha to become a satellite village of Iwagakure. We normally do not care about the politics of the ninja villages, but we needed Iwa's help, so we had to give them this in return. If you will pardon the cliché, it's nothing personal; just business. Besides, we can't have you all mounting a rescue operation after you get your people back, can we? I suppose you could simply sacrifice them and leave us to come up with a Plan B, but I doubt you have the audacity for that. Oh, and Uzumaki is to come to me alone. We will be sure to kill all of our hostages the instant we see something wrong. You have…2 hours. Uzumaki and the Hokage are to go to the locations indicated on the note that came with this tape."_

The screen once again became nothing but snow. Those who had watched the video were stunned silent. 2 hours!? That wasn't nearly enough time to come up with a solid plan or gather the resources they would need. Everyone stood at a loss, but Naruto's two students finally spoke up.

"What are we going to do!?" Shiguri yelled.

"We don't have much time! Even if we keep our end of the bargain, there's no guarantee they will keep theirs!" Iori shouted along with her teammate.

Tsunade agreed with both of them; to simply do nothing or antagonize them directly was foolish. But to give into their demands…it was unthinkable. "We have no choice." Naruto said aloud at last.

Everyone's heads turned to him in disbelief. "Naruto! " Kakashi shouted. "I know they have Sakura, but there is no guarantee she and the others will be returned!! And even if they did, you'd only release them into a life of oppression or worse!!" The others could only look at Naruto in disappointment. He had earned their respect by becoming famous as the one ninja who never gave up. It broke their hearts to see him doing it for the first time.

"You misunderstood what I meant, Ba-chan." Naruto replied. "What I meant was that we have no choice but to mount a rescue operation!!" With that one sentence, everyone's hopes elated. There was no clear plan, as of yet…but they all believed he could pull it off. Especially if it was to get Sakura back safely. Everyone could see that Tsunade believed in him too.

But as Hokage, she had to be a realist. "You are aware that if this fails, we will essentially doom everyone."

Naruto nodded. "Like I said, we have no choice. We only have one shot at this, and I can plainly see it's a very long one. But it's in everyone's best interest to risk it!!"

Tsunade asked everyone "Any objections?" The only answer she got were visible smirks.

Followed by one of her own. "Very well. But where do we begin?"

"Whatever it is you're planning, count me in too." Everyone turned around to see Hinata at the doorway. "I saw the whole thing. After watching that, I simply cannot stay here and do nothing. Especially when I could have stopped all of this from happening in the first place."

Tsunade rubbed her head. The fact of the matter was that she did not believe that Hinata was as capable a fighter as she needed. Not only that, but if she was doing this just to win favors, there was a good chance that she could jeopardize the mission. "Hinata, I appreciate your concerns and willingness to help, but nothing you could have done would-"

"No, I believe I know the purpose of those piercings!!" Now everyone began to take her seriously. "At first, I didn't know what I was seeing. It seemed like some sort of wave hitting Sakura constantly. But now I know. Those jewels on her face were hollow. I saw something...something like a wave or radio signal that went straight to the jewels. Whoever is controlling her must be sending his or her chakra directly into her brain."

Tsunade processed the information in her mind. "It makes sense. I've never heard of such a jutsu, but it is theoretically possible…" She then asked "Do you think it can be removed?"

Hinata said "Possibly. I'd have to disable it first. Even if I did…"

"…there's no telling if her mind will be the same afterwards." Naruto muttered sadly. Slowly, he turned to her, trusting her completely. "Hinata, are you sure you can stand up to Sakura, enough just to touch those things?"

Everyone could tell Hinata was visibly scared. But they were surprised when she nearly screamed "I have to try!! Father's on a mission in Wind Country's borders, Neji –nisan can't fight, and the rest of the Hyuugas who are able to fight are further out in the battlefield! If I'm the only one who has a chance at it…" Hinata clenched her fists "…I will!! I must!!"

Hinata was right. Based on everything she had told them, she was the only one who could truly help the plan succeed. Tsunade didn't want to send her into battle, but she knew she was the best chance they had at pulling it off. "Very well then, Hinata. Rest assured, I and everyone else in this room will trust you completely." Then, the wheels began turning in both Tsunade's and Naruto's heads. Finally, they could formulate a plan…

* * *

Sasuke and Midoriiro came to a small village, and found another inn to reside in. They both doubted they would be safe for long, but it would be a decent place to rest for at least one day. The two companions hadn't talked much since she told him her story. It wasn't that he hated her because of who she was; he of all people had no right to judge. But he just couldn't shake off how she was now in a position his brother may have been in. Assuming a certain blonde was telling him the truth earlier.

"_Your brother…he loved you, Sasuke…"_ Those were the words Naruto said. Sasuke wanted to believe he was lying. But why would he? What reason would he have? It most certainly did not appease him, and for all the trouble he gave Naruto, he doubted that he thought it would.

"So many similarities. Could it be true? Could it be, this whole time, Itachi wasn't to blame?" He wanted to believe that Itachi was somehow forced to do what he did. But no matter how many times he worked out a scenario, nothing made sense.

Realizing this train of thought was getting him nowhere, he turned to what now may be his only friend at the moment. She hardly did anything since they arrived. She just sat by the wall, clutching her sword. "Midoriiro; do you have any idea what you're going to do?" Midoriiro remained silent, and only clutched her sword even tighter. "Your sister is going to come after you no matter what. She will not rest. I need to know, and I need to know now! One way or another, it has to end!!"

Midoriiro didn't even turn to Sasuke when she said "And what do YOU propose? What will YOU do?"

Sasuke was at a loss. What could he do? Tell Taifuu to give her sister a chance to explain everything? He doubted something like that would work; he sure as hell wouldn't have stopped back when he still wanted to face Itachi.

Before he could say anything more, something whizzed past him and hit the wall, very close to Midoriiro's face. Sasuke almost instinctively unsheathed his sword, which he no longer had. He also felt some blood trickle down from his cheek. Quickly checking himself, he concluded the projectile was not coated with poison "They know we're here. And that was no miss." Midoriiro didn't respond as she unwrapped what seemed to be a note that was attached to the needle. Quickly, she read through it. "Well?" Sasuke asked.

No expression showed on her face, and she behaved as though she did not hear him. Sasuke leaned over to read it…and went out cold as something hit him in the back of the neck. Midoriiro rose, and swallowed the letter. Midoriiro didn't even bother to look as she saw her companion, whom she rendered unconscious, slump to the floor. She began to walk outside the door, but stopped short. Finally, she looked back at the unconscious Uchiha. She had to leave, and she would. But…she couldn't do it just like that. Sighing, she muttered "I really am too nice." She went to the desk, and began writing a note…

* * *

"So, it's all set then?" Tsunade asked. Everyone nodded affirmatively. "Okay then. Remember, we only have one chance at this!! Do not fail!! I've always told my shinobi the fate of everyone depends on you! Right now, I can't think of a better example to make that point!! Go!!!" With that, everyone dashed out the office. "Kazekage-sama, I ask that you may accompany me. No doubt Kizu will have warned the Tsuchikage that we're both here."

"Of course." Gaara replied. "Besides, if a fight broke out, I have a feeling that a trap will be laid especially for you. I figure I should lend a helping hand, this time physically."

Tsunade smiled at him. "I appreciate it. With you coming along, I actually feel pretty good about this." The Hokage got up and ejected the tape Akatsuki had given her. Without uttering a word, she crushed it. "While this is not on my top priorities at the moment, it is very much in Sakura's interest if we do everything we can to conceal this. Otherwise, her reputation could be tarnished."

"Of course." Gaara nodded in understanding. "We better get going."

* * *

Outside, the Konoha nin got into position, while Naruto ran straight to the outskirts of the leaf village. "Hang in there, Sakura…" Naruto thought. "…I'm coming for you!"

"Naruto-kun!!!"

Naruto turned around to see Hinata running by his side. "What's wrong, Hinata?"

Hinata said "Naruto, I trust your mind is on making sure this mission goes right!"

"Of course!" Hinata started to jump closer.

"So will I!! And…" Naruto turned around, curious. Hinata seemed like she was nervous, maybe even trying to hide something. Finally, she turned to him, forcing a smile. "I will bring Sakura back! That is my promise of a lifetime to you!"

Naruto's eyes widened, and suddenly he had an epiphany. He wondered why his peers joked around about Hinata always watching him…why Kiba always muttered "You don't get it, do you?" "Hinata…all this time…" Naruto pushed it in the back of his mind. Unlike Sakura, back when Sasuke defected from Konohagakure, he had a job to do. There would be time to talk to Hinata later. And there was one thing that wouldn't change. "Even if she is unable to return my feelings…I'll tell her!" As always, Naruto refused to accept the possibility of defeat. But realistically speaking, that possibility would always be there, and Naruto had learned the hard way that loved ones could go at anytime. Even though now was ideally the absolute worst time…he would tell her no matter what. Because he may never get another chance.

* * *

Well, I hope this was worth the wait for you! Next episode, the operation begins! Plus, Midoriiro vs. Taifuu!!

Itten-Speck

Handan-Judgment

Kakugon Mawashigurama-Granite Hamster Wheel

Ebukuro-Gizzard

Karyudo Shinkan-Hunter's Death Pit

Akashishi-Red Lion


	31. You Think That You Have Power Over Me?

Sorry this took so long! Been busy applying to Vet School and studying for the GRE! Not much else to say, except enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

Danzou had to smile at what he just watched. "Perfect. This is absolutely perfect." He couldn't stop saying it; after all, how could a man like him call it anything but? The Hokage's apprentice in league with a criminal organization; the political opportunities it possessed! Of course, he knew otherwise. "This must be the scheme Kizu was talking about." On the surface, it looked as though Kizu was going to beat Naruto to a bloody pulp, counting on him to not lay a finger on his teammate. However, both Kizu and Naruto surprised him time and time again; him obtaining this video was probably the real plan. There was no doubt that everyone close to her would defend her to the last breath. But to everyone else, this video would be all the proof they would need.

He began to think of what would happen then. With it, he would deal a severe blow not only to Tsunade, but to that foul jinchuriki as well! Danzou remembered Kizu telling him that he had to enrage Naruto to the point that all nine-tails would be released; he doubted that this alone would do it…but it was the perfect stepping stone to getting started. There was the risk that he would unleash the Kyuubi's wrath once more…but it would likely be a necessary sacrifice. More often than not, the masses had to be stricken with panic before they could recognize a true leader.

Feeling he had seen enough and now was a good time to go into hiding, he put the tape into his safe. He rotated the locks daily, so if someone managed to break in one day, that same combination wouldn't work again. "I will have to thank Kizu for the extra copy."

* * *

Team Lee had finally made it back into Fire Country, and would be approaching Konoha shortly. Sadly, they couldn't take the refugees with them; but they made every effort to find safe havens for them, even if it was only temporarily. Lee assured the Ainu that he would not let it go and would tell the Hokage immediately. Feeling they needed an ambassador of some sort, the Ainu asked them to take Hyouike. At first Lee refused, but Hyouike herself was determined to go, and he couldn't deny her interactions with a Konoha nin justified her talking with the Hokage; she was proving to be rather mature for her age.

"How are you all holding up back there!?" Lee called back to his students.

"I'm okay!!" Chan shouted, although he was panting profusely as well, due to carrying the ambassador in question on his back, something he was not used to doing for long periods of time. Originally, Lee ordered Jaa to carry Hyouike on his back. But Chan kept insisting he would do it, and Jaa eventually relinquished.

Lee understood why; he didn't mean to make Jaa look like the only one on the team he cared about. But he would have to make it up to Chan and Li later, as there were more important things going on at the time. "We're getting close!! Let's move it!!"

On Chan's back, Hyouike looked over her escort. Quite frankly, he seemed to be exhausted. "Am I too heavy? I could just get off and…"

"It's okay!!" Chan yelled. Calming down a bit, he reiterated his statement. "I mean, thanks for the offer. But you needn't concern yourself. I'm a ninja; this is what I trained for!!"

Hyouike just rolled her eyes. "Men." She grumbled. They always had to act all cool and push themselves to do stupid things even when others told them they didn't have to. Well, not ALL men were like that. "Yuji…" She wanted to beg these ninjas to look for him. But her people came first. She had to make sure Lee and the others got them to safety, and would do everything in their power to ensure the Ainu's safety for at least another generation. Also, due to her contact with a Konoha nin, the adults made her their ambassador to Fire Country, and hopefully others in the future; even at her age, she could not downplay her importance. She felt terribly embarrassed by the idea as well, but she understood that she had to grow up.

Hyouike was suddenly brought back to reality when Chan came to a screeching halt. Lee held his arm out, signaling for his team to halt. Pointing to the shrubs nearby, the team followed his lead as they ducked into the bushes. Hyouike was about to ask what was going on when Jaa clamped his hand over her mouth. When she heard footsteps, she shut up completely.

Soon, two Iwa nin came into view. Scouts, by the look of it. "All clear. The operation will go as planned." one of them spoke into his radio. "Let's fall back." his companion said.

"We're supposed to be well within Fire Country, right?" Hyouike thought. "Then that means…"

Before she could finish, Lee leapt out of the bushes with a high-pitched cry and knocked one of the scouts unconscious with a spinning kick. He then grabbed the other by the throat and smacked him against a tree, bringing every leaf down. Before anything else was done, he pulled the radio off the enemy's jacket. "What's going on!? Tell me!!!" Lee shouted as he shook the hell out of the Iwa nin.

Though bruised and disoriented, the nin managed to reply "We're invading. What else would it look like to the likes of you?" That earned him a good punch across the face, but not nearly good enough to knock him out. That was, of course, on purpose.

"I don't have time for this!!" Lee nearly yelled. "I am not one for torture, but I'm in a hurry." Lee placed his hand under the enemy's shirt and on his chest, whispering "Kyuushu Choujou no Jutsu." With that, he twisted hard.

* * *

"Dammit." was the only thing Yuji could think of. Granted, he was already tied down, but his current predicament wasn't doing anything to make him feel better. Still, despite his frustrations, he paid close attention to what he could, hoping any information he had could be used later.

He knew he was now with a group of people, judging by the multiple sounds of breathing. Wherever he was, it was warm. He could tell by the breeze he was no longer indoors. However, Earth Country was known for being only temperate even in the summer. Which meant… "Fire Country. I have to be there." He only heard vague details from Koungasenki and the chunin he spoke with about what Iwa was planning. Some kind of siege, if he recalled correctly. Not very shinobi like, and that alone made no sense for Koungasenki to take him. He could try escaping, but he heard about his restraints back in the academy. The bandages around his head, wrists and ankles were littered with seals. If broken, or if they became too loose, they would explode. It was best to wait and make out whatever information he could before acting. He knew he would be used for something, and just maybe, he could turn that against him.

* * *

Kizu took a look at his hostages, making sure it would be enough to get the job done. "Not bad. A little more would have helped, but not bad." He knew Konoha would follow their instructions. Or at least, they would pretend to; the latter was far more likely. Either way, he knew he would be seeing Naruto shortly, and he was prepared for any rescue attempt. Granted, it would be troublesome if Tsunade used all of her shinobi to fight back. But his goal was to claim the jinchuriki, not fight. Simply retreating would be enough.

Kizu turned to Deidara. "How much time?"

Deidara checked his watch and replied "About fifteen minutes."

Kizu sighed. "Time really does move slowly when you're anticipating something."

"Mommy, I'm scared!" Some high-pitched voice screamed, catching Kizu's attention. It was a child, obviously.

"Hush darling!!" Its mother, Kizu thought

Thinking of nothing better to do, Kizu decided to walk down the hill to inspect the captors, just to pass time. He came up behind the mother and child that caught his attention, and just as he was about to walk in front of them, Kizu felt something tap his shoulder. Reflexively, Kizu used his host's powerful arms to flip the unknown person over. But when he got a good look at the person, he sighed. "Tobi…"

Tobi, trying his best to hide the pain from being thrown on top his broken arm, hurried up, and bowed. "Kizu-sama, is there anything I can do to help?"

Kizu stared at him dangerously. Why did he seem so…eager, all of the sudden? "I don't know. If I recall correctly, I believe you nearly betrayed me…"

Tobi nearly shouted "I was confused!! I will never stray from your teachings again, and I want to prove it to you!!"

For the longest time, Kizu simply stared at him. Then, almost hurriedly, he took Tobi's arm and healed it. "We may need one more fighter. But I warn you: I won't be so forgiving the next time…" The growl that came after was definitely his, and not the young woman's whose body he was using.

Tobi, seemingly fascinated, flexed his arm. He felt no pain, and it moved perfectly! "Thank you so much, Kizu-sama!!" he nearly shouted as he kneeled.

"Go." Kizu said. "You will join up with Deidara again. This time, DO YOUR JOB."

"Yes, yes!!" Tobi nearly sang happily as he ran over to the blonde criminal.

Kizu just rolled his hosts' eyes. "Back to work." he muttered to himself; as useful as this body was, he preferred to be able to use his own freely.

* * *

Sasuke awoke suddenly with a sharp pain in the back of his neck. "Ohhh…" Slowly, his vision returned as did feeling in his body. After what seemed to be a long time of not thinking, Sasuke's mind finally kicked in.

Remembering what went on before he was knocked out, Sasuke stood abruptly, anticipating someone to attack him or to find Midoriiro being attacked. To his surprise and relief, nothing. "Midoriiro?" Sasuke looked around to see she wasn't here. Then it hit him. "Wait!! It was her!! She knocked me out!!" Sasuke's face scrunched up in anger. "That…!" Sasuke nearly bit his tongue, and did something that was foreign to him for years; he took a deep breath, and calmed down. Taking a minute to let his anger go, Sasuke asked himself "Why? Why did she go? Midoriiro, didn't you trust me?" It was then Sasuke noticed a piece of paper on the desk.

Taking it in his hand, he began to read it…

_Sasuke,_

_If you're reading this, chances are that you've noticed I've gone missing. I wish I could tell you why, but the truth is…well, I can't XD. I've been thinking though, maybe it really is for the best we separate. We're both wanted criminals from our nations, and while I can tell you've been thinking of a way to go back one day, I have no intention to return to my homeland. Being associated with a mist-swordsman like me is something you don't need. In the meantime, I guess I'll just be wandering like I always do. I never did like staying in one place for very long. Even so, you should know…I'm really glad to have met you. It was always a joy teasing you, and it was…nice. Nice to have company. Most importantly, I have to thank you for listening to me, and for not judging me when you heard my story. After telling you about my past, I felt like a great weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. And when you learned I was a killer, yet stood by me…I can't describe to you how I felt. _

_I wish I could tell you so much more about me, and I wish I could learn so much more about you. But it seems fate has other plans for us. I wish you the best of luck on your journey!!_

_Love, with hugs, kisses, and other things I bet you wish I did to you,_

_Midoriiro_

_P.S. Did anyone tell you that YOU ARE FREAKN' HOT!!!???_

Sasuke simply sat down, dropping the letter. He didn't know what came over him, it was just…he just felt helpless. Even if he wasn't, what could he do? She made the decision to leave, and Sasuke didn't know where to begin to look for her. He had a feeling she didn't even want to be found. The more he thought about it, though, the more he began to long for her. The times he spent with her…sure, they were crazy, but he realized it was nice just to have someone to be near, to talk to, as well as just do something with…and then whispered to himself "I need to find her."

He thought about asking the whole town. "That wouldn't do any good. She probably would avoid the townsfolk at all cost." Sasuke's mind began moving forward from there. "She would also dive into the river to wash away her scent. Which means, I have no way of tracking her, period." Sasuke should have given up right there, but for some reason, he didn't.

"I'll just have to guess where she is! Now, let's see…I know she got a letter. That had to do something with her leaving! Something she didn't want me to know about. But what? After all she told me? It doesn't make sense; she would have told me everything!! Unless…it involved something concerning me!"

It couldn't have been threatening her with his life…surely, the mist nin would have done their research! Perhaps they were threatening something precious to him? But what? Ever since he left to train with Orochimaru, he had nothing he held dear. Except…"Except Konoha…" He hadn't held Konoha precious for years, and still didn't believe he did. But after finding out how much he truly regretted attacking the village, he realized he couldn't allow someone else to do the same. And knowing Midoriiro, it wasn't likely that she would allow such a thing either. That was the only thing that made sense.

It was a long shot, but it was the only chance he had. It could also be the dumbest thing Sasuke would ever do. He would be more likely to be killed by his former comrades than the mist nin, he reminded himself. Undeterred, he headed off…

* * *

Midoriiro drank some water while running at the same time. It was not the way she preferred to, but she would have to bear it if she wanted to make it to the meeting place indicated on the letter. After all, she was given a time limit. "I can't let it happen. Not to Sasuke-chan's people!!!" Going to the meeting place would probably mean the death of her, something she had been trying to avoid for years. But, if living meant letting other innocent people die…she would have used her sword on herself a long time ago. However, that right was reserved for someone else, and rightfully so, she told herself. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-chan. I just hope…I hope my life will make your dream of returning home come true!" She continued on, for the first time in her life, not afraid to die.

* * *

The Tsuchikage tapped his foot incessantly. Even if thanks to the human summons made getting to fire country take only an instant, it still felt like he was wasting his time. "Where are they!? Do they want their own villagers to die that badly!?"

"Not at all."

The Tsuchikage looked up from his make-shift desk, and looked at none other than the Hokage and the Kazekage. "Ahh, Hokage-sama. Kazekage-sama. I am so glad you could make it."

The two kages simply remained silent, and walked straight to him. "Have a seat." the Tsuchikage ordered.

The two did so, and Tsunade chose that moment to speak. "They are unharmed, as promised?"

"Well, so long as none of them did something stupid; after all, if the guards simply restrained them, it would be much more likely that they would rebel. Killing one of them should they develop a backbone is quite necessary in such situations. I'm sure, two great warriors such as yourselves, would understand, no?"

Predictably, Tsunade didn't respond to that. Gaara, as usual, remained silent the whole time. The Tsuchikage sighed and cracked his knuckles. "No fun at all. Pity. Very well, shall we proceed?"

* * *

Naruto tree-hopped towards the meeting place. He had the utmost trust in his comrades, and believed they would pull through. Still, the fear of failure was still there. What if they killed the villagers anyway? What if Hinata couldn't save Sakura? Perhaps the doubt that plagued him the most was…

"Halt!" Naruto stopped on the next branch, as he glanced upon an Iwa jonin. "You are Uzumaki Naruto?" The jinchuriki simply nodded in response. "Follow me."

They both came down to the ground, and walked past the crowd of hostages. Naruto, looking upon their fearful faces, realized that much more than Sakura was at stake. Even so, he couldn't help but feel selfish; she meant the world to him. Finally, the jonin moved away, and Naruto came face to face with his mysterious nemesis, figuratively speaking. Seeing Sakura look at him like that was even more unsettling than watching her on the TV.

Kizu…in Sakura's body of course…rose from a meditative stance. Deidara, Tobi and Hidan were right behind her/him. "Uzumaki Naruto…we meet at last."

Naruto only glared at him. "I wouldn't say that. I'm looking at the face of someone dear; that and you couldn't come out to show me who you really are."

Kizu smirked. "Fair enough; your reasoning is quite sound. But let me warn you, I am not afraid to face you myself. I am simply a believer in efficiency, and this method was best. If I fought you, I would risk getting ambushed by your friends…individuals I have learned the hard way not to underestimate. Also, it's more troublesome if a leader places himself in a situation where he risks getting attacked and killed…don't you agree? This is just my way of making sure our plans go smoothly without risking the organization."

Naruto simply replied "Coward."

Kizu just sighed, and motioned towards his henchman. Deidara and Tobi came to both sides of Naruto, and held his arms. Kizu walked close to him, and preformed a plethora of seals. Finally, he thrust his fingers into Naruto's solar plexus, causing him to scream as he felt his body go haywire. When the sensation stopped, Naruto realized something was wrong. Kizu than lifted Naruto's jacket, just enough to reveal his bellybutton. Surrounding it were more symbols than he remembered seeing.

"Orochimaru used this move on me as a kid." Naruto said aloud.

Kizu then replied "Correction: Orochimaru learned a simpler version from me. His simply imbalanced your chakra with the Kyuubi's. Mine seals both altogether; you're helpless at this point. The only way you can possibly hope to hurt me is with taijutsu, but without your ability to concentrate chakra even instinctively, you'll be more likely to break your hand."

Naruto's head sunk. "So, it's off to have my biju sucked out, huh?"

"Not quite. If that were the case, I would gladly do it without delay. But a complication has arisen. You see, the Yodaime Hokage has made the seal more intricate than what we've encountered in other jinchuriki. I won't go into the details, but the seal is really strong. In fact, it's designed to absorb Kyuubi's chakra, not simply contain it. So, for now, we are going to lock you up. Don't worry; we'll take good care of you." Kizu grinned evilly. "And by that, I mean crush your spirit of course."

As Deidara and Tobi were began to drag him away, Naruto punched Deidara across the face, and broke free from Tobi's grip. Kizu cocked back a fist, expecting an attack. But instead, Naruto cupped Sakura's chin and nearly yelled "I love you!! I always have!!"

Time seemed to stop, but before he knew it, Deidara came back and knocked him to the ground. "Bitch! Do that again and I'll make you a true work of art!!"

Calmly, Kizu said "As pleasurable as that may be, Deidara, may I remind you we need him alive?"

Deidara grunted, and grabbed Naruto off the ground. "Come on, brat; let's take you back to base so we CAN kill you…at some point, anyway."

Naruto went along with it, but despite his predicament, his hope soared. It was only for a second…but he saw Sakura's eyes swell and turn back to their natural color. "She's still inside there…hang on, Sakura-chan! Help is on the way! Be brave!!"

* * *

Lee's Iwa captive collapsed on the ground, panting as if he were doing a centathalon. Hyouike and Lee's students cringed constantly upon witnessing Lee's rather…unusual forms of torture.

"A tough one, aren't you?" Lee chided. "Well, I suppose it's time for the Kurumiwari no Jutsu!!!"

Everyone besides Lee seemed to scream at that instant; not even upon the devil would any of them wish such a thing! The enemy shinobi held his hand towards Lee's face and screamed "Wait, wait!! I'll tell you!!! No more!!!"

Lee simply put his foot on his captive's chest, and applied pressure. "Go on." He hissed in an unusually un-Lee like tone.

"We've taken a number of your villagers hostage!! The Tsuchikage planned to use them to make your village an extension of our own!!!"

Lee's face became shocked, but then hardened quickly. Slamming the nin against the tree, Lee nearly yelled "There's more to it, isn't there!?"

The Iwa nin grunted "One more thing. The guys who helped us…they wanted someone in return. A blond guy. That's all I remember about him."

Lee seemed confused, but quickly caught his drift. "Naruto-kun…" Lee knocked the man out with a back fist, and turned to his team. "Listen, we've got a hostage situation!! I'm sure everyone is doing what they can, but we need to get there and help!! Remember, we will observe first!! Do not attack unless something happens!! We could become targets of friendly fire or worse, make them kill the captives!!" The team nodded affirmatively. "Team Lee: Moving out!!"

* * *

"Mommy, I wanna go home!!" A child, Yuji thought. Couldn't be older than four.

"Hush darling, we're not allowed to talk!!" The mother, he presumed.

"But mommy!! I wanna go!!!"

The child kept wailing, and Yuji heard someone approaching them. "Keep the brat quiet!! Do you two want to die that badly!?"

"Please forgive her!! She's only a child!!"

"MOMMIEEE!!!"

Then, Yuji heard the sound of something getting smacked. With a club, to be precise. Yuji stopped breathing and thinking upon hearing the sickening sound. "You better be thankful I'm in a good mood, bitch!!! Next time, I'll cut her hands and feed her to the dogs!!"

Upon hearing what went on, it seemed a new spirit was forced into Yuji. He then realized that even if he was a captive, he was still a shinobi. He now understood the true meaning of unacceptable defeat. "Think, Yuji, think!!! Nothing is impossible to escape! There must be a way out of here!!" But the more Yuji thought about it, the more he realized it was most likely futile. Koungasenki surely stripped him of all his weapons and tools…

"Wait!! Come to think of it…he kind of just rushed through with the whole search thing…" Remembering when Koungasenki first captured him, he seemed to be so obsessed with torturing him that he took much shorter than he should have to do the search properly. It was only a small chance…but it was better than nothing. Yuji shook his hips, and felt a slight noise. Like candy banging together. "Yes! My food pills!" They weren't a cure all, but they would at least help give his chakra a boost. Enough to make a difference.

While trying to avoid drawing attention to himself, Yuji shook his hips and hurled the container out of his pocket. Sure enough, he heard the sound the container hitting a rock, just loud enough so he could hear. Though blindfolded, he got on the ground and used his tongue to scan the dirt. "Look at this poor mutt! Sniffing around for a meal!!" Yuji wanted to pound the guy, but for now it was best to let them think that. The process was unpleasant, but finally, his mouth reached one of the pills. Carefully, Yuji swallowed it, and felt a massive rush of chakra flow within him. "Awesome!! Now…what to do about my binds? If I break them…" It hit him: not break them. Melt them.

Quietly, Yuji made the hand signs; he did them long enough to know them by heart and didn't need to see his hands to do it right. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." He whispered. A multitude of tiny spiders appeared; they wouldn't be able to fight the other shinobi. But that's not what he had in mind. Feeling around, he bumped into someone who, judging by his trembling, was a fellow hostage. "Psst." Yuji called to him. "Get in front of me. Quickly. I'm a Konoha chunin. And I'm going to get us out of here." The villager, though perplexed and scared, did as he was asked, and the spiders leapt onto the young boys bandages. The spiders would secrete as much toxins as possible, and hopefully melt away the ink. "It is risky, but it's a chance I'll have to take!"

* * *

"…so, we have an agreement?" the Tsuchikage asked. "Once you two sign the treaty, your villages will become mere colonies of mine." The Tsuchikage started to stare more intently at Tsunade. "And you…Lady Tsunade…will belong to me as well." Upon finishing that sentence, he licked his lips, as if to emphasize his point.

Tsunade visibly gulped. Forget all the moral implications about being married to a man such as him…hell itself was probably a better place than in the bedroom with him. Nonetheless, both she and Gaara rose to sign their names. With the feathered pen, Tsunade slowly stroked her signature, as did Gaara after her.

The Tsuchikage's grin grew even wider, if that were possible. "Excellent!!" He practically snatched the treaty out of their hands and danced like a child who won a petty trophy. "At long last!! I have accomplished what my predecessors before me could never do!! I'll be acknowledged as the greatest Tsuchikage of all time!!"

"I suggest you read the fine print. Other side" Tsunade smirked .

Mutsuguro clearly became enraged at her response and prepared to slap her, but something caught his attention. Perplexed, the Tsuchikage flipped the parchment…and saw the smoldering explosive tags. A second later, a loud bang sent the kage flying backwards a good distance away from his two counterparts. The tags weren't nearly powerful enough to kill him or inflict significant damage. But it was enough to cover his face in soot. "FOOLS!! You think this is a game!? Let me show you just how serious I am!!!" Reaching into his coat, he drew a kunai with a red explosive tag. He prepared to throw it straight up…but a hand of sand encased his and held him down.

"Now!!" Gaara yelled. "Hit it!!" Quickly, Tsunade revealed a pager in her belt and pressed a button. Gaara pulled the other signal flare away from Mutsuguro.

"You…you will sacrifice them all just for this!! A petty, last stand!?" the Tsuchikage yelled incredulously.

Tsunade, seemingly unafraid, replied "We only delayed you long enough to get our own men in place!! At this point, all we can do is place our faith in them!!"

"In the meantime, we'll take care of you." Gaara added coldly. The two kages got ready for battle, while the Tsuchikage simply trembled.

"What's wrong?" Tsunade teased. "I know the odds against you are hardly fair, but surely a kage such as you should know better than to show fear, no? If not, you're…"

"DON'T!!! Don't you dare call me that!!" The Tsuchikage screamed. Instead of being provoked into fighting, he ran in the opposite direction and grabbed onto the boulder next to him. Except, as the other two saw a second later, it wasn't a boulder.

"Quite an intricate curtain." Gaara commented.

Underneath was a large cage, although the way it was angled, Tsunade and Gaara could not tell what was inside. "Have you ever wondered the real reason I've kept the amount of jonin and special jonin limited?" The Tsuchikage asked them rhetorically. "True, I feared their power. But what I feared even more was their free will. No matter how conditioned, trained and loyal a human being is, they will always have the potential to betray you. But, at the same time, no one can deny that I need that power. So, how did we solve this dilemma, you may ask? The answer is simple: Machines!!" As if on cue, a large, humanoid form popped out of the cage. The legs were like a dinosaur, the body stocky. The arms began skinny, but soon changed into thick gauntlet-like claws. The head resembled a gorilla with a bear trap for teeth. "I kidnapped and tortured a dozen puppet masters to create this for me!! You should be honored, for this is the first time I've ever used it!!"

"Oh no you don't!!" Gaara flung his sand at the Tsuchikage as he climbed in, but the overweight nin pressed a button and electricity shot out from the body, disintegrating the sand. Without further delay, the Tsuchikage leaped behind its head and climbed in. The cockpit was oval-shaped, and as he found out, was barely able to fit someone of his girth. Quickly he placed his fingers into the hallow tubes that would allow him to control it, and just as he was told, it began to move. "Yes, yes!!"

The two kages outside took a step back as the gargantuan puppet took a step towards them. Tsunade looked at her partner and asked sarcastically "Pardon me, Kazekage-sama, but why isn't your brother here with us again?"

"Believe me, had I known this would come up I would have gladly brought him with me." Gaara replied.

* * *

"Do we really have to wait?" an Iwa nin asked.

"Might as well kill them; I doubt they're the type to surrender." Another commented.

"Why don't we take a couple hands? Tsuchikage-sama could use them to show the Hokage and Kazekage just how serious we are." The Iwa nins in the area then turned to face their hostages, who were trembling in fear. "Don't worry; this will be over quick!!" Each of them raised their kunai, and all of a sudden… they froze. "What's going on!?" Suddenly, tendrils appeared out of their shadows and impaled them. Not all of them were killed, but each one was incapacitated.

Most of the villagers were confused; however, some recognized what happened. "Over there!!" one of them called.

Shikamaru appeared behind the forests, and upon seeing the Konoha jonin, the villagers were filled with relief. "This way!! Hurry!!"

Quickly, the citizens began to follow the jonin, but then something leapt in front of them and hit the ground hard, creating a huge shockwave that knocked them down. A huge cloud of dust rose, which given the current debacle, Shikamaru was thankful for. "Shit!! I can't let them see Sakura like this! Kage Mane!!" Quickly, his shadow caught Sakura's body.

"What-" Before Kizu could finish, Shikamaru ran into the forest with him.

"Get away from here!! Others are on their way to help!!!"

Finally, the two stopped deep into the forest. "You should know simply capturing me will do you no good." Kizu said calmly, but made his killer instincts known.

"Don't worry; I've a friend to help me with that!!" the shadow user replied.

As if on cue, Hinata leapt out of the bushes, her Byakugan activated. "Sakura-san!!!"

Before she could land a strike on her, a steel ball hit Hinata in the ribs, sending her flying.

"Hinata!!...No…" Shikamaru's shadow contracted back to him, freeing the possessed Sakura.

"Brat!!" Kizu ran forward and punched Shikamaru's chest, causing him to cough up blood and fall.

As Kizu flexed his fists, loving the feeling of shattering one's ribs with his bare hands, Hidan came out of hiding and yelled "HEY!!! I've got a bone to pick with this asshole!! Mind if I-?"

"Be my guest." Kizu replied apathetically.

Hidan bent down and cut Shikamaru's cheek. The blood on the ground was probably too contaminated to use. Licking the blood, his skin transformed and the trigram surrounded him. "Say goodbye, punk!! I just wish you were awake to see yourself die the same way your master did!!" As he got ready to stab himself, Hinata leapt between him and Shikamaru. "ARRGGHHH!!! Out of my way, little girl!!!" Hidan swung his scythe down, which Hinata side-stepped. She continued to turn rapidly, throwing Hidan clear into the forest.

Hinata then turned to face Kizu, squared off in her gentle fist stance. "A Hyuuga." Kizu whispered upon seeing her transparent eyes.

"I'm here to take back Sakura-san!!" Hinata called, sounding more confident then she was feeling.

Kizu only laughed in reply. "With all do respect, I don't know much about you. But I could see the nervous wreck you were back in Konoha. What makes you think you can take me!?"

"That would be telling. Why don't you come and find out?" Hinata whispered, her hand inviting him to attack.

Kizu slowly frowned menacingly. "Very well. I could use a warm up for what's likely to come." Kizu leaped into the air, and Hinata did the same as the two faced off.

* * *

Yuji could tell from the sounds something was happening. They weren't loud. But he knew someone was sneaking up on them. And he had a feeling that might actually be a good thing. "Come on, come on!!" He had to attack soon; it would help the rescuers.

"Sir, did you hear that…"

Suddenly, the sound of bodies dropping filled Yuji's ears. A command to attack.

"NOW!!!!" Yuji screamed. He broke free of his bonds, and ripping off his blindfold, tackled the commanding ninja to the ground. Before the captain could react, Yuji focused his chakra and broke the guard's face with one punch. Quickly digging into his victim's pouch, Yuji took his shuriken and flung them at every Iwa nin in sight. He didn't land a fatal blow on any of them, but he gave all the civilians the time they needed to escape, as well as provided some needed distractions for some of the ANBU who were assisting them. One of them leapt in front of Yuji. "There are others at the village borders that will escort them: go help them!"

"Yes sir!!" Yuji ran where the hostages were going, while the ANBU battled the Iwa nins. "Now I've got to-" Yuji nearly yelped in pain as he put weight on his foot. "I should have known…" How could he help effectively? He was badly wounded, and he had no arms to work with. He could hold off all the foot soldiers coming after him, but he would exert too much chakra in doing so. "I'll just have to wing it like sensei does." Yuji thought. He realized right there to never give up wasn't a matter of pride; it was a matter of protecting everything one held dear.

* * *

Kizu threw a straight punch at Hinata, but the heiress swung her arms in a circle, carrying her body away from the incoming fist. She thrust a palm forward, but Kizu flipped away out of reach. "Not bad. You're faster than I thought." The Akatsuki leader noted. Kizu ran straight for her, preparing to smash her face in. Hinata began to rotate, but at the last second, he crouched down and kicked the ground, sending Hinata flying into the air. Kizu grabbed a kunai and jumped after her. Hinata acted quickly though, and brought out her own kunai, blocking the other blade. However, Sakura's strength easily cut through it and sent the Hyuuga flying into a tree.

Kizu ran forward for another stab, but Hinata dodged, and thrust a palm forward towards his chin. Kizu jumped back, recognizing the taijutsu style and what his opponent was trying to do. "Is that the famous gentle fist? It seems you missed; the chin does not have any chakra coils."

"I did not miss." Hinata stated, uncharacteristically confident. As soon as she said that, a jewel on Sakura's left side of the nose burst. Kizu's eyes widened in shock as he realized what she was really trying to do. "At first, I didn't know what it was, but now I get it: You're sending some kind of signal to Sakura's body. Or should I say, right into those jewels you placed all over Sakura's face, replacing any cerebral input her brain would send to her body with your own. And I'm going to remove them!"

Before Hinata got a chance to resume the fight, something sharp swiped across Hinata's face. The heiress felt the blood trickle down her cheek, and turned around to see Hidan's skin turn black.

"Now, let's resume where we left off!!" Hidan thrust the sharp end of his weapon towards himself, and tore apart flesh. But not his own.

"Kakashi-sensei!!" Hinata cried.

Kakashi thrust his hand towards the large weapon, preventing Hidan from completing his ritual. "You son of a bitch!! It won't work when it's contaminated with someone else's blood!!"

Hidan retracted his weapon and swung it, but fortunately Kakashi leaped out of range. "Hinata! You concentrate on Sakura!! I'll deal with this guy!!"

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!!" Hinata yelled back.

Kizu tried a sneak attack on Hinata, but she parried his punch and threw the possessed kunoichi to the ground. Hinata thrust her fingers into another jewel, and blew it up. "NO!!!" Kizu did a reverse tornado kick to drive Hinata away and recover.

Hinata backed away, but noticed she was still grazed with a nasty bruise. A frightening reminder of what just one strike could do if she wasn't careful "Afraid?" Hinata asked, hoping to break some of his confidence.

Kizu only looked at her in contempt. "Just surprised. You think you can take your friend back? I dare you to try it!!"

The two ran towards each other, and their motives could not be more different. One was trying to kill his opponent. The other was trying to save the vessel; her true opponent was pulling the strings from elsewhere. She was also, somewhere deep inside, fighting an emotional battle as well. "Sakura-san…surely, you must know how I feel about Naruto-kun. It hurts that I can never have his heart…but I know you're the only one who can give him the happiness he's longed for and deserved. For me, that will be enough…"

* * *

"What the hell is going on!?" Genkakushoujou yelled to her teammates. Everywhere, they saw immobilized Iwa nin and civilians retreating. Normally, they would have killed them on sight, but they knew the civilians were not alone; they could be walking into a trap.

"All I heard was that the civilians are escaping." San replied, too calm to be believable. The trio of Iwa nin leapt into the trees and went after the escapees.

"I bet this is all your fault, Koungasenki!!" Genkakushoujou yelled, pointing an accusing finger at her teammate. "You mixed a ninja in with those nobodies!!"

"His foot was badly infected!! There's no way he can fight!!" the psycho nin replied.

"You always blame everything except yourself!!" the drug kunoichi yelled back.

"And you blame nothing but me!!!"

"Let us avoid fighting amongst ourselves." San added, still impossibly calm. "Our enemies will…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" his two teammates screamed in response. San simply rolled his eyes. "You're going to get me all killed someday."

Suddenly, a radio signal came in. "Koungasenki, Genkakushoujou, San… do you read?" Deidara!

"We read you." San replied.

"Listen, don't worry about the civilians, they're not important right now. My comrades have the jinchuriki, and it is imperative that you eliminate anyone who will try to rescue him. Find any Konoha ninja you can and kill them quickly!!" Deidara ordered.

"What about you?" Koungasenki asked.

"Kizu-sama said our work with this one will take time, but we will at least cage him properly. I should be back soon enough. Now hurry!!" The radio cut off, and Deidara's team lay in wait.

"It will be more fun to fight them than kill those civilians." San noted.

"You said it; I was getting bored out of my skull." Koungasenki added.

"I hope we encounter the Hokage soon; I've got some hallucinogens I'm just DYING to try on her…" the kunoichi cackled evilly. "…perhaps an intense sexual fantasy? Imagine what we could get her to do if we got that on video!"

* * *

On the outskirts of Konoha, Hanabi's team and Iori waited to receive the incoming civilians. All the Hokage told them to do was to make sure any Iwa nin trying to reclaim them would be held off by any means possible. Iori, in the meantime, was tapping her foot nervously. Not because of the job she was entrusted with; she was waiting for someone. Someone who should have been at his post, lest the Hokage turned him into a hamburger patty! Finally, Shiguri came running up the hill, panting.

Iori just stared at him, clearly furious. "Where the hell have you been!? We were ordered to stay here, and once they leave, what do you do!? You run back into the village!! If Hanabi didn't tell me to just follow my orders and let the Hokage deal with you, I'd have made you my next knuckle-rock!!! Whatever reason you had for going back down there…it better be good." She growled threateningly.

Shiguri simply held up his hand in defense. "Sorry…I had…" he continued to pant. The fact that Shiguri used up enough energy to tire himself out right before a potentially big battle irritated her to the point of nearly stabbing him. "… I had…to pick up something!!"

"What!?" Iori yelled in response. "We're getting ready to potentially save our people!! What could be so important that you had to go back!?" she demanded.

Shiguri then reached behind his back, and held up coiled wires. Iori immediately recognized them as Yuji's weapons! "I know he's not likely to show up." Shiguri said sadly. "But still…if for any reason we meet again during the battle, he's probably going to need these."

Iori looked at him sadly, understanding him. She doubted Yuji would return, but…"Here they come." She whispered as she felt the faint vibrations in the ground. The two looked into the forest, seeing the incoming crowd of non-ninja heading their way. "Hanabi and her team are backing us up. We should be…"

"Incoming!!" one of the others shouted

Shiguri and Iori ran towards the call for help. "Even this close to the village!?" Shiguri yelled. "They're way too persistent to my liking!!"

As expected, Iwa nin were pursuing the stampede of civilians. But this was exactly what Hanabi and the others were supposed to do, as they shielded their people from their attackers and fought back. Hanabi danced around her opponents with her gentle fist, while Uryuu and Kenshin used their trademark weapons to hold off the attackers. "Don't let ANY of them touch our people!!" Hanabi cried as she thrust an open palm into the chest of an attacker.

"Don't worry!" Kenshin called back as he pummeled a number of attackers with his furious fists.

"We'd rather die before we let our families!!" Uryuu called back as his bow and sword fell many opponents.

"Your wish is our command."

Without warning, stalactites rose in a circle around Uryuu and impaled him. Before he noticed, Kenshin's hands were encased in crystal and pinned to the ground. "Kenshin!! Uryuu!!" Hanabi sensed a small projectile coming her way, and used her kaiten to parry it.

"Awww, no fair!!" a voice called. "I wanted to revert your mind to that of an infant!!" Soon, Team Deidara appeared before them. While Hanabi was new to them, the Iwa teens and Team 12 eyed each other in surprise and anger. "You!!" Genkakushoujou exclaimed, pointing to Iori. "You were supposed to be a mindless killer the moment I commanded you to!!"

Iori growled back "Sorry, but that disgusting thing turned out to be bad for my health. I had to get it removed." Iori tightened her grip on her kamas, ready to spill blood. "And I'm sorry, but didn't I cut off your foot?" The two teams began sizing each other up.

" Well, it seems we're evenly matched." San noted. "But your actual teammate is missing; you know nothing about Koungasenki's abilities, and your friend here knows nothing about us. It might as well be 3 against 2."

"Plus, we know about that girl's clan and her techniques." Koungasenki added, as if he was trying to best San in tactical knowledge. Whatever rivalry they had though, was irrelevant to them.

"Maybe." Shiguri responded. "But we already have a good grasp of your moves; we'll take you out and help Hanabi with your friend over there when we're finished."

Out of nowhere, someone yelled "Nenten Daijabi!!" A twisting body fell from the sky and landed, creating a crater where Team Deidara used to stand.

The newcomer stood, and Shiguri immediately recognized him. "Hey, I know you!! "You're…" Shiguri kept snapping his fingers, desperately trying to remember the name that was right on the tip of his tongue.

"Tiger Jaa." Jaa answered for him.

"Right." Shiguri replied, fairly embarrassed.

"My team just arrived, and we know the situation." Jaa elaborated. "I was ordered to come here and help."

"We need all the help we can get. Welcome aboard." Iori said as she twirled her weapons into an attacking position.

The four immediately charged the outnumbered team. Tiger Jaa used a flying knee to send Koungasenki rolling, but the chunin retaliated with crystallized shuriken. Using his elbows to block, Jaa managed to protect all of his vital areas. Before Koungasenki could do anymore, something wrapped around his ankle. It pulled, and he was flat on his back. The next thing he saw was Iori with her kamas flying towards him. "Perfect." He grinned. Iori's blades hit flesh as expected, and then she cocked her arms back for another slash. However, her kamas simply stopped upon impact. Iori saw that the teenager beneath her was smiling wickedly, and some glass-like substance was covering his arms.

"Doton!! DoGrenado no Jutsu!!" The ground all around Iori suddenly exploded, hurling rock shrapnel into her body, paralyzing her in pain. Koungasenki kicked her off and was back on his feet. San quickly pointed his arms at the downed kunoichi."Now…" San hissed. "DIE!!!"

Without warning, a dragon-tongue was hurled towards him, landing a cut on his forehead. Hanabi rushed towards him, and intending to finish him off quickly, performed her Hakke Rokujuuyonshou. It seemed like she made a direct hit, but then clay started crumbling to the ground. "A clay clone!?" From underground, a hand sprang up and sprayed acid on Hanabi's back. Hanabi recoiled in pain, and San rose from the ground about to land a killing blow.

"Asshole!!" Shiguri screamed as he got ready to hurl some kunai. San however, created a barrier and prepared a counter attack from behind. Little did he know, so did Shiguri. "Now!"

A fist smashed through the mud wall, pummeling San right in the face. Jaa ran through the hole he created, preparing another powerful kick, but something grazed his neck. "OW!!" Jaa tried to ignore it, but stumbled as he continued to move forward. His eyes were acting up; they were like two separate cameras constantly zooming in and out independent of one another.

Genkakushoujou slowly walked towards him."This isn't the worst I've got; I don't have many drug weapons on me at the moment, and I'm not wasting the best on you!!" Genkakushoujou rushed him, but a twisting Hanabi threw her off balance with a leg sweep and onto the floor.

Shiguri ran over to Jaa. "Are you okay?"

"No. But I recognize some of the symptoms. I can use bio feedback to gain some control." Shiguri was pretty worried; he heard of some ninjas applying the method in combat, but using it while moving took a lot longer than remaining still, a skill he doubted a chunin would have. Plus, it would take a calm, focused mind to cleanse the poison out with willpower; something he severely doubted his comrade would get.

"I guess we have no choice." He noted as he got into a defensive position.

Iori walked over to them, as did Hanabi. "We've got quite a battle ahead of us." she commented.

"The advantage is still ours though; they're outnumbered." Shiguri reminded her.

"Are you so sure?" San asked, still impossibly unemotional as before.

Iori's eyes twitched in response. "What? In case you haven't noticed, we're now a team of four. You still got only three."

"It may seem like an advantage, but it's not." San replied.

"Come again?" Iori gripped her kamas tighter, both in annoyance and fear.

"Why don't you come here and find out?" San challenged.

"We were planning on it!" Iori shouted back. The two groups rushed towards each other once more.

* * *

Kakashi hurled his shuriken at Hidan. He knew it wouldn't kill him, but at the moment he was simply testing the waters. There was something different about Hidan, and Kakashi couldn't risk loosing his life to find out. Without warning, tendrils sprouted from Hidan's back and blocked the weapons. Just as quickly, 2 masks appeared to the sides of Kakashi. "This is…!"

Wind and fire combined, the masks fired, frying the jonin to a crisp. Or so it seemed. "Come out!! I know you're just hiding!!" Hidan's arm extended, and dove into the earth. A moment later, Kakashi leapt out unscathed.

"I know those moves." the jonin said to himself.

"Oh yeah, that's right, isn't it? You fought Kakuzu!"

"Kakuzu is dead! I killed him!" Kakashi shouted. "Care to elaborate to me what's going on?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!!" the immortal screamed as he once again swung his kusarigama at Kakashi. However, the blade hit nothing but a log, and before he knew it, Hidan was riddled with kunai wrapped in explosive tags. Quickly, a mask popped out of his back and doused him with water, preventing his explosion to smithereens. "You're too quick for me just to cut; it looks like I'll have to blow a leg off first!!"

In the trees, Kakashi hid desperately trying to analyze the situation. "It's definitely Hidan, but he seems to posses the abilities of both himself and his partner. Could it be…?" He tried to think up other theories, and quickly dismissed them all. As absurd as it sounded out loud, fusion between Hidan's and Kakuzu's bodies was the only one that made sense. "I probably don't have to worry about him taking my heart or possessing others; his natural immortality would make such a jutsu pointless. He's been trying to take blood, which means he still does his ritual. He's got the tendrils and the masks…this isn't good." Quickly, Kakashi prepared a kage bushin. "I could barely stand up to Kakuzu back then, and I had Ino and Chouji helping me. I have no idea how I would have fared against Hidan. But Naruto's and Sakura's lives depend on this!!"

The bushin ran out and attacked Hidan. It threw kunai, but Hidan made no attempt to block or fight back, despite the minor annoyance it caused him. When the clone got close enough to come in for a stab, Hidan simply let it. Frustrated, the immortal shouted "Come on!! I know this isn't you!! I ain't wasting any energy on this!!" Quickly, the clone grabbed him in a bear hug, and immediately a giant fireball flew straight towards them. Once again, Hidan simply did nothing. His skin burned badly, but he paid it no heed. "Coward!!! Face me!!"

"As you command!" The real Kakashi came running out of the trees with all of his weapons drawn.

"That's right, come closer so I can make you suffer the wrath of Jashin!!" Hidan threw his kusarigama, but it missed Kakashi. Oddly enough the blade was stuck. Probably stuck in a crack…

"If I take you're head off, you'll be helpless!!" Kakashi yelled as he drew a rather large knife from his back.

"True! Which is why I'll kill you before you get the chance!!" Hidan launched the chain portion of his weapon, only to miss again. And when the chain stuck to the ground, Hidan realized something was dreadfully wrong. "What's going on!? If blunt weapons are sticking to the ground, so should he!! How-" Hidan didn't get a chance to finish his line of thought as Kakashi rushed appeared right in front of him. Out of instinct, Hidan shot out his tendrils. Kakashi backed away and dodged each and every one of them. Like the rest, they were all stuck to the ground. "Try these!!" The masks came out, firing their respective elements. However, Kakashi was prepared. He used a minor ration attack to disable the doton mask, encased the suiton mask in an earth prison, doused the katon with water, and blew the ration mask into the tar. Kakashi was almost upon him…but Hidan only smiled, and that's when he realized something was up.

From underground, a sudden gust of wind erupted from the earth, sending the copy ninja flying. The futon mask rose, and concentrated its burst, creating a tornado that caused Kakashi to twist around like a ragdoll. Finally, Kakashi fell to the ground and wound up stuck just like Hidan's other weapons.

"That was a clever trick you pulled; using a kage bushin to hold me in place, use a fire attack to turn the ground to tar, and tricking me into getting my best weapons stuck to the ground. To keep yourself from getting stuck, you attached shuriken into your feet; the small, sharp points prevented any sticking. But you forgot one crucial fact about the masks: they were Kakuzu's hearts. Back then, if you destroyed one of the masks, you destroyed a heart. But I am truly immortal. Therefore…" Kakashi saw some of the masks he believed to have destroyed come back to life, and went about freeing the others. "…as long as I live, they do. So…"

Hidan used his strength to pull his weapon and tendrils free, and took aim at Kakashi "…I can't think of a better opportunity." He hissed.

Quickly, Kakashi whistled. An explosion went off, and a greenish cloud of gas enveloped the area. The fumes were toxic to both combatants, but Kakashi's mask gave him enough protection. The tar began to break down, and Kakashi made his escape.

Hidan stepped out and hacked up a storm, but neither combatant was surprised to see him recover. "Wow. That was clever of you, to anticipate you could become a victim of your own trap." Hidan smiled manically as he twirled his weapon. "Got any more tricks up your sleeve?"

Kakashi panted, and commented "Yeah, a couple of them."

* * *

Kizu launched a roundhouse kick, but Hinata flipped over him, and used the momentum to lunge into Kizu, knocking him down. Hinata began to close in for another gentle fist attack, but gasped and fell to her knee when a sharp pain struck her. Hinata looked down and found bruise around her ankle beginning to swell. "I could've sworn I dodged it!"

Kizu relaxed slightly and said "You're quick, but just one touch from me in this body could break you. A graze from me is probably like a well-executed attack from someone else."

Hinata paid him no heed and crouched; this was no time to drag on the fight. " The longer this lasts, Naruto gets further away, and there's no guarantee the rescue was a success! I have to end this right now!!" Hinata's technique was never as good as Neji's…but even if she missed most of the points, she would hit something vulnerable and cripple him. "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!" Hinata began to wildly thrust her hands, paying attention to the tenkatsu points all over Sakura's body. It wouldn't kill her, but it would neutralize her chakra, allowing Hinata to destroy the remaining jewels with ease. Hinata thrust one last palm, and hit…cherry blossoms? "Genjutsu!" Hinata tried to bring her hands to form the kai sign, but immediately felt tree roots wrap around her arms and pulled them apart. She knew she wasn't really being held down…but no matter what she knew, as long as her body perceived it, the genjutsu would hold her in place. As long as Kizu wanted, which Hinata wagered was only a second. Quickly, using a trick she learned from Kurenai-sensei, she bit her lip, and immediately felt her bonds dissolve. Before she could get a good look at her surroundings, she caught movement in the corner of her eye. Quickly, she reeled back, but felt something sharp cut across her eye. A shockwave soon followed, sending her flying.

"Damn. I was hoping to take one of your eyes, but it seems you dispelled the illusion in the nick of time." Kizu hissed coldly.

Hinata took her hand off her eye, and squared off again. "I have to remember that Hokage-sama's strength isn't the only thing she's known for."

"It's been fun, but I have business to attend to. Goodbye." Kizu threw pellets towards her, which burst into purple clouds. Hinata could tell by the color they were poisonous. Quickly, Hinata used her rotation technique and blew the smoke back towards him. "What the-"Kizu fell back, covering his face.

"A little trick I learned from Naruto-kun!!"

Kizu turned around to see Hinata right in front of him. "NO!!!" Kizu grabbed her wrist before it made contact with his host's face. "Annoying little technique. I'll have to do something about that." Kizu proceeded to crush her wrist, but Hinata acted quickly and thrust a palm into Sakura's chest. "Oomph!" Stunned, he let go, and Hinata used that freedom to touch another jewel. As with the rest, it exploded. Kizu stepped back, shocked.

"Three down, four to go. You are correct in assuming I won't kill Sakura-san." Hinata hissed. "But if it means helping her, I'm not above hitting or hurting her. Even if Naruto-kun hates me for it."

Kizu growled…and lunged.

* * *

"NOW!"

The Tsuchikage used his puppetry techniques and slammed the giant machine's arm down. Both kages easily dodged to the sides, but Gaara knew that wouldn't be the end of it. "Hokage-sama, look out!!" Quickly, Gaara raised his sand shield, protecting himself from the spikes that suddenly shot out from the metal arm. Tsunade had no such means of defense, but her agility allowed her to dodge the deadly projectiles.

The Tsuchikage wasn't exactly pleased that he wasn't able to take them both out in less than three moves. "Not bad. But get a load of this!!_" _he shouted as he bent his pinky.

On cue, electrical wires shot out from the discarded spikes and ensnared Tsunade. The kunoichi resisted the electric shocks much better than other shinobi, but the pain still forced her down to her knees.

"Hold on!! Suna Rashin" Quickly, Gaara shot bits of sand towards the mechanized monstrosity. Most made only tiny dents, but apparently, one of them hit the transmitter. The electricity was cut off, and Tsunade inhaled sharply as she found she was able to move again.

The Tsuchikage's mood grew even more irritable as he saw Tsunade recover. Quickly, he turned his attention to Gaara. "You want to play with sand!? How about FIRE!?" The puppet's mouth opened, and a blue flame, much like from a giant welding torch, shot straight towards Gaara. The former jinchuriki covered himself up with his shield, but it quickly became glass and the flame began to break through. "Fool!! This is not the kind of fire ninja use!! This flame comes from burning several alkaline and alkaline earth metals!! Far more intense than what you were trained for!!" Soon, a flame broke through and grazed Gaara's shoulder. The Kazekage tried to ignore the pain, but he was right; it was much more intense than usual. Gaara obtained more sand from the ground to block it, but if something wasn't done, he would run out of chakra fast. "Sayanora! I'll let Deidara know you say hi from hell!!!" Gaara's concentration broke at the mention of the infamous nin's name, and the intense flame knocked him onto his back.

Mutsuguro saw his opportunity. "Burning you would be fun, but it will take too much time! I'll just have to squash you like a bug!!" The puppet stepped forward…and slipped into a crack. "What!?" Realization stung him as he discovered where that crack came from. "Oh sh-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a boulder hit the mechanical monster's shoulder with frightening accuracy. Tsunade lifted another boulder with her foot and kicked it straight at him, effectively knocking the over-sized puppet on its back. "Taking your eyes off the enemy is a sign that you're not meant to be a kage. I'm inclined to believe that maybe you're not even fit to be a ninja."

The monstrosity struggled up and stood erect once more. "Funny. With such sympathetic ideals, I could say the same about you two. Still, you have a point. So…" A scorpion tail sprouted from behind and split in two. Both lunged forward, and the kages took a defensive stance back-to-back. The two tails independently aimed for the two kages, who stood their ground.

Suddenly, one of the tails scrapped against the ground, creating a dust cloud. Gaara knew that wasn't good. "What control!"

Tsunade, sensing his plan, grabbed Gaara and spun around, dodging the incoming tail by a hair. "We're not out of the woods yet!"Taking Gaara with her, she jumped up as another tail traveled after them. Quickly, Tsunade tossed Gaara to the far side as she flipped away from the metal appendage. Gaara used his sand to cushion his landing, and immediately ran to join Tsunade in battle again.

Both dodged furiously, but the tails were very nimble; as it was, they had too many close calls to their liking. Finally, Tsunade grabbed the tail after her and held it back. She was just strong enough to keep it in place despite its thrashing. Gaara used his Subaku Kyuu to capture his. However, he was clearly struggling; without Shukaku, he had nothing but his own chakra to use. Taking notice of this, the Tsuchikage put more strength into the tail attacking Gaara. The tail inched closer and closer, the Kazekage losing his ground. Tsunade saw this, and looked at the tail she held. "Hang on!!" Tsunade relaxed her feet, and the tail went flying, taking her with it.

To the Tsuchikage, it looked as though it was a perfect opportunity. However, he was soon proven wrong as Tsunade used the tail's strength against it and flung it towards its sibling, severing the one attacking Gaara. Gaara didn't have time to thank her; he stared at the machine, and put his hand to the ground. "Sabaku Taisou!!"

"What!? NonononNO!!!" The Tsuchikage fumbled his fingers frantically in a desperate attempt to save his pet.

Sadly for him, the giant puppet continued to sink into the sand. Gaara stood and whispered "It's over. With all that sand in its gears, and the mass of that thing, there's no chance of escape."

"Is that so?" Mutsuguro asked. The Tsuchikage twitched his middle finger, causing the upper half of his puppet to eject.

"Oh, for the love of-!"

The freed half landed, sprouting spider-like legs. "I think it's time for Round 2!"

The two kages got in battle ready stances again, in reality eager to get away. "We're in for a long day." Tsunade thought wearily.

* * *

"Stop moving!!" Hidan screamed. The immortal swung his chain, finally ensnaring the copy ninja. Or so it seemed. The bushin burst into lightning, sending electricity down the chain and finally to its wielder, causing Hidan to fly back. "I'm tiring of this!" Hidan's masks flew out, searching for their prey. Each blasted their respective elements, tearing the forest apart. "Where are you!?" As if to answer his question, a hand shot out of the ground, grasping his ankle.

"Doton! Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu!!" Hidan's body was pulled completely underground, leaving only his head exposed to breath. Kakashi appeared in front of him, seemingly smiling. "How does it feel to get a new body only to wind up as you did three years ago?"

"I'll answer that when it's actually true!!" The tendrils shot out from underground, impaling Kakashi. "And show the real you to me!!" The kage bushin dissipated, while Hidan dragged himself out. "Two bushins? I heard a lot about you…Kakuzu's memories show me you're quite clever and formidable. But you have nowhere near the chakra as the Kyuubi brat to keep this up! You'll have to show yourself to me eventually!"

Hidan began to move forward, but upon seeing wires, stopped. "I doubt what you have in mind was the exact same thing that pineapple-haired punk did…but either way I'm not taking any chances!!" Hidan threw his bladed weapon and sliced them, triggering the explosions from a distance.

Somewhere, the real Kakashi was in hiding, concentrating. "Come on, come on!!!" The traps wouldn't hold him forever, and even if Hidan wasn't particularly intelligent, he could still learn from past mistakes and now had Kakuzu's memories to help him.

Hidan yelped has he stepped on something. "Makibishi! I'm getting close!!"

Hidan hurried his pace, as did Kakashi. There was only a few seconds to get this right… "Yes!" Kakashi's sharingan transformed into its Magenkyo form. And at that moment, the jonin noticed a mask to his side. "Shit!" The mask breathed fire, and Kakashi rolled out of the way.

The other masks were on top of him quickly, but thus far Kakashi dodged any fatal blows. "So, the best Konoha has to offer next to their jinchuriki and extinct Uchiha is a coward!"

The masks surrounded him, but when they attacked, Kakashi leaped up, causing them to harm only themselves while their master was wide open. "Suiton! Suiryudan!!" A water dragon rose out of nowhere, sweeping the immortal away.

However, Hidan's new tendrils grabbed hold of the copy nin and after grabbing onto a nearby tree, held both combatants in place. As soon as Hidan found his footing, his free tendrils impaled Kakashi's body, who could only scream helplessly. "Don't worry; I'm not going to kill you. At least, not this second." The tendrils pierced further into Kakashi, who could only groan. Hidan brought the tendrils back to him, licking the blood. Hidan's skin blackened and the Akatsuki nin raised his scythe. And that's when Kakashi found his chance.

"Let's see how immortal you really are!!" Kakashi's Magenkyo spun rapidly, and immediately a certain effect began to take place.

"Wha-?" Feeling the air being pulled away from him, Hidan looked right behind him. A black hole. A tiny, almost unnoticeable black hole. But just like the science books said, the size was irrelevant when compared to the power it generated. "NO…!!" Hidan tried to get away, but still he was pulled into it. "Stop it!! We'll both die!!"

Kakashi didn't even flinch. "A fair enough trade-off; besides, you'd kill me anyway if I didn't. And I will not let my students die nor live as slaves!!!"

Hidan tried to pull his arm away, but it kept coming towards the hole. "NNNN-!" Kakashi felt his body give in to chakra exhaustion, but kept pushing. Soon, after what seemed to be an eternity for both, Hidan's weapon arm was almost in contact with the hole. Realizing there was no other way out, Hidan did something that for even him was extreme. His futon mask flew towards him, and sliced his arm off.

"No!" Kakashi's one chance to kill Hidan was ruined; once one piece of mass was swept into the hole, it was nearly impossible to open again.

The arm and weapon flew into the black hole, giving Hidan enough of a lag to step out of range. As soon as he was in the clear, Hidan threw Kakashi into a tree trunk. "I don't care about Jashin's will anymore! You Konoha nins have spat in my face for the VERY. LAST. TIME." Hidan's tendrils sprang fourth, and headed straight for Kakashi.

* * *

Hinata continued her assault, but so far Kizu had managed to dodge all her blows. However, the heiress noticed that Kizu was gradually slowing down. For a time, Kizu was using impressive acrobatics, but now seemed winded and simply side-stepped, the timing dangerously close in each case. Thus far, Hinata hadn't landed a blow that would slow Sakura's body significantly. What was it…It was then that Hinata noticed dark circles underneath Sakura's eyes. "He didn't sleep? It's possible, but…"

Hinata moved back as Kizu leaped into the air and slammed his host's fist into the ground, but Hinata dodged this one more easily than some of his others. Seeing that he missed, Kizu rushed at Hinata with a barrage of punches and kicks. None of them connected. "You look like you need a nap." Hinata said out of nowhere.

Kizu seemed to daze upon hearing that. "Rest…sounds good…" Kizu quickly came to his senses before Hinata would see an opening. "I don't understand!! I can go on for days without sleep! So why…"

Hinata cut his train of thought. "It's true; you're exhausted. In your real body, YOU may be able to push yourself this far…but that's still Sakura-san's body you're using. She was probably already sleep-deprived when you captured her, and it's getting worse." Kizu looked at Hinata with fear in his hosts' eyes. "Hit the mark, didn't I?"

Without warning, Kizu turned and fled. Shocked only for a second, Hinata followed and took to the trees. "Run if you want! But you're probably too tired to get very far!!"

Kizu, feeling dizzy from jumping, hid behind a tree, hoping to take refuge for at least a few seconds. "Even if the brat is now powerless, without this body they will be able to do everything they can to rescue him, and I will have no way of stopping or threatening them. I wouldn't be surprised if everything else in my plans has gone up in smoke! " Both Kizu's real and possessed lips grinned. "But then again…I was kind of counting on that!"

"_**Below you!"**_

Kizu reacted to a voice inside of his head and looked below him, which was nothing but bark. Realization then dawned on him. The Akatsuki leader rolled over the branch he was resting on as Hinata dove down to attack again. "Useless! My Byakugan can see everything!!"

As Kizu fell, he realized what had just happened: Sakura had returned in his mind. It was she who caused him the night before sleep-deprived. And now she was using her thoughts to make him react incorrectly! He finally touched the bottom, and stumbled the landing. "Shit!"

Quickly, Kizu pulled out a spare kunai and slashed at Hinata, who leapt back to avoid it. Kizu scooted away, and Hinata quickly advanced. Ignoring the incessant screams of Sakura with his own thoughts, Kizu pulled a blinder cracker and ignited it.

"Ahh-!" Hinata shut her eyes closed, but it was too late. Like the Sharingan, the Byakugan was especially sensitive to intense light when activated, and for her this was like staring straight into the sun. The light subsided, but her vision was now seriously impaired. Hearing leaves snap, Hinata turned in the sound's direction and got into a defensive stance once more. But nothing came.

"Afraid?" Hinata spun again, desperately trying to pinpoint Kizu. Hinata reacted when a kunai grazed her, and spun rapidly. But when she completed her rotation technique, it proved to be a mistake. Hinata screamed as something sharp cut right through her shoulders. Kizu withdrew his host's hands and observed the chakra scalpels. "These really are underrated." he commented to himself. "I need to learn how to use these in my real body." Hinata's vision finally focused, and the Hyuuga tried to attack. But her arms remained limply at her side.

Now seemingly unafraid, Kizu stepped towards her. "I severed the muscles in your arms. Which means…" Without warning, Kizu punched her in the gut. Hard. Hinata spat blood as she was sent flying into the forest. "I ought to kill you, but quite frankly I've wasted enough of my time." Kizu turned to leave, confident that he had nothing to fear. Feeling his host's face, he breathed with relief. "I still have three of them. Just in case another…"

Kizu yelled in pain as something bit his substitute body across the shoulder. Hinata, despite her apparent state, got up and gripped onto Sakura with the only thing she could: her teeth! "Get off me, you Hyuuga whore!!" Kizu elbowed Hinata across the head, forcing her to release her hold. Hinata would've counted her lucky stars that the elbow didn't have much chakra concentrated into it, had she been coherent enough to do so. But she did hear Kizu say "I've changed my mind." Kizu picked up a boulder, having ran out of kunai and shuriken to use, and lifted it over the downed kunoichi. Just as the possessed kunoichi was about to smash it down on her, Hinata's lower body twisted and using the torque, Hinata managed to get herself back up on her feet. "NO!!" Kizu threw the boulder down, but Hinata already twisted out of the way. Most would have thought at this point Kizu would have nothing to worry about anyway, but that assumption was about to be proven wrong. Kizu kicked to the side…but Hinata was already in the air. Kizu had no time to block, and Hinata launched a kick at Kizu's face. But unlike a normal kick, where the ball of the foot would make contact, Hinata touched using only her toes, aimed at a specific area. Another jewel exploded, and Kizu realized how much he had really underestimated her.

"Only two left."

Hinata leapt into the air again, but Kizu was prepared and blocked the incoming kick. "If you want to die so badly, I'll gladly oblige!!" Kizu threw a round-house kick, aiming for the Hyuuga's legs. Sakura's shin snapped something, but nothing on the lower part of the kunoichi's body. Hinata blocked the strike with one of her disabled arms, using her mouth to hold the upper portion in place. Though she was clearly in pain from the way her arm bent nearly 90 degrees, she did not budge. "You're mad!!"

"Whatever it takes!!" Hinata yelled as she took advantage of Kizu's momentary shcok and lunged forward.

* * *

Shiguri tried pulling Koungasenki underground. He already learned the hard way that cutting him only made him harder to hurt. But his plan was foiled when a pillar rose, taking him with it. At the same time, Jaa was running towards them, but couldn't see the change in time and smashed the pillar instead. Shiguri lost balance and tumbled to the ground as the ruble covered him.

In the tree tops, Deidara's kunoichi student prepared another dart. "Easy prey!!" Genkakushoujou was about to shoot the vulnerable genin, but was forced to side-step when Hanabi tried a sneak attack.

"Bad move!!" Iori ran in front of Hanabi and frantically tried to hit her opponent with her weapons. But it turned out that was exactly what Genkakushoujou wanted. The narcotics-nin threw smoke pellets on the ground, and as soon as Iori breathed the fumes, she grabbed her throat. It was like the worst case of strep throat she ever had!

Shiguri came behind the narc-nin and managed to wrap a dragon tongue around her, but his wrist was then encased in crystal. Koungasenki rushed towards him and immediately dealt him a roundhouse with a quartz-covered shin.

At that same moment, Jaa ran up to San and unleashed a barrage of knee strikes, while San blocked with his doton jutsus. Though Jaa could not see for very long, he blinked just to see where his enemy was and wasted no time getting there. For a minute, it looked like Jaa had the edge despite his handicap. That went down the drain when Genkakushoujou took the opportunity to throw seemingly harmless leaves at him. Jaa's skin started to swell and ooze pus, leaving the taijutsu master feeling as if something heavy was weighing him down, among other things.

Hanabi ran up to Koungasenki and actually managed to land a hit on him, but immediately afterwards the crystal-nin caught onto her moves and blocked her strikes. Iori, ignoring her almost unbearable condition, caught him by surprise and tackled him to the ground. Hanabi realized what she was trying to do, and moved forward to take him down permanently. However, the Iwa nin wouldn't let her have her way for long. "Hariton! Hekishoku Merikensaku no Jutsu!" Like brass knuckles, green crystals formed around his knuckles, which he suddenly impaled Iori with. Quickly, Koungasenki rolled, using Iori as a shield from Hanabi. Before she could react to the sudden change, Hanabi thrust a palm forward, and hit Iori's tenkatsu instead. "I'm sorry!"

Iori didn't hear her, but was pretty pissed that she had to go through that again, even if it was accidental. Keeping her composure, she whispered "Hanabi…I think we should trade." Talking even that softly caused her to hack violently.

"Don't talk!" Hanabi shouted. "Stay quiet before you damage your throat anymore!"

Shiguri ran towards them, running away from the acid San kept with him. "I don't think switching will make a difference, but that's still the best idea I've heard so far!!" Shiguri yelled.

Hanabi got ready to attack Genkakushoujou. The narc prepared to run, but felt the ground soften beneath her, and her legs sank into mud.

"Hanabi! Now's your-"Shiguri was then pricked with a dart from behind. Genkakushoujou was behind him the whole time, and the one he trapped was some kind of bushin! "Oh no." Shiguri then squinted his eyes as his pupils dilated and constricted at an accelerated rate, independent of one another. His sunglasses didn't help at all. "Hanabi! That's not-!"

Too late. The real narc-nin leaped in front of her replacement and threw her drug pellets at the Hyuuga. As the pellets exploded, she asked "Your friend should be familiar with this: ever had an itch that just drove you MAD!?" Genkakushoujou began laughing manically, but stopped when she heard something. Hanabi used her kaiten to blow the powder away from her and towards her opponent, covering her in the chemicals. "Pathetic! You think I would be stupid enough to remain susceptible to one of my own drugs!?" Hanabi, however, had a different use for the dust. Quickly, she rushed towards the Iwa kunoichi, using it as cover. In less than one second, she was practically on top of her!

Before the gentle fist strike connected, an earth wall rose out of the ground, protecting Genkakushoujou. San rushed up and kicked, but Hanabi saw it coming and moved out of the way quickly. "Doton! Doryu Kachuu!!" The ground underneath Hanabi began to soften and churn. Soon, she was being sucked in and spun rapidly. The feeling was too disorienting for her to counter-attack. San looked at her, confident that there was no escape. The Iwa nin backed away when he caught something in the corner of his peripherals. Iori swung her kamas at him, forcing him to retreat. San didn't quite dodge in the nick of time: Iori managed to cut him across the eye!

The jinchuriki child then ran over to Hanbi, and held out the stick portion of her weapon. Hanabi quickly grabbed it. For a second, it seemed Iori would be pulled in with her. But Iori got into a perfect horse stance and held her ground. Hanabi finally stopped twisting, and Iori began pulling her out.

Out of nowhere, however, Koungasenki came and kicked her in her open stomach. Iori ignored the pain and stood her ground, but in her current position she was defenseless. "Hariton! Kessho Takkeizou no Jutsu!!" A circle of crystals began to grow around Iori. As it was, Iori could not move without risking loosing Hanabi. But the crystals began to pierce her skin, and if she didn't do anything quickly, she was in for a very slow and very painful death.

"Sokudoihan Kyuuyo!!" Jaa quickly rolled in between Koungasenki and Iori, sending the former flying. Jaa got up, stumbling, and walked towards Iori with his eyes closed, feeling for the crystals growing around her. Getting a grasp of where they were, he backed up and smashed them away with a powerful roundhouse. Freed from her predicament, Iori pulled and released her friend.

Jaa quickly blinked to locate Koungasenki's current position. Jaa rushed forward, and struck. Granted, most of his strikes missed initially. But he kept in close proximity to the crystal-nin; it was much like a child hitting a piñata. But finally, his elbow connected with the enemy. "Yes!!" Jaa continued with a barrage of elbow strikes, feeling Koungasenki's head reel from each blow. Grasping his shoulder, Jaa climbed on top of his opponent as if he was a ladder. "Buben Surooingu Fuetsu!!" Jaa slammed a power-packed elbow onto Koungasenki's head, thinking he won; almost no one gets up after that many elbow strikes to the head.

"Nice. But you do remember that every time I bleed, it hardens and becomes armor. Right?"

Jaa quickly blinked, and swore he saw the crystal nin covered in what seemed to be samurai armor. "Oh no…" Koungasenki attacked with a barrage of punches, his knuckles covered in sharp crystals again.

"Hang in there!" Shiguri jumped between the two and used a leg sweep, effectively knocking Koungasenki off his feet. Before he had a chance to recover, Shiguri took his dragon-tongues and used them to tie the Iwa nin's wrists.

"Doton! Nadare Kenju no Jutsu!!" San launched good-sized rocks at Shiguri, forcing him to back up. Following through, he rushed up and punched him for good measure.

The other 3 Konoha-nin regrouped, helping Shiguri up. "NOW YOU SEE!?" San screamed, seemingly loosing it completely. "YOU MAY OUTNUMBER US BY ONE PERSON!! BUT YOU'RE USED TO ATTACKING IN PAIRS AT LEAST!!! THAT LEAVES AT LEAST ONE OF US FREE TO ATTACK ANY OF YOU!!! AND YOU CAN'T RISK FIGHTING US ONE ON ONE!! AND IF YOU FOCUS ALL YOUR ATTENTION ON JUST ONE OF US, THE OTHER TWO WILL TAKE YOU OUT!!! THEREFORE, YOU LOOSE!!!"

The four had to cover their ears the way he was screaming. "Jeez, what the fuck is his problem!?" Shiguri asked.

"He's batshit crazy: I think that's all you need to know." Hanabi said.

"Point taken." Shiguri commented. "But still, he has a point; we can't form a coherent team. And everything he said about the possible tactics is true."

The Konoha four were clueless what to do next, while the Iwa three calmly awaited their prey, knowing they had the upper hand. Well, except for San. "COME ON YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!! I'LL CUT YOUR LIMBS, USE YOUR HEADS AS BOWLING BALLS, MAKE YOU EAT YOUR INTESTINES…"

Koungasenki and Genkakushoujou covered their ears as their teammate threw what was at best the worst tantrum they've ever seen. The Konoha nins simply stared in utter amazement; never before had they experienced any human being losing it the way San was. "What happened?" Jaa asked.

"I…I think it had something to do with me cutting him!" Iori rasped, still being careful not to talk whenever she could help it.

Hanabi nodded her head in agreement. "You cut him across the eye, if I recall correctly. Wounds like that tend to become scars."

"Don't tell me he's some kind of drama queen with shuriken!" Shiguri shouted in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Koungasenki called back. "I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head!" San continued with his tirade without even stopping to breathe, and Koungasenki adjusted his voice to sound like Deidara. _**"San…I am so disappointed in you…behaving like a child, over this. I can't even begin to call you a shinobi anymore."**_

San blinked, and finally calmed down. He was still hyperventilating though. "Thanks…sorry, I get a bit…carried away at times."

The others simply gawked. "YOU THINK!?" Shiguri yelled.

Remembering they were there to fight, and not argue, they got into their fighting stances, preparing for a collision course. "We really could use Yuji's help right now." Iori whispered.

"No kidding." Shiguri confirmed. "Yuji…where are you, old buddy?"

* * *

"Ow!" Yuji was tree-hopping the best he could. However, that was proving to be very difficult with his mangled foot. "Got to…get back…find…help…" As badly as Yuji wanted to help in the fighting, he had to wonder just how he could be of use to anyone right now. He was badly wounded, and he had no weapons. He was also beginning to believe that the battle had already ended…and if it didn't end in Konoha's favor, then it wasn't good. "Don't think about it Yuji; just…" Something caught Yuji's ear. Screaming, it sounded like. Instinctively, he backed further into the branches. After a second or two, he determined he wasn't in any immediate danger. But the sound seemed to just go on forever, which was strange since the person screaming obviously had no intention to hide his position, and from the few syllables he could make out, was very emotional. "What is that? I better check it out."

Yuji carefully hopped from branch to branch, often grabbing onto others so he wouldn't fall. Finally, he reached what he believed to be the location of the sound. Yuji didn't see anything at the tree level with him. And the yelling had ceased. "Maybe…down below?" Yuji lay on his stomach and rolled his body around the branch, trying to look beneath him. However, he didn't hold on tight enough, and fell.

* * *

"Let's finish this…" Koungasenki growled. The three Iwa nin were prepared to attack, and the four Konoha-nin prepared to do the opposite. But before any fighting could break out, another sound grabbed all of their attention, and something landed on top of Koungasenki.

It was a person, and a familiar one to the four Konoha nin at that. "Yuji!?" Shiguri yelled.

Iori simply stared and felt her heart skip a beat. "He's here." She thought. "He's really here." Both she and her teammate were feeling the tears well up in their eyes.

Before either they or Yuji could respond, Koungasenki came out of his stupor and kicked Yuji off. "Get off me!!"

Yuji stumbled into his comrades, and just stared at them in shock. "Shiguri? Iori!? You're alive!?" The two of them nearly laughed. "We should be asking you the same thing-"Shiguri said.

"Look out!" Hanabi performed a kaiten in front of them, deflecting several needles.

"Goddamit!! I wasted all my hyperaggresion needles!!" Genkakushoujou pouted.

"Be more careful." San told her, back to normal. "From now on, only use one at a time, and ONLY if you have a clear shot."

Genkakushoujou just rolled her eyes in response to being lectured. "Looks like we've got a wrench in our plans." she added, gesturing to the new arrival.

The other two Iwa nin looked at Yuji. "Him?" San asked incredulously. "Look at him! With a foot like that, he's nothing!!" San said. Yuji grimaced at the comment; what hurt more was that it was most likely true.

Koungasenki added "Plus, I've already took away his weapons. Still, be careful; he's stronger than he looks, and pretty clever to boot."

Yuji focused his attention on the three, but was something caught his eye. Shiguri was holding his wires right in front of him…his wires!

"I figured you would need these, just in case something happened with your gauntlets." Shiguri said, as if to answer an unspoken question.

Yuji snatched them, saying "Thanks."

Hanabi stepped forward and briefed him on the situation. "We tried using teamwork against them before, but they managed to make our superior numbers work against us."

Yuji nodded, and analyzed the situation at hand. He surprised everyone when he spoke almost immediately "Shiguri."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you can take on one of them by yourself? Keep him or her away from the rest of us, at least until we can help you?"

Everyone was about to argue that point, but Shiguri raised his hand and silenced them. Shiguri then stared intently at San. "Yeah…Now that you mention it, I think I've got something on that guy over there. Do whatever you need to; this will be over quick."

Yuji nodded, and then turned to Jaa. "How badly drugged are you?"

"How did you know I was drugged?" Jaa asked, certain that Yuji wasn't there to see the whole thing.

Without uttering a word, Yuji quickly pulled a needle from the back of his neck, elicting a hiss from the taijutsu specialist. "This."

Understanding, the taijutsu chunin replied "Okay. My vision was completely whacked, but it's starting to wear off."

"Good. I'm going to need your help with the crystal guy; I think I know him quite well, and I need muscle." Turning to the two kunoichi, Yuji said "I'll leave the kunoichi to you two. I presume Iori fought her once before, and I'd imagine Hanabi would make a good partner." The two nodded and got ready. "It's two against one for the weaker ones, and I trust Shiguri fully to take out your champion."

"That's quite some faith you have in your comrades." Koungasenki hissed.

"And completely unfounded." Genkakushoujou added.

Yuji only smirked in response. "We'll see soon enough."

With everything said that needed to be said, the eight ninjas got ready for battle.

* * *

Kizu stepped back and covered the space where a jewel once was after Hinata landed another blow. Now, there was only one left that kept Kizu in control of Sakura's body, the one on her chin. "Give up!!" Hinata yelled. The Hyuuga continued with a barrage of kicks, but none of them hit.

The alarm of being one step away from losing it seemed to have given Kizu's mind a boost and accelerated the reaction time of his host. Kizu swung a right cross, barely missing Hinata but taking a good chunk of her hair. "No, it is you who have lost! You landed a few lucky strikes with your feet, but I'm onto you now! Unless you can get your arms working again, you don't have a chance in hell landing another blow against me!" Despite his bravado, Kizu was too scared to get too close now.

Hinata stopped, taking in a deep breath; she had to plan the final attack carefully. Nothing conventional would work anymore. Finally, she thought of one…but it was a huge risk. She had only one try, and no one had ever attempted this before. But, at this point, she figured she had nothing to lose. "This has dragged on for too long, hasn't it?" To his surprise, Kizu nodded in agreement. "Then, one more round."

Both got ready to attack. Kizu though, was cautious. "It's not going to be just an all or nothing kick, she has something up her sleeve. I know it. She doesn't have use of her arms, so I doubt it's the 64 palms or any variant like that." Kizu tried to think exactly just what she was planning, but couldn't come up with anything. "No matter. She's right; it's time to finish this, and I will on my terms!" Kizu lunged forward, activating chakra scalpels in both of Sakura's hands.

However, Hinata moved from her cat stance even faster and called out an attack neither Kizu nor any Hyuuga heard of before. " Hakke Rokujuuyonashige!!"

Kizu retreated backwards, just catching the gist of it. But too late; a foot connected, and Kizu felt his host's tenkatsu shut down. "I see…she's trying to seal my chakra, incapacitating her so she can free her. Well…" Kizu began to block as many kicks as he could, using both taijutsu and punching the ground, using the ruble to protect himself. But with the sheer number coming towards him, he couldn't stop them all . Quickly, Kizu felt half of Sakura's chakra sealed away…

"ENOUGH OF THIS!!" In a panic, Kizu grabbed a pointed stick, lunged forward with what little strength Sakura had and stabbed Hinata, who momentarily left herself vulnerable while attacking.

The Hyuuga fell back, overwhelmed by the shock of being stabbed. "No…I can't fail…I promised…Naruto-kun…"

Hinata collapsed, while Kizu got on his knees and hyperventilated. Frantically scanning his host's face for the jewel, he finally found it to be intact. "Too close." Eyeing the weapon he held, he walked towards Hinata. Hinata struggled to lift her foot up in a vain attempt to free Sakura, but Kizu brought down Sakura's leg and pinned it. Kizu didn't say a word; he simply cocked Sakura's arms back, preparing to kill her.

Hinata waited for the death blow to come and closed her eyes…but it never did. Hinata opened her eyes, which widened in response at what she was seeing. Kizu was struggling to move Sakura's body. Nothing physical was impeding him…which meant whatever it was, it was internal. Sakura's left hand gripped the wrist of the right, as if trying to stop herself. Sakura's face was also clenched, like she was facing an uphill battle. "Sakura's fighting him! From within!" Hinata saw her chance, and began to move her free leg up.

Kizu truly panicked now; he never expected this. _"No! I read the inscriptions! Resistance should be impossible!!"_

"_**I've had enough of this!!"**_ Inner Sakura screamed. _**"Get out of my body!!! NOW!!" **_

"_No!! So long as the last jewel is in place, you'll never have your freedom!! You're too valuable of a tool to lose!!" _

"_**We'll see about that!!"**_ Kizu managed to take control of Sakura's eyes, and through her peripherals looked down below, focusing on Hinata. Instead of the Hyuuga, he saw the sole of her foot.

"Hold him right there, Sakura-san…Just…hold it…a…bit…longer…"

Finally, it seemed Kizu had managed to regain some control of Sakura's body. With great effort, he stepped backward, just out of Hinata's reach. But Sakura wouldn't have any of that; she was too close!! _**"I DON'T THINK SO, YOU BASTARD!! SHANNARO!!"**_ Quickly, Sakura's body stepped back towards Hinata. And in contact with her toe. Using what little chakra she could feel within herself, Hinata pumped it into the jewel. One final explosion followed, and Sakura's body flew across the ground.

* * *

"Oohhhh…" Kakashi, after what seemed to him to be an eternity, fell to the ground. The beating Hidan had given him was probably his worst yet; his legs were completely charred, various cuts were all over his body, and his nerves tingled with electricity. Hidan could have simply used his masks at full-power and obliterated him in the blink of an eye, but instead the immortal kept his chakra use in check and dealt enough to keep him alive.

Reaching down, Hidan grabbed a kunai from Kakashi's vest. Holding up the copy-nin's head, Hidan spoke right into his ear "It's been fun. But I've got a job to do, and without my weapon, quite frankly there's not much point in dragging this out any further." Hidan raised it…and then felt his head fall to the ground.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!? WHO DID THAT!? COME OUT, OR I SWEAR TO JASHIN-SAMA…" Hidan stopped his tirade immediately when something caught his eye. It looked like a…kusarigama? "Wait, that's MY kusarigama!" But it was sucked up into that black hole…wasn't it? It frightened him more when he was a severed arm attached to it. Then, a familiar foot came into his view. His head rose and was brought face to face with Kakashi, looking for the most part unscarred. "What the..?" Hidan scoured the corners of his eyes, hoping it was a trick, but couldn't find anything that would prove otherwise.

Kakashi seemed to read his mind, and answered "Just because I activated my Magenkyo doesn't mean I'd use Kamui. It's a rather unreliable all-or-nothing technique, more useful for getting rid of deadly incoming forces than one powerful opponent."

Hidan's eyes widened as he realized the implicit meaning behind his answer. "Genjutsu!! You made me drop my weapon and think I was torturing you!!"

"That's right. Kakuzu may have nearly killed me three years ago, but that doesn't mean I can't learn from my mistakes. Plus, Naruto and Sakura need me; I'm not going to waste my two trump cards yet. As for you…" Kakashi pulled out a scroll, unraveled it, and placed Hidan's head in the center, careful to avoid his snapping jaws. "Pathetic." The jonin muttered, annoyed with Hidan's pointless defiance to the end. Kakashi proceeded to seal him within it. Using such a technique on a normal person was unknown, but due to his immortality, Kakashi figured he would be fine. "Hinata, I hope you've done your job." Kakashi rolled the scroll up, and ran towards where he last saw the two kunoichi.

* * *

Hinata and Sakura simply lay across the grass motionless. Without warning, it began to rain. Sakura then gasped as the raindrops hit her face. Her hand rose up, and upon that realization, Sakura bolted up, her eyes reverted back to their normal bright green. Frantically, she patted her self all over and moved all parts of her body as if she just lost her mind. "My body! I can move!! I'm in control again!!" Sakura nearly laughed and cried with joy…but then remembered everything that happened. "Hinata!!"

Sakura ran towards the fallen Hyuuga, who was completely unconscious. Instinctively, Sakura knelt down and placed her hands over her comrade. She began to pump chakra through her hands, but felt a sharp pain instead. She remembered that Hinata had sealed most of her tenkatsu; in addition, she probably used up most of her chakra when she was possessed. Concentrating, she gathered up what chakra she had left and used it to heal Hinata's stab wound. It was exhausting for her, but she continued on. Finally, she could see the flesh sew together. Hinata gasped for breath, signaling she was going to be okay. Sakura didn't feel as she usually did when she healed a patient, though. Instead, she began to cry. She was, after all, the one who nearly killed her. And the one who endangered everyone. "H-Hinata…" Sakura could barely form words between her choked sobs. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry…" One could say that Sakura had no control over her body...but that fact made Sakura blame herself even more. No matter what anyone said, she was still the one who hurt her.

Sakura then heard footsteps. Frightened, she turned around defensively. It was Kakashi-sensei, with Pakkun next to him. The fact that it was someone familiar, however, didn't calm her down; just the opposite in fact. Kakashi, having sensed this, said "It's okay. I know you weren't in control. Everyone knows you're innocent." Sakura didn't respond. Kakashi simply held out his hand. "Trust me. I'm going to help. We're all going to help." Sakura simply stared at him, probably too long considering everything going on around them. Suddenly, she ran up to him and hugged him, latching on. Surprised for a second, Kakashi returned the hug. "Good to have you back, Sakura."

"Good to be back, sensei." Sakura's hug tightened on Kakashi.

"Okay, I've got her." Pakkun immediately hefted Hinata onto his back. "I'm on my way. Balto has already taken Shikamaru to the hospital."

"Good. Sakura, go with them. Naruto and I will meet you there."

"I'm going." Sakura said, clenching her fists.

Kakashi narrowed his eye dangerously in response. "No, you're going with them."

"Naruto needs me." The kunoichi replied almost defiantly.

Kakashi roughly grabbed Sakura by the collar, bringing her face to his. "I know Hinata neutralized almost all of your chakra! You'll only get in the way!!!" Kakashi seemed to curse under his breath. "I'm sorry. It's just the truth."

"Maybe so." Sakura muttered, unable to deny the truth, but still looked him in the eye. "But I still have to see him."

Kakashi couldn't describe the feeling he was getting from Sakura…but he just couldn't say no. "If she founds out, Hokage-sama will kill me." Kakashi turned around and put his hands behind his back. "Hop on."

Sakura climbed on his back, and they took off. Sakura didn't pay much attention to where they were going; she just trusted Kakashi-sensei.

"_I love you."_

Hearing those words from Naruto's mouth…even in her possessed state, she felt like she could die the happiest woman alive right then and there. "Naruto….hang in there. We'll be together again soon."

* * *

Sorry to leave you hanging like this, but it's time to say goodbye, kids!

Kyuushu Choujou-Suction Peak

Kurumiwari-Nutcracker

Nenten Daijabi-Twisting Serpent's Tail

Dogrenado-Earth Grenado (prototype to the grenade)

Doryu Kachuu-Mud Whirlpool

Hekishoku Merikensaku-Emerald Knuckles

Kessho Takkeizou-Crystallization Crucifix

Sokudoihan Kyuuyo-Speeding Armadillo

Buben Surooingu Fuetsu-Soldier Throwing the Axe

Nadare Kenju-Avalanche Revolver

Hake Rokujuuyonashige-64 kicks


	32. Into the Heat of Day

Hi! Things have been going rather downhill for me lately, but I've had this fic to help me get through it. Not much else I can tell you, except I've taken a recent interest in Hellboy and BPRD.

What else? Well, I've been working on a comic lately. The first chapter is not quite done, and I don't think I will complete it. But making it is fun. I'll post it on deviantart and let everyone know when it's ready. Just to warn you, do to some violence I'll block some pages.

Anyway, this chapter is not nearly as long as the last, and hopefully that will give you a better reading experience. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be making only $100 a week.

* * *

Something was putting Deidara ill at ease, and there was no logical reason for it that he could think of. They finally accomplished their mission of capturing the Kyuubi. They took his woman both as a hostage and as an ally. They pretty much guaranteed there would be no resistance from Konoha without dire consequences. True, there was a slightly more than good chance that they would try something; but that would just mean more chaos and more of a mess that the Konoha nins would have to overcome. The outcome was inconsequential for Akatsuki. But what unnerved him most was Naruto. He just sat there completely motionless, and his face betrayed no emotions; something completely out of character for him. "You're awfully calm." Deidara finally said aloud.

Naruto's expression remained unchanged as he looked at Deidara. "No point in getting excited really. My chakra is sealed, you're holding someone I care about hostage, as well as half my village…quite frankly, I don't see any way out of this."

The calm reply only served to unnerve Deidara even further. "Something's up. This is not him at all." Deidara looked around, paranoid that they were about to be attacked. He would have asked Kizu for help, but he could communicate with him telepathically only if Kizu set up a link. Turning back to his partner, he noticed that Tobi was actually doing his job and watching the normally boisterous jinchuriki. "Well, at least Tobi isn't back to his stupid antics again." The blonde nunken thought.

* * *

Kizu winced as he sat up, his soul back in his normal body. "Ugh. I should've known better than to stay in a meditative stance for more than one day." Though it felt painful, it was only a minor annoyance. Once he got walking, he would be fine.

Walking out of his room, he encountered his female partner, waiting for him patiently. "I've found it, Kizu-sama; the last jinchuriki. After this one is captured, we can proceed with the Kyuubi jinchuriki."

Kizu nodded affirmatively. "I'll join you tomorrow. I need some rest, and to brief the master on the situation. The Kyuubi will have to wait; it could even be a matter of years at this point."

"We'll need to find new recruits then." Kizu's partner was quite perceptive.

"Yes, but not to contain the chakras. Once we add the hachibi, the statue should stabilize. But for now, I must go."

With that, he turned and walked up the stairs. The soreness easing, he finally made his way to Madara. Upon entering his master's chambers, he felt the temperature drop, figuratively speaking. Despite how his age should have affected him at this point, Madara's mind was incredibly perceptive, as the old man turned in his chair to face him. "You didn't capture him. And you lost control of the girl." It was a statement, not a question.

Kizu answered without any sign of intimidation. "Technically, we did capture the jinchuriki. But I predict he will be rescued, so I suppose you've made your point."

Madara only stared at him with those evil eyes of his. Then, he hissed "Looking at you, I have a feeling that this was all intentional."

Kizu bowed and explained himself. "Very perceptive of you, as always. As I explained earlier, the boy needs to undergo severe emotional trauma before his biju is ready to be extracted, otherwise the Kyuubi will simply be absorbed into his body, and be lost forever. Given that he's seemed to have overcome most of the challenges just living as a jinchuriki, the discrimination and fear the village has expressed is unreliable as a source of rage alone. The pink-haired girl, however, if we used her right, could bring about a new bout of rage. I know the two are in love. Though I had originally attempted to possess her until we were ready for the extraction, I anticipated that someone would free her. So, I created a back-up plan."

"Danzou." Madara said, catching the drift of Kizu's plan.

"Yes. He is more than happy to help us push the Yodaime Hokage's heir over the edge in ways we cannot."

Madara rose with his cane, seemingly disbelieving. "There is a minor detail that is bothering me about your backup plan: I'm old. So is Danzou. This plan of yours could take years. Even with the Biju chakra we have acquired so far, I fear neither one of us will live long enough."

Kizu nodded. "I understand your concern. However, I have some good news on Danzou's part. He has managed to win a rather large amount of council members to his side regarding Naruto. Should anything happen to him, there will be others we can use as replacements; they're just as hard-line and power hungry as he is. As for your dilemma… a memory has awoken inside me. I think there is a technique you could learn to extend your life without becoming a mere husk. You will still need to feed on biju chakra, but this will make the life-extension more efficient, I assure you." Interested, Madara silently beckoned him to go on. Kizu quickly pulled a scroll out of his sleeve, kneeled, and held it out. "Read it, master…"

* * *

Jaa shot out a roundhouse, but Koungasenki blocked it with ease. However, he was caught off guard when an arm came out of nowhere and struck him across the throat. It was a good thing for him that last strike didn't have any enhanced strength that he knew the attacker for. Yuji didn't want to waste any chakra unless he was sure he could land a killing blow; as it was, he was at a severe disadvantage.

The crystal nin cleared his throat the best he could before speaking. "I though you were just going to be directing from the sidelines." He pointed accusingly at Yuji.

"I'd like to, but I don't like leaving all the fighting to my friends." Yuji shot back.

"Fair enough." A crystal stalactite rose from out of the ground, but Yuji easily dodged it with a side-step. Koungasenki sprung to his feet, but a knee from Jaa sent him flying into the canopy. The crystal nin recovered though, and grabbed hold of a branch. "I see your reflexes are as good as ever!" Koungasenki shouted as he climbed onto the branch. "This might be fun after all!"

Yuji looked towards Jaa. "Where's your team and sensei? We could use them."

"Lee-sensei and the others were fighting off any Iwa nins left behind, and they ordered me to help you all! Two of my teammates may come by, but I'm afraid at least one of them will have to stay behind in order to guard Hyouike!!"

Yuji's head bolted his direction. "Hyouike!? She's here!?"

"Pay attention!"

Yuji's sixth sense ran through his body, and instinctively he bent sideways…onto his bad foot. Off balance, the crystal arrow managed to take a good chunk of his side, and Yuji collapsed. "Miyamoto-san!!" Jaa ran over and helped his friend up. Before either had a chance to speak, Koungasenki came down from the trees, laughing manically. "I know!! I know how to defeat you!!"

* * *

Iori and Hanabi charged directly towards Genkakushoujou. The kunoichi retreated backwards, and threw a whole purse of smoke bombs onto the ground, creating a cloud of pink smoke. "Back up!!" Hanabi shouted. After getting a good distance away from the gas, it quickly dissipated and the two stood their ground. "That's odd…she used up all of her smoke bombs. What do you make of it, Iori-san?" Iori tried to reply, but hacked even more violently than before. Hanabi's eyes widened as she saw small droplets of blood reach Iori's hand. "I'm sorry! I forgot…"

Getting over her debilitated throat, Iori had to admit that Hanabi had a point. It was probable that those smoke bombs contained some kind of freakish poison. Why would she waste them all?

"Incoming!!" Thousands of needles reigned down upon them, but Hanabi spun, encircling Iori as well and deflected them all. "There! Five'o clock!!" Hanabi pointed.

Having run out of shuriken, Iori flung one of her kamas like a boomerang in the direction Hanabi indicated, and they were awarded with a sharp yelp.

Genkakushoujou grasped her shoulder, hissing in pain. The other two kunoichi once again chased her. But Genkakushoujou wasn't worried in the slightest. "Yes, that's it…come…"

* * *

Shiguri's Dragon Tongues flailed wildly, but San proved to be too fast for him. "Even if you are the best fighter in your group, pitting you alone against me…was a mistake." Almost as if the irony gods had done something, one of the daggered chains finally caught him and wrapped around him. Making sure not to let the opportunity go to waste, Shiguri pulled, and San's body fell into pieces, creating a bloody mess.

Shiguri, having fought him before, was a bit surprised that it was over so quickly. "That was too…" The genin spun around and brought his chains into a defensive position as San emerged out of the ground and closed in on him with a kunai. "…EASY!!" Shiguri blocked it in time, but immediately felt a familiar searing pain on his leg as San used his free hand to shoot his acid. "DAMN YOU!!" Shiguri spun, hoping to throw the Iwa nin off balance and kill him, but San went with the flow and leaped over his strike and the subsequent blows that followed.

"You should have known better." San chided, gracefully landing on one foot. "I can tell you're a genin; you don't even have a vest. And I'm a jonin; you are clearly outmatched. I'm beginning to doubt the intelligence of your four-eyed friend back there." Shiguri made the mistake to actually think about what he said, and San took the opportunity to kick Shiguri into a tree.

Shiguri quickly considered his chances. Clearly, San's taijutsu was superior, and he knew first hand what his ninjutsu was like. Worst of all, Shiguri's chakra was low; he had only one more attack he could use. If it landed, he could win. But knowing his rival's rank and abilities, he knew the odds of actually landing the attack were slim to none. "Damn! There must be something I could use!! Something to throw him off, distract him, attack his…" Shiguri then got a good look at the scar Iori landed on San's eye. He immediately remembered the tantrum he threw just a few minutes ago. "…ego. I think I've got it."

Shguri stood up, and San extended his hand, saying something surprising. "Since I am a genius, it is only fair I show mercy to those inferior to me. If you surrender, and promise to be my slave, I'll let you live." It was quite unsettling that he didn't even smile or frown when he made the offer.

Shiguri looked surprised for a moment, but then laughed. "Name one story in which the hero accepts the villain's offer to surrender and I'll consider it."

"This one, in about five minutes!!" San shot his acid, but Shiguri rolled away. Shiguri swung his Dragon tongues again, but San continued to predict their paths with ease. "Dogrenado no Jutsu!!" Shiguri ran away as explosions erupted in the bushes, but he could do little about avoiding the shrapnel. Didn't matter though; he had a plan, and he was going to make it work.

* * *

Mutsuguro's machine was proving to be more of a pain than earlier, even with half its body missing.

"Shit!" Tsunade screamed as she jumped out of the way of a sharp spider leg. The machine was proving to be more nimble and quicker without its real legs, causing the old blonde to dodge and cartwheel for life like never before. Garaa, on the other hand, had to use his sand shield to protect himself, lacking the agility of Tsunade. When a spider leg came down upon him, the metallic spike broke through and almost skewered his head. Tightening his shield, he managed to stop it completely and save his life.

The Tsuchikage grunted in annoyance. "Well, you've put up a good fight, but quite frankly, this is starting to bore me!!" Mutsuguro had his puppet leap back and opened its mouth, extending its flamethrowers . "Now, die, y-"

His sentence was abruptly cut off when the Kazekage and Hokage came flying towards him, using a tentacle of sand from Garaa like a whip to hurl themselves towards him. "Climb on, now!" Garaa shouted. The two did so, and drew kunai.

"When we're right on top of you, you can't attack us!!" Tsunade shouted.

"Not directly anyway!!!" Mutsuguro shouted back. Spikes popped out of the body, forcing the two kages to change their position. Before they got a chance, Mutsuguro pulled the gears and spikes appeared on different parts of the body. He kept at it, making it impossible for them to remain stationary. "I get what you're trying to do now; you plan to use your monstrous strength to open a hole in my toy! Then, the Kazekage will pour sand inside, immobilizing it! Well…"

Mutsuguro pulled a surprise move on Tsunade, and instead of ejecting a spike, a huge buzz saw sprang underneath her. The kunoichi was nicked in the knee, and rolled to her side. Predicting another one would be there, she prepared a defense."Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" At lightning speed, Tsunade summoned one of her slugs, using it as a shield to save herself from the next saw. The slug managed to withstand the sharp metal momentarily, but quickly burst, sending the Hokage flying and hitting her head on a rock below. Tsunade groaned, trying to get up, but ultimately fainted.

"Ha! Such an act of animal cruelty! All for nothing!" The machine's arm grabbed the unconscious Hokage, and began squeezing her. "I wish I brought my camera for this: me! Killing one of the Sanin, with my own hands no less!" Well, that wasn't literally true, but ninjas were notorious for finding loopholes after all. The hand squeezed tighter, eliciting a scream from Tsunade, who tried to squirm away but was too weak. The Tsuchikage was about to laugh manically, but stopped when he heard a large banging noise and momentarily lost balance. "What in the hell!?"

Tsunade's eyes opened up, and she smiled at the giant puppet slyly. "You were correct about our strategy, except for one minor detail: I'm not the one who's going to tear open a hole in your abomination." The Tsuchikage's eyes widened upon realization. Though he couldn't see it, Garaa was slowly but steadily punching a hole in the machine. "He's been working out ." Tsunade winked at Mutsuguro.

Finally, Garaa managed to unhinge the steel plate, and threw it aside. "Now! Go!" Thousands of small slugs crawled into the machinery, melting any gears that connected the parts.

"NOOOO!!!!!" The arm holding Tsunade fell limp, releasing her, and the sanin landed without a hint of pain.

"My slugs can turn into miniature versions of themselves if they are broken apart in any way; that's why I seemingly 'sacrificed' my summon. It's also much more efficient to melt the internal workings of your toy rather than just clog them up with sand." Soon, even the legs gave way. It looked like the battle was set and matched to the other two kages. But then, Tsunade's eyes widened without warning. "Garaa!! Get away from there!!!"

Heeding her words, Garaa leaped off and ran to join her. Tsunade dispelled her summons as well. "What's wrong!?"

Before she could reply, the puppet's head and right side ejected. The useless hand was discarded, and replaced with a giant blue flame, while it used some emergency legs from inside to prop itself up. "Thank you! I couldn't ask for anything more than opponents who quit while they're ahead!!" He swung the arm wildly, forcing Tsunade to dodge and Garaa to block.

The kazekage was getting tired, though; using his sand techniques weren't the same as back then when he had the Ichibi. Back then, he had much more chakra and stamina. "Would you care to explain to me WHY THE FUCK YOU HAD US WITHDRAW WHEN WE COULD'VE WON!?" the Kazekage screamed.

Tsunade shouted back "I have a telepathic link with my slugs, and we have to get out of here! There's a bomb inside his puppet!!"

"SO!?"

"I recognize it from my reports!! It had to have been created by the Akatsuki member known as Deidara!!"

Garaa immediately froze at her mentioning the name. He remembered how he forced him to drop his guard when he dropped a very large bomb on Sunagakure. One that could have destroyed everything and leave no traces. "Oh no…"

"From what I could tell, it's not an actual part of the machinery!" Tsunade confirmed. "I think Deidara's planning to kill him!"

"And take us with him…"

* * *

Deidara had finally managed to calm down as they flew across a canyon. He simply told himself that there was no point in getting anxious over something that may or may not happen; it would just stress his out for no reason, and that would become counterproductive for everything else in the long run. "Sasori, Kakuzu, Kisame, Itachi…you guys have used up a lot of our members. It's going to be a pain getting the last few inside the statue." The Iwa nin muttered to himself. Deidara turned around to see the still expressionless Naruto. "I wouldn't even be surprised if your friends suddenly killed everyone but me and Kizu-sama. But either way, we will seal you." Still not a peep. Deidara sighed. "Why does the capture that's supposed to be the most stressful turn out to be so boring?" Deidara ate his words when an explosive kunai suddenly flew right in his face and knocked him on his back. "What the-!?"

A familiar person stepped in between him and Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei!!"

Without uttering a word, Kakashi flung shuriken at Naruto, cutting his bindings. "Now, Sakura!! " Naruto was tackled and thrown off the clay bird as someone…he presumed Sakura…held onto him tightly.

Deidara could only look as the two fell out of sight. Kakashi charged forward, but Tobi ran in front of him and kicked him away. "You-!" Deidara couldn't find the words to express his outrage. "Tobi! Help me out with this one!"

"What about the jinchuriki!?" Tobi asked.

"They're trying to save him; he'll live!! We'll just have to find him quickly after we take care of him!"

The two missing-nins circled around the copy ninja. Kakashi pulled out a kunai for defense, and prepared himself. "Bring it."

* * *

Naruto felt himself and the other person spinning as their bodies pummeled toward the canyon floor. "Hold on!!" That was definitely Sakura's voice! Sakura pulled a spare kunai Kakashi had given her, and plunged it into the canyon walls. The pair continued to fall as Sakura held on for dear life, but they were definitely slowing down! "AAAAHHHH!!!" Finally, the two stopped.

Naruto reached over to a ledge to help support the both of them, and lifted himself. He couldn't put the intensity of relief he just felt into words when he looked at Sakura's face. It was her, she was back! The lack of piercings weren't what tipped him off; it was her eyes. It amazed him just what he could see in the eyes of the Sakura he knew. Sakura stared at him in awe too, but then squinted as she gave a painful wince. Naruto looked at her arm, and could see that it was dislocated. Naruto looked around, and saw a small crevice in the wall. Looking closely, he could see it was large enough for the two of them to fit, and there was a floor underneath. Perfect for sitting down…even if they didn't have a mere minute to do so. "Get on my back. Quickly." Naruto whispered. Sakura complied, wrapping her good arm around him while her lame one hung limply. Naruto slowly maneuvered them towards the crevice, and quietly walked as far as he could to the end, setting set her down. "We need to set it back into place." Naruto took off his headband, wrapping the two ends around the metal body, and handed it over to Sakura. Sakura took it, and clamped down on it, bracing herself. "On three. One, two…three!" Naruto pushed the arm into Sakura's socket, who grunted in agony. When he was finished, he released his hold, and Sakura moved her arm to see if there was a problem; much to their relief, it was working just fine.

Naruto kneeled down in front of Sakura, who only stared back. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around Naruto and pulled him in for a brief, but deep and passionate kiss. Both wished they could do it forever, but they also knew they were not in the best position to allow that to happen. "Welcome back." Naruto whispered, giving her a faint and genuine smile.

"Good to be back." Sakura replied. Sakura seemed to be anxious about something, judging by her twitching fingers, and Naruto had a feeling it had nothing to do with Akatsuki at the moment. Hesitantly, she spoke up. "Naruto, about your father, I'm-"

Naruto silenced her with his fingers on her lips. "It's okay; as hard as it is to accept…I think I understand. On top of that, I'd imagine you were afraid to go against orders."

Sakura nodded, only feeling more ashamed. "Still doesn't make it right. You were my friend, at worst; you had the right to know, always."

"If it was a law that the Sandaime put into place, I think following such an order is reasonable enough; he always did have people's best interests in mind." Sakura briefly noticed a small tear forming in the corner of one of Naruto's eyes. "But even if that wasn't the case, if we were to assume that nothing was stopping you or the others and you chose not to tell me anyway… you all mean too much to me. Especially you." Naruto lightly squeezed Sakura's hand. "I should've at least given you…and Ero-senin and Ba-chan…a chance to explain yourself. I cut you all off, but it just made things worse, and I felt more alone than ever before. I'm never going to cut you or anyone else out of my life ever again." Sakura gave him a small smile, still feeling bad about the whole debacle, but felt like she could come to terms with it now. However, suddenly Naruto was the one behaving anxiously. "Um…Sakura-chan…when I…"

The kunoichi immediately realized what he was trying to refer to: his confession, before she was freed. Sakura began to feel a different kind of fear flow through her. But at the same time, she never felt happier. **"No, there is no way in hell I'm going to blow this. Not when we could die any minute!"** Inner Sakura screamed. She gathered all her courage, and said "I heard you." Sakura then felt like a huge weight was being lifted off her shoulders.

Naruto wasn't sure if he was blushing, but he did feel his face go up in temperature. "Oh…uh…"

Sakura quickly embraced him again, making her own confession. "Baka. I love you too. Ever since…" Sakura choked a sob. She knew they could be interrupted at any moment and be killed, but she had to say this. "Ever since you made that promise to me…I understood that you cared about me so much you were even willing to put my happiness above your own. You understood me better than anyone, and for all my flaws, you accepted and loved me for what I was. And then, I don't know how or when it happened, but I felt something I never did before. It stayed with me since that day and intensified whenever I thought of you, and just continued to grow whenever I was around you, always. I was too afraid to make myself realize it…but it was exactly what I wanted ever since I was a little girl. I discovered…what real love was." Sakura tenderly stroked Naruto's cheek, who could only stare back at her dumbfounded. "It just came from a different person than I had expected. And it took me years to realize that it didn't matter, so long as the feelings between us were real."

Naruto hugged her back so quickly and tightly, that Sakura was afraid for a moment that Deidara had attacked. "Sakura…thank you." Neither could recall a time when they ever felt happier than they were at that moment. Slowly, the two pulled away, just slightly, and looked at one another. Sakura noticed that Naruto seemed to be checking her out. Embarrassed, he quickly averted his eyes. "Umm…I really like your outfit, Sakura-chan, although if I didn't know any better I would be running for my life…"

Sakura noticed that Naruto's cheeks were tinged in red. Looking down, her face color began to match his as she realized what she was wearing: A short tank top, just enough to cover her under bust was adorned. It was black with red clouds, and showed off a fair amount of cleavage. "Well, that explains what he meant about running away…" In addition, she wore black shorts, similar to her own but was baggier at the ends, with black stockings covering her legs and even her feet, as she noted in the open sandals she was wearing. And they had several holes in them, probably from her fight with Hinata. Calling the outfit "sultry" was too strong of a word. But it was definitely more risqué than what she was used to wearing. Forgetting their predicament, she stuttered "I-It's not like I was able to control what was happening!" But when she said that, it made her remember how she was conscious from the beginning yet helpless to control her own body. As she continued along that line of thought, it began to disturb her even more than before…

"S-Sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't mean to ogle you, I just…" Naruto took a glance at Sakura, and stopped mid-sentence. She seemed to be shivering. "No." he thought. Trembling was more like it. How could she not? Her mind and body were separated, and she could only watch helplessly as Kizu made her do whatever he pleased. Quickly, Naruto gently embraced her. "Sakura." He whispered, dropping the usual suffix, grabbing her attention. "Listen, I know you're scared. I know that at this moment, the last thing you want to be is a shinobi. But we're in a very bad position right now. Both of our chakras are sealed, and I doubt Kakashi-sensei can take on 2 Akatsuki at once. We need to pull ourselves together, and prepare ourselves for the worst. After this is all over…I'll be here for whatever you need. To rest, to cry…anything."

Sakura couldn't be more thankful for that; for so long, she had to be strong all the time, despite all of her own hardships, even if they did not compare to Naruto's. She almost never had anyone to hold her, to tell her it was okay to be weak. Naruto did that for her once…and she needed him badly again. But now wasn't the time; she had to be strong, for just a little longer. Quickly hugged him back, and got on her feet. "I've got an idea; help me out."

* * *

"AAAHHHH!!" Li sliced the throat of an Iwa nin with her jian. "I'd say too easy…" another popped out from underground, hoping to stab her in the back. Her parrying the strike destroyed that hope. "…if you didn't pop out of the ground like roaches!!" Li turned around and slit his throat with an emei piercer.

Meanwhile, Chan's acrobatic fighting style proved enough to keep the other Iwa nins on their toes. "Won't…" Chan did a spit as a pit opened up underneath him, holding him at the edge. "…stop…" Chan launched himself from his position, trying to strike the enemy in front of him. The Iwa nin ducked, but Chan simply fell with him and struck him in the back of the head "…ME!!!"

Chan rolled off the unconscious soldier as he and Li stood back-to-back, protecting one another. "This is ridiculous!!" Chan yelled. "Is Hyouike alright?"

"She's still in the bushes! She's pretty scared about being here, though!"

The two began to fend off more Iwa nin. "Can't say I blame her; this is becoming overwhelming!!" Chan commented as he seeped an enemy off his feet.

"No shit!!"

"Asakujaku!!" Lee sprang out of nowhere, his skin a deep red. Landing in the midst of the Iwa nin, he fired punch after punch, which seemed to be coated with…fire?

"That's Lee-sensei for you!" Li shouted, raising her fist up in the air. After Lee sent the last one flying, his skin returned to normal.

Just as he was walking over to his team, he fell onto one knee. "Lee-sensei!!" Lee breathed heavily, muttering "I should've listened to Gai-sensei when he said I wasn't ready for the 7th gate." Grasping his two students' shoulders, he said "Listen, one of you needs to go to the edge of the village and help out Jaa, or wherever you see any remaining enemies!!! Also, one of you needs to take Hyouike to safety, wherever that may be in Konoha!! After that, join the rest of your comrades. Now hurry!!"

The two nodded, and Li ran towards the bushes. "Hyouike, come on! We're going to take you to the village!!" The Ainu girl nodded, and climbed on Li's back. "Yuji…I hope you're alright…"

* * *

"YAHH!!" Mutsuguro shouted as he swiped his puppet's fire-blade at the two kages. Thankfully, they were easily able to dodge it, but that wasn't their main concern at the moment.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure!?" Garaa shouted.

"Yes, what my slugs saw inside were definitely one of Deidara's creations!!"

"Then…the civilians should be safe by now! We've done our part!!" The two kages made a break for it and sprinted away from their enemies.

Mutsuguro laughed at the sight. "This is just grand!! TWO kages running away!!! As much as this amuses me…" His blue flame extended above the two kages, touching the edge of their fighting area. The entire forest then lit in blue flames, cutting off their chances of escape. "If you're cowardly enough to run, then you're cowardly enough to beg! Beg for forgiveness and I'll allow both of you to live…as my slaves, of course."

The two kages simply stood where they were. Slowly, Tsunade turned around to look at the Tsuchikage's handicapped but still functional mech. Much to his disdain, she did not give him a single hint of fear in her eyes. Not of him, anyway. "Tsuchikage, we're all in danger!!" she yelled. "Inside your puppet is a bomb; a bomb made by the one you call Deidara!!"

He simply swung his flame in response. "You'll do anything to save your lives AND your freedom, won't you!! I'm not falling for that!" The two kages continued to run as Mutsuguro tried desperately to kill them. "This is your LAST CHANCE!!!"

"It's no good!! He'll never believe us!! His obsession for glory is going to kill us all!!" Garaa shouted.

"That fool!" Quickly, Garaa brought up all the sand in the immediate area he could find, and encased Tsunade and he in a bubble, much like he did during Naruto's chunin exam. "This may save us from the explosion, but his concentrated flame can still get through!!" Tsunade yelled.

"There's no telling when that thing may go off! Right now, this is our only chance!!"

The puppet moved closer and fired the sand ball. Indeed, it seemed Tsunade's prediction was proving correct. "Cower all you want!!" Mutsuguro shouted as his flame steadily broke the shield down and turned the sand into glass. "It won't make a dif-" Mutsuguro was interrupted as intense flames surrounded his cockpit. It would be the last observation he would ever make. The entire area was suddenly covered in flames, and the already lit forest was blown out like candles on a cake.

* * *

"Yahhh!!" Yuji used what eight extreme fists forms he could against Koungasenki, but that was proving to be exceedingly difficult with his bad foot, and he couldn't hope to put a dent in the psychotic nin's armor. He finally got a lucky blow in when a rake hand to the throat, causing Koungasenki to move back.

"ACK!!" Koungasenki ignored the pain and threw a crystal kunai, again stabbing the festering foot. As his opponent was paralyzed in pain, he created another weapon. "Hariton!! Hariqiang no Jutsu!!" A Chinese spear made of crystal formed in his hands. Instead of a stabbing motion, Koungasenki swung it across his opponent's legs, causing him fall on his back. At this point, Yuji's sixth sense surely had reached its time-limit; it probably ceased functioning minutes ago.

"Miyamoto-kun!!" Jaa interfered and engaged the crystal nin. He managed to divert his attention, but other than defense, his taijutsu wasn't much good against Koungasenki's armor and weapons.

"He has to have some kind of weakness!" Yuji thought as he painfully stood up. Yuji took what few kunai he had, and threw them at the crystal nin. Predictably, he simply let most of them bounce off his armor and ignored them while he engaged Jaa. But one he swatted away. "Hmm…I wonder…" Yuji threw his last one at a very specific target: the neck. The blade inched forward towards Koungasenki's neck…and once more, he swatted it away. Yuji could only smile at the realization. "I got it!! Jaa! Aim for his neck!" The taijutsu specialist did so, and rolled over the spear, catching his opponent's throat and sent him flying into a tree. Koungasenki panted heavily, and struggled to stand. "Why don't you just slit your throat and create a shield around it like you normally do!?" Yuji chided him. Koungasenki could only stare at him in what Yuji could have sworn was fear. "You can't cut your throat like you do the rest of your body, can you? While blood loss in the body can be dangerous anywhere, it is most certainly fatal if the carotid arteries or jugular veins are slit. Even if the blood around your neck did crystallize, you'll probably be dead before you can use it to your advantage. Unconscious, at best."

"You-!" Koungasenki stumbled back from a knee to his head. It didn't do anything to hurt him with all his armor, but it didn't need to.

Jaa withdrew a kunai of his own, the first time anyone seen him use bladed weapons, and made slashing movements at Koungasenki. He managed to block, but now the crystal nin was on the defensive as his opponents had found his weak point. Yuji grabbed his wires from behind his back. "Keep at it, Jaa!"

Koungasenki realized he had to wrap it up, and he had one last move to use. "Hariton! Hariori no Jutsu!!" Much like an Indian teepee, crystals surrounded both combatants and immobilized them, almost crushing them.

"Crap!"

Koungasenki picked up his discarded weapon, and pointed it at Yuji. "Very smart. But I'm not going to give you the chance. In fact, I think it's best we end it now."

* * *

"Hold still!!" Hanabi yelled as she and Iori chased Genkakushojou across the forest. Iori felt something wasn't right; even if the enemy was planning escape, she would have planted traps around the area or threw shuriken at them. Even in retreat, a shinobi should do everything possible to neutralize his opponents; Iori was sure she got that part right from the academy. Their enemy should have been more conservative from the start with her weapons. Unfortunately, she could not voice her concerns to Hanabi. Finally, the girl in question leapt in front of Genkakushojou and struck her with an open palm, effectively knocking her into a tree. "Give it up! My Byakugan can see that you've used up all your weapons!! It was foolish of you to not even bring shuriken!" Genkakushojou only chuckled in response. "Shut up!" Hanabi yelled, tired of her games.

"I'm sorry, I can't help myself. You're right that I'm out of tricks. But you have already become victims of my…grand finale."

She snapped her fingers, and both Hanabi and Iori felt their heartbeats began to slow down rapidly. "Wha….is…." The pair collapsed onto the ground, their muscles going slack.

"My surprise gas works differently than normal gaseous compounds. You see, the separate molecules become more potent AFTER you move into an area of lower concentration. Using my chakra to activate them, they're now quickly decelerating your heart beat."

Iori felt her vision blackening, but fought it. "Wait…I know…" Iori attempted to access her jinchuriki chakra, but it wasn't kicking in; it usually did when she was under total stress.

Genkakushojou looked at her, seemingly reading her mind. "Having trouble calling upon that second chakra of yours? That little parasite I planted in you back then made sure to seal it if you had the drug removed. We can't have you making an attack on me, now can we?" Iori could see that Genkakushojou was clearly laughing, but at this point, Iori's ears failed her…

* * *

San sprayed his acid across the forest in his pursuit for Shiguri. "Hiding, are we? A smart choice. I can feel your chakra, and I know you're nearly out. You probably have just enough left for one last attack, I'd wager. Don't feel bad; for a genin, you did a fantastic job of holding your own. "

At first, silence. Then laughter. Undoubtedly Shiguri's, but from where? "You're right about the attack part. However, I've come to believe your ranking is…shall we say…undeserved?"

San froze for a second, and looked around frantically. Undeserved? He felt he didn't to as well on the evaluation as he should have, but even so… "Fool. You experienced my ability for yourself. I am clearly your superior in every way."

"Physically, yes. Mentally, no." Just then kunai sprung from an odd angle. San dodged all of them with ease, but even so he knew he should have seen it coming before simply reacting to it. "Remember when you got scratched by my teammate a few minutes ago?"

"It was a lucky shot!!" San yelled. More shuriken came out of nowhere, and the Iwa nin was forced to make an earth barrier in defense.

"Perhaps. But still, it happened. True jonin would simply shrug it off in the midst of battle and train harder after they're done. You, on the other hand…" A dragon tongue whipped around the Iwa nin's wrist. Quickly, San tore it off, and fired acid in what he assumed to be its origin point. But it seemed that Shiguri was already gone. "…throw a tantrum over every little thing."

San looked down at his wrist to see it was dripping blood. "YOU…"

"My point exactly. You have the self-control of a child; not fitting at all for a-"

"SHUT UP!!" San sprayed his acid in all directions, hoping to melt him just like the plants in his sight did. Caught off guard yet again, another Dragon Tongue wrapped around his neck. Quickly, San pulled it off, and found Shiguri right behind him. The supposed jonin ran towards his rival, and kicked him into a tree so hard the leaves fell. However, San was met with disappointment when it turned out to be a log used in substitution.

"I've read up on the standards of Iwagakure. Apparently, they're really vague. The Tsuchikage just takes anyone in decent physical condition and drafts them as ninja. To ensure the village gets a good amount of cash, almost everyone is promoted to chunin within a year regardless of missions completed. Sometimes even six months. As for jonin, only a few are promoted each year; sometimes none at all. Is it because the standards suddenly go way up by that time?" San couldn't answer; he couldn't even THINK about such a possibility! "No; I think your Tsuchikage is putting up a farce to support the village. He doesn't want any local daimyos to know how weak his massive troops really are. Not only that, but he doesn't want to risk an uprising; he intends to keep all of you down, and just give a few random people the title of jonin so everyone thinks it is running like normal!"

"SHUT UP, YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!" San finally lost it, and this time, he didn't care. In his fury, San performed a multitude of hand signs, much like Kakashi sometimes did. "You say I'm weak!? That I'm a fraud!? SAY IT AGAIN!! I DARE YOU TO SAY IT AGAIN, YOU WORTHLESS FUCK!! SANGUFU NO JUTSU!!" The wind suddenly picked up, with the force of a hurricane that San had promised. Then came the rains, but no ordinary rain. The Acid Rain began melting everything in sight, while San was unharmed simply stood in the middle of it unharmed. "THIS ACID HAS THE HIGHEST PH AND CONCENTRATION POSSIBLE!! NOT EVEN BONE CAN WITHSTAND IT!!" Soon, there was nothing left of anything within his sight. San finally breathed, and calmed down once more. "Serves you right." He muttered.

"Chidori!!" Shiguri suddenly leaped out from underground, hitting San's chest. The chidori was not as strong as Sasuke's, and it only managed to break San's skin. Recovering, San grabbed Shiguri's wrist, trying to push him away, but Shiguri relented. Finally, the genin pushed hard and pierced right through his opponent. "Sorry about that. My chidori is not as strong as the Copy-nin's or the Uchiha's that I heard so much about…" Suddenly, San turned a light brown color all over and crumbled to pieces on the earth. "A Clay Clone!" Shiguri didn't make a sound until a kunai suddenly pierced his side. "Shit!!" Shiguri fell helplessly to the ground, as an exhausted San looked over him.

Shiguri tried to clutch his wound, but San simply placed his foot on it pressing. "Not bad. Using psychological warfare against me and trick me into performing my best, and most consuming technique so you can get the drop on me. I have to admit, I saw it coming ONLY in the nick of time." San pressed further, only managing to elect a grunt. "I'm curious though, even underground you should have been burned badly; acid should seep through to a degree. How-?" San looked at Shiguri's sash, and picked it up. It seemed to be nothing more than a rag. He took a whiff, and turned his nose. "…I see. You soaked this cloth in every known base you could find and used chakra manipulation to extend the fibers and increase its strength, protecting you and thereby neutralizing the ph of my acid. This also explains why your Raiton was substandard; you probably used only your remaining chakra."

"To be honest, lightning's not my affinity anyway. " Shiguri replied seemingly neutrally. "So…"

"So I'm going to kill you right now." San replied with an insane grin plastered on his face.

"Well, shit…"

* * *

"We're almost there!" Chan shouted to the passenger on his back.

Hyouike held onto his shoulders, terrified each time an Iwa nin would ambush them. Fortunately, her escorts had proven smart enough to choose escape over battle. Once it seemed they reached a clearing, she whispered "Thank you."

"We're not out of the woods yet." Li reminded her. The two touched ground, and startled the Ainu as they reacted. "Chan!"

"I know!"

Chan tossed her several feet away, causing her to land in a less than graceful fashion. "You jerks!! What are you-"Hyouike shut herself up when she saw her two guards hoisted up in a net. "They were trying to prevent me from getting captured!"

"Go!" Chan yelled. "We'll take care of ourselves!" The net was obviously made of metal, but the two went straight to chipping their way out with whatever sharp weapons they had.

Hyouike briefly hesitated and teared up, but turned away and ran. It seemed like suicide to run in a forest like this, but apparently most of the Iwa nin in the area were dispatched. Then, she came across some action; obviously fighting. She quickly ducked into the bushes, hoping she wasn't spotted. She peered through the best opening she could find, and immediately recognized one of the fighters. "Yuji?" Indeed it was. Yuji was doing his best to defend himself from Koungasenki, but was quickly thrashed around. The only thing that seemed to save him from death was when Jaa got back up to fight, but he to was pinned by the older teen's weapon quickly. "YUJI!!!" Hyouike ran straight ahead, damned the consequences.

* * *

"Damn you…" Yuji muttered as he held his ribs; the bastard got a good hit in with the blunt side of his spear. And from this close distance, Yuji couldn't see any way to dodge what would clearly be the final blow. Koungasenki said nothing as he raised his weapon above his head, and shouted. Time seemed to slow down again, but this was not Yuji's kekkei genkai at work, as Yuji felt himself slow down as well. This was probably just his mind accepting the inevitable, as he retreated to the memories of everyone he knew and loved. Yuji closed his eyes, feeling the imminent defeat. "So, this is it. Naruto-sensei, Sakura-sensei, you two were the best things that happened to my life; you made me who I am today. Shiguri, Iori, you were the best friends this one could ever ask for; I'll treasure my memories with you all to the grave. Dad, wherever you are, I hope you were always able to see me. I never got to be as good as you, but I hope what I did was enough to make you smile. And Mom, I'm sorry. We were living in different worlds, and because of that we drifted further and further apart. Please, be alright when I'm gone."

Yuji finally heard the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart… But he didn't feel anything; surely he would at least feel a quick burst of pain. Quickly, he opened his eyes, and to his horror found someone who wasn't supposed to even be here! "HYOUIKE!!" The Ainu girl took the blow for him, as he could see from the blood pouring out of her mouth. Violently, she was swung aside and off the spear by Koungasenki.

"Damn!" Hyouike coughed some more blood as she convulsed, her breaths becoming shallower. "Shit, she got in my way and worse, I didn't even land a killing blow." The crystal nin turned around and pointed a finger at Yuji. "Stay there. I just need to be sure she won't interfere again."

"YOU BASTARD!!!" Yuji lunged at him, only to be backhanded into one of the trees. Despite his exhaustion and pain, Yuji forced himself to stand, determined to save the girl. "There must be a medic in the village! She can make it if she gets there!! I've got enough strength for one more power punch, but I don't think I can land a blow without missing!! His armor will probably cut its effectiveness in half! Maybe even neutralize it altogether!! His neck is his only weakness…" Looking around, Yuji saw a large boulder. Then he looked at the wires in his hands. Finally, he found Jaa coming back to his senses.

If a light bulb really did go off in Yuji's head, it would have permanently blinded everyone in that room.

Quickly, Yuji used what strength he had left and lifted the boulder. "Jaa!! KICK ME!!"

The taijutsu expert looked at his friend, thinking he lost his mind. "Miyamoto-kun, I think he really did do a number on your head."

Yuji gritted his teeth, and pointed in a certain direction. "JUST KICK ME TOWARDS THIS ANGLE!!!" Jaa, realizing he was serious, ran behind, him, and sent him flying with the boulder using a powerful round kick." OWWWW!!! NOT THAT HARD!!!"

As Yuji flew pass Koungasenki, who was getting ready to impale Hyouike's heart, he flung his wires around his neck. "Urrkk!!!" The teen dropped his weapon and tried to pry the wires off. But something massive forced him off his feet, and the next thing he knew, he was flying like a rocket. Soon, the two were heading straight towards the edge of Konoha. Their exact destination looked to be at two large boulders with a slight space in between, and one could tell from the view that it was on one of the many cliffs bordering Konoha . Yuji flew atop the two rocks, and cleared them…only to finally let gravity take control. Koungasenki, however, traveled lower and was slammed right into the center, unable to pass through. But the crevice was big enough to let the wires through.

In his lifetime, Koungasenki took every opportunity he had to make his victims suffer in the worst possible way.

Because of that, it was probably merciful that the gods chose to end his life by having his neck snapped.

* * *

Iori felt her heart continue to fail. As it did, her memories and the faces of everyone she loved flashed before her. "No…I can't let it end like this. Too many…waiting for my return!!!" As Iori struggled to hold on for dear life, she felt something lightly touch her chest. She paid it no heed at first, feeling that a stab to the heart would be pointless when the enemy took pleasure in slow deaths. But then, she felt chakra being pumped into her chest. At first, she thought that crazy nin had actually killed her. But then, she felt a strange chakra flow throughout her body. Once it did, she began feeling much better. Her vision came back into focus, and she took a good look at her own clawed hand. Iori realized her jinchuriki chakra had been restored, and was compelled, no, hell-bent on killing Genkakushoujou…and saw her running into the forest. Her first instinct was to chase her, it was overwhelming! But she quickly gained control of her animalistic instincts. "No!" Iori screamed to herself. "Not yet!" She had to take care of something first, as she glanced down at the fallen Hanabi. "I've a favor to return!!"

Getting gaining full control of herself, she quickly, summoned her butterflies. "Heal her any way you can." The butterflies began to cover Hanabi, and Iori raced to find Genkakushojou. It wasn't hard; she could smell her trail like she could see a yellow-brick road. "Get over here!!!" Iori kicked down a tree, and the narcotic kunoichi came falling down.

"Get away from me, you crazy bitch!!" Genkakushojou kicked some dust into Iori's eyes, and tried to get away. "I never thought that brunette would be able to release the seals!! I should have seen this coming!!" Unfortunately, the Iwa nin ran into something and fell to the ground, coming face to face with a very pissed off Iori. The kage bushin pinned Gen into a tree, and the two proceeded to give her a brutal beating. Genkakushojou managed to get in a few decent strikes here and there, but taijutsu was not her strong point. That, and she only seemed to make the red head madder each time she hit her.

"GIVE…ME…YOUR….FACE!!!" Iori grabbed the kunoichi's face from behind and forced her mouth open, squeezing painfully tight. Genkakushojou bit and scratched her hand, but it did nothing to release her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Iori's clone mold a ball of chakra, which then formed into a perfect sphere. "RASENGAN!!" The result of the Rasengan hitting the face was most certainly not a pretty one.

* * *

San placed his foot atop Shiguri's throat, pressing hard. But not hard enough to kill him, as the genin was about to dread. "You felt what it's like to be burned with acid." San pointed his hands directly at Shiguri's face. "You're going to feel what it's like to be eaten by acid. _Slowly_." San grinned maniacally as he started to release his trademark chemicals. Suddenly, Shiguri slammed something into his hands. Stones clogging up the holes!! "They'll eat through it, fool!!"

"The fact that they survived your last technique gives me reason to believe they'll save me!!" San pressed forward, thinking enough pressure would melt them or force them out. But he was feeling the tension inside the pipes he installed in his arms.

Steam could be seen coming from the cracks. But at the same time, San seemed to be in pain. "Hnnn…" Suddenly liquid began bursting out of his own arms. "NO, NO!! JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER, PLEASE HOLD ON!!" While his concentration was broken, Shiguri managed to find enough strength to knock him onto his back with a well-placed kick.

As Shiguri rolled away, he could make out blood-curdling screams, as well as a few insults. Not that he particularly cared in the current situation. Finally, an explosion, and then, silence. Shiguri looked over, and saw San lying down, writhing in pain. He also took note that the nin's arms were missing. "He's not getting back up." Shiguri muttered as he finally relaxed and lay on his back.

* * *

Yuji let go of the boulder he was holding, breathing heavily from exhaustion and excitement. Now, however, was not the time to relax. "Oh man…Hyouike…hang in there…" Yuji hauled himself up the wires, and looked to see if Koungasenki had somehow survived his attack. After looking at him for a second, it was clear the crystal nin would not wake up. Ever.

A hand grabbed him by the shoulder, causing him to flinch defensively, but Yuji relaxed once he saw it was Jaa, with Hyouike on his back. "Are you okay, Miyamoto-kun?" Jaa asked as he helped him up.

"Fine as I could be." Yuji responded, wincing as he put his bad foot on the ground.

The two listened for signs of battle, but neither of them could detect anything."It's quiet; I think everyone else has won. Let's get you and Hyouike treated."

"No. I appreciate the offer, but I have to find Naruto-sensei. Knowing him, he should be okay. He's probably worried sick about me, though." The chunin grimaced.

"Miyamoto-kun, your foot looks terrible!!" Jaa protested. "I wouldn't be surprised if it flew right-"

"Jaa! Please!" Yuji shouted. "Just take care of Hyouike!!"

Jaa stayed silent for only a moment; his scrunched eyebrows alone communicated that he did not approve. But he could see convincing him otherwise would be wasting time. "Okay."

"Hyouike!! Where are you!?"Suddenly Chan and Li appeared behind Jaa, and were horrified when they saw the Ainu girl's condition. "Oh no…" they muttered under their breath.

"She's still alive! Let's hurry!" The three taijutsu specialists took off, straight into Konoha.

Yuji was worried about the girl, no doubt about it. But there were other things going on that he had to take care of. Besides, with a Hokage like Tsunade, getting treated was pretty much a guarantee, even in war."Now to find Iori and Shiguri." the young teen muttered to himself. As Yuji hobbled along, he noticed Hanabi lying on her side unconscious. "Oh shit!!" Yuji made it to her as fast as he could, and began to check her vitals. Fortunately, he found out she was just fine. Why she was unconscious in the first place was most likely malevolent, but it seemed something saved her in the nick of time. "I've got to thank Sakura-sensei for teaching me this stuff." Yuji stood up, and saw Iori slowly make her way towards them. Judging by the way she walked hunched over, it seemed she was either hurt or exhausted. "Iori! Are you alright!?"

The red head leaned against a tree and took a deep breath as she sat down. "I'm fine now." Iori panted. "Just had to take care of that psycho." Iori then looked at Hanabi. "Is she…?"

"She's fine, Iori. I checked; Sakura-sensei taught me a lot of useful things."

Iori breathed in relief, but then her face turned dead serious as Yuji brought up Sakura. "He probably has no idea about what's going on…" Iori looked at her teammate dead in the eyes. "Yuji…there's something you should know." It took her a minute to explain the situation. Needless to say, Yuji was not happy when he heard the whole story.

"WHAT!?" Yuji screamed. "Oh, of all the…" Yuji got a hold of himself before he elaborated any further. "So, what is Hokage-sama and the others doing about this!?"

"I don't know. Naruto-sensei supposedly surrendered himself while Hinata-sensei tries to free Sakura-sensei."

"Wait, HINATA-SENSEI? The one who's a habitually stutters and couldn't keep our classes quiet?"

Iori winced at the bluntly true statement."To be honest, I was quite skeptical about it myself. But apparently only a Hyuuga could potentially free her, and it was either her or Hanabi. While I heard Hanabi is a prodigy, I guess Hinata-sensei had more experience, and that's why Hokage-sama chose her."

Yuji just sighed. No point in arguing about what's been done. "Okay. Anything else I should know about?"

Iori replied "The Kazekage and Hokage-sama are supposedly distracting the Tsuchikage as we speak. Hopefully, they've killed that bastard too." Yuji looked at his foot, then out into the woods. That did not go unnoticed by Iori."You're thinking about going out there to help, aren't you?"

Yuji just looked at her as if he was caught stealing cookies. He stuttered, trying to explain the situation, but finally gave up on embellishing it. "I KNOW there's almost nothing I can do. Scratch that, most likely nothing. But still…I feel that I have to go out there!!"

Iori nodded. "I feel the same way. As you said, logically speaking, we'd only get in the way. But simply leaving them, trusting them to chance…it doesn't feel right."

"To be honest, defying logic is what we humans do best, for better or for worse." The two turned to see Shiguri walking towards them, raising his hand. " I feel the same way. But I think as long as the three of us are together, we should be fine."

Knowing they all felt the same, only one thing remained: they had to evaluate one another. Yuji went first: "My foot is in pretty terrible condition, and I've only got one more set of wires."

Shiguri went next. "I'm out of chakra, and my dragon tongues were destroyed."

The two then turned to Iori. "Umm…I think I'm alright."

Then it dawned on Iori what Yuji and Shiguri were expecting of her. Normally, she would have lost her temper. However, even she had to admit there was no viable alternative. Sighing, she stood and hunched over. "Hop on."

Yuji and Shiguri climbed on, eliciting a grunt from the kunoichi. "I know this sounds like a dumb question…but are you sure you can get us there in a hurry?" Yuji asked. Suddenly, a familiar silver aura surrounded Iori, and her bestial features appeared. In a flash, they took off.

* * *

The meadow where the three kages battled was reduced to dust and sand. The damage was so catastrophic that no one could have ever guessed that it was once a forest. And it seemed the three combatants had disappeared without a trace as well.

_Seemed_ that way.

A dune of sand suddenly began to move, almost as if it were the jaw of a crocodile. After seemingly flying into the air, the Kazekage and Hokage were revealed underneath.

"Ahhh!" Tsunade breathed, collapsing on her hands and knees. "That was too close!"

"You can say that again." Garaa replied as he guided the sand away from them. Once it was a safe distance away, he let his arms drop, and fell onto the ground.

Tsunade immediately stood and grabbed his shoulders. "Kazekage-sama!! Are you alright!?" Tsunade immediately did a quick evaluation. No injuries; simply chakra exhaustion. A good thing in the sense that he wasn't hurt. A bad thing in the sense that he couldn't help her. Worse was the fact that chakra exhaustion was beyond the abilities of even the best medi-nins, and the only real cure was rest. In his prime, Garaa probably could have handled this with no problem, but now having a finite amount of chakra limited his abilities drastically. Garaa attempted to stand, but Tsunade forced him back down. "You're exhausted. Protecting us probably used up all your chakra, didn't it?" Garaa didn't respond. "Head back. I'm going to finish business with the Akatsuki, and get Sakura back."

Garaa didn't budge at her request. "With all due respect Hokage-sama, I can see that you're quite spent too. An individual like you doesn't have much chakra to spare, powerful as you are."

Tsunade sighed. She had to admit, he had a point. And, she wouldn't let anything get in her way of rescuing Sakura and Naruto, even if her limbs were cut off. "You see right through me. Well, I suppose neither of us can stop the other. If it won't trouble you too much, care to accompany me?" While Tsunade personally had reservations about asking someone already exhausted to accompany her, two heads were still better than one.

Garaa, though still wobbly, managed to stand. "I think I can manage. But how are we going to find them?"

A faint explosion went off, as if answering his question on cue. Tsunade waited, and listened. Another one! "There!!" Tsunade pointed excitedly. "Follow me!" The two kages leapt towards the source, hoping they could make it in time.

* * *

"Ohhh…" Kakashi collapsed onto the clay bird, unconscious. While Deidara's explosives did slow him down, it was ultimately Tobi's Enton jutsus that defeated the copy ninja, like they nearly did Sakura.

Deidara, however, was not quite convinced they had won; he was fooled about this before. It was absolutely crucial that he wasn't brought into this again. "Tobi, this is real, ya?" Deidara remembered that Tobi was trained to dispel genjutsu, if he was correct. He was also told by Kizu that Tobi had the exceptional ability to distinguish the differences between the different types of bushins and real people.

Tobi walked over, lowering his head to within an inch of the defeated man, like an animal inspecting a downed prey. "It is, Deidara-sempai. Shall I kill him for you?"

Deidara simply walked towards the unconscious Kakashi. "No need. I'll do it." Quickly, he pulled a kunai and stabbed Kakashi right in the back of the head. The man only twitched quickly in response, and lay limp. With that, Deidara kicked Kakashi off the bird. "Consider that pay back for taking my arm." Deidara then turned his attention to Tobi."Let's not waste anymore time. Time to get our hands on that jinchuriki." Tobi was about to sit and look, but Deidara interrupted him. "And Tobi?" He emphasized his name in a rather suspicious manner.

"Yes, Deidara-sempai?"

"I think that girl is free." Tobi remained silent, getting what Deidara was getting at. "You..."

Quickly, Tobi kneeled apologetically. "Deidara-sempai…my loyalty is to Kizu-sama. I apologize that I wavered, even if only for a few minutes."

Deidara in all honesty didn't believe him. But for now, he had to trust him. And if he was going to be betrayed like he suspected he would be, he believed he had a few things up his sleeve that could deal with his ghost-like abilities. "Alright then. Let's go!" The clay bird dove into the canyon, searching for its prey.

* * *

"I can see them coming, Naruto."

"Everything's set." Naruto answered as he tightened a cord around the cave wall. Sakura backed away from the crevice's edge, and got behind him. Naruto turned to Sakura quickly to reassure her. "Don't worry, I'll make everything work out. I always do."

Sakura gave him a quick peck on the cheek in response. "We'll work it out." She emphasized her words squeezing his hand tightly.

Naruto, feeling his adrenaline go up, tightened his grip on the cord. Peering into the opening, he spotted the infamous claybird. They had only one shot for survival…and they had to make it count.

* * *

Well, just two more Akatsuki to take care of! That will be wrapped up next time! Until then, see ya!

Hariqiang-Crystal Spear

Hariori-Crystal Cage

Sangufu-Acid Hurricane


	33. And Together We Stand Strong

Hi again, and Happy New Year! I apologize for the long wait. I have two reasons for it:

1) I was on vacation at my grandmother's, were she has only dial-up (can't access personal page on that kind of connection)

2) My laptop died. Thankfully, I was able to retrieve what data I could

So, I'll skip everything else that happened during my winter break and present you with this over-due chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would silence everyone complaining about it.

* * *

"This is it." Deidara whispered to himself as he and Tobi flew across the canyon. "After this, just one more and the power Kizu-sama promised us will be ours." Truthfully, when he first joined, he didn't care much about power. But when someone offers it on a silver platter, only a fool would turn it away.

Deidara put his eye camera back on as he scanned the canyon. "Now, where are you?" There was no way he fell to his death; his comrades would've made sure of it. On top of that, if he was alive, he'd be in no position to put up even a minor scuffle, not without falling. "If I were a powerless jinchuriki, where would I…" Deidara noticed a crevice in the canyon wall. It seemed deep, and Deidara could make out a noticeable floor on the bottom good enough for walking. "…be. That place looks perfect. Tobi!"

"Yes, Deidara-sempai?" Tobi answered, seemingly caught off guard by Deidara's oncoming request.

"Get behind me, no doubt they have a trap waiting to be sprung." Deidara ordered. "I'll go first; whatever it is, I should be okay."

"Deidara-sempai, my enton jutsus-"

"Don't worry about it." Deidara said as he held his hand up. "I've a feeling we'll need those powers of yours later on, so just sit back and relax. I'll take care of this." Deidara edged his clay bird closer, while Tobi kept his distance. The jinchuriki acted stupid at times, but he wasn't; Deidara knew he and his companion would be expecting him. While he was frisked when he turned himself over, ninjas had ways of hiding decent weapons; there had to be a trap. Testing the waters, Deidara created some clay spiders. The sculptures came to life and attached themselves to the crevice. Nothing happened. "Smart." Deidara thought. "Whatever trap they've set up, it's not automatic. I guess the old saying is right: whenever you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself!" Without hesitation, Deidara leapt onto the tiny floor.

And before he even had a chance to survey his surroundings, someone shouted "NOW, NARUTO!! DO IT NOW!!!" Naruto pulled a wire, and a series of explosions went off, including the clay spiders. Thankfully, the pair stood at the very end of the passage, and the floor under them remained intact as everything else fell to the bottom. Naruto mentally reminded himself how he really needed to tell Sakura how much he valued her intelligence; she was the one who estimated the damage done and anticipated Deidara sending a few of his clay monsters on top of it. Sakura clung to Naruto tightly, obviously shaken; it was a riskier plan than she was used to agreeing to. "Is he gone?"

"It looks that way…" Naruto saw Tobi stand on top of the clay bird as the smoke cleared. "Wait a minute…" The blonde could see something wasn't right. Naruto threw an explosive kunai into the clay bird. It went off, and both Tobi and Deidara leapt onto the surface right above them.

"Very clever, brat. Most would have guessed me to have been a goner by then, but my clay bird can live only as long as I do. Good thing nendo bushins have many uses." Naruto gritted his teeth. As much as he hated to admit it, he really saw no way out of this now. He tried to make a grab for Sakura, but the two Akatsuki got between them and pinned them against the walls. "Free at last, hn?" Deidara commented to Sakura, noting she no longer had the jewelry and her eye color was back to normal. "Sorry to cut it short, but Kizu-sama was planning to make you help us to release the Kyuubi. One way…or many others." He couldn't help but laugh at one of the prospects he thought up.

Sakura stared at him with pure hatred in her eyes. "Let him go!"

"Make us." Deidara taunted her. Sakura slammed her elbow into Tobi repeatedly, but without her super strength, it was no good. Even though Tobi was clearly flinching in pain, he willed himself to endure it and held on. "Hold onto her, Tobi! Let's get to level ground and get going!" Deidara commanded as he brought up Naruto with him.

"Uhh...yes Deidara…oomph!-sempai!!" Tobi, with much pain, forced Sakura up with him.

* * *

"Is it really this simple?" Madara asked his partner, obviously skeptical after reading how to perform the technique.

"Master, as you know, nothing is ever so simple. But it will work, and I know you can do it. Even at your age, you are still the first Uchiha and the only one known to defeat Harishima Senju, a man no other kage as been able to compare to."

Madara looked at the paper again, still suspicious. Finally, he looked straight at his subordinate. "When I first met you, you claimed to have great knowledge and through it grant me great power. After all your years of service to me, I can't deny that. However, you warned me that your memories were fragmented, and I'm beginning to see that it's rather convenient that you remember these jutsus exactly when I need them the most."

Kizu did not rise from his kneeling position the entire time, not even when confronted with such suspicions. "Master…you once told me, in your youth, that you worked on Senju's interrogation unit, correct?" Madara only gave him a slight nod. Kizu looked him in the eye. "Then tell me to my face whether or not I'm lying."

Madara's eyes widened momentarily; this was the first time Kizu openly challenged him. He walked around both sides of Kizu, looking at the tell-tale signs of someone who was lying or hiding something. He couldn't find any facial expression or eye movement to suggest anything of the such. Either he was telling the truth…or he was a really good liar. What worried him was that he met plenty of the latter. Still, not once had Kizu ever betrayed him. If there was ever a time, now would be it; even with the help of Biju chakra, his body was at its limit with every possible malady an old man could suffer. If the scroll was an elaborate trap, it was a silly and pointless one when Kizu could most likely kill Madara with one strike, and they both knew it.

Cautiously, Madara asked "So, the trick is to hold completely still and gather up as much natural chakra as I can into my body?"

"Correct. But be cautious; if you gather more than your body can handle, any number of things could happen. Considering you are the first Uchiha, I'd imagine your body going up in flames to be the worst case scenario, given your affinity for fire."

Madara looked at the parchment once more, and humphed as he tossed it away. "Who do you take me for?" he nearly yelled as he slowly eased himself into a meditative sitting position. "I may be an old wreck, but my ability to sense chakra of all kinds is still one of the best to ever live! Gathering it in the right amount should be of no problem to me…"

Kizu rose, and immediately circled Madara, placing seals around him as he went. "If you do combust, these seals will summon water that should extinguish any flames before you're killed…although even if they save you, you'll probably be too badly burned to continue."

To his surprise, Madara only grinned in response. "Reminds me of the good old days. Harishima and I would take on suicide missions all the time! Our clans called us both crazy, and we always laughed it off! And we'd compete! Always making bets on who would come closest to death!!" Madara began to break into laughter, and Kizu left him to his task. If he stayed longer, however, he would have noticed tears streaking down the old Uchiha's face.

* * *

Deidara and Tobi managed to get their prey onto level ground, but both managed to put up one hell of a fight for being beaten though; it had to have taken them at least 10 minutes to climb up the canyon when it should've taken them two. Deidara suddenly yelped in pain as Naruto bit him hard on the wrist. Quickly, Deidara slammed the jinchuriki onto the ground. Seeing some blood pool from his head managed to calm him a little. Very little. "Tobi!! Let's move, quickly now!! I can't stand restraining these assholes any longer!!" The nuke-nin shouted with fury as he dragged his captive.

"Yes, Deidara-sempai!" Quickly, Tobi hurried over, throwing Sakura over his shoulder.

She struggled, kicking and banging her fists against him, but her exhaustion finally began to take its toll as Sakura felt herself go in and out of consciousness. "It looks like…this is it…" Naruto had almost given up hope as well. Almost. Even if there was nothing HE could do…he had friends who would come through for him. So he hoped, anyway.

"Deidara-sempai?" Tobi suddenly asked.

"Tobi…" Deidara sighed, annoyed that his partner was back to his old self. "Whatever it is, it can wait."

"Please, sempai! I've only a small favor to ask!!" Tobi pouted childishly.

Deidara sighed exasperatedly. "Fine!!" He turned to Tobi furiously. "What is it!? I haven't got all day to put up with your bullshit!!"

"Catch!" Tobi suddenly tossed what looked like…a toad!? It clicked in Deidara's mind what that meant, but before he had a chance to react, a fist came out of the toad's mouth, punching Deidara square in the face and sending him spiraling away from Naruto.

Both Naruto and Sakura were too stunned for words at first, but then a smile graced Naruto's face as he came to the same realization. "Ero-senin!!"

On cue, the arm pulled open the toad's top jaw, and a leg stepped out. "I never thought I would EVER be glad to hear you call me that!!" Jiraya exclaimed as he emerged from the toad. Although his face appeared serious, Naruto could see in his eyes that he was smiling inside. Although it seemed like forever to Naruto, it was only a second later when Jiraya averted his gaze and reached back into the toad, pulling out Kakashi.

The copy-nin gasped loudly, taking in the fresh air. "I hate it when you do that!"

"That's the beautiful scent of toads, you big baby." Jiraya responded with pride. "You just need to get used to it!" Naruto would have laughed if the current situation weren't so dire.

Deidara recovered from the blow and stood, pointing his finger at Kakashi. "You! I killed you-"Deidara then came to a realization and then directed his verbal wrath at Tobi.

"Tobi! You-" Deidara cut himself off, realizing there was no point; the ramifications for Tobi were going to be the same regardless. "I should have known your change of attitude was too convenient. Well, thankfully, Kizu-sama was prepared for this…" Deidara pulled out a scroll, but before he could do anything, a kunai knocked it out of his hand. "Son of a…!"

Kakashi closed the distance and attacked Deidara, who barely managed to dodge his attacks. "Jiraya! Take Naruto and Sakura away from here!! I can hold him off; I hold the advantage here!!"

Kakashi threw a few more punches but Deidara leapt onto his bird and took to the air. "We'll see about that fool!" he chided as he tossed his trademark weapons at the copy-nin.

Naruto was about to act, but Jiraya grabbed his shoulder strongly. "Come on, I'll get you fixed up. Tobi, you coming?"

Tobi quickly responded "Yes!!" as he raised a fist into the air.

* * *

The four ran deep into the forest, which did not go unnoticed by Deidara. "I don't think so!" Deidara directed his clay explosives at them, but Kakashi jumped in front of them, taking the blows for himself and setting them off. While Deidara was surprised by his actions, it was convenient enough. "Fool."

"Raishin!" Deidara stepped away as a wolf-shaped beam of electricity moved towards him. It didn't hit him, but it tore up his clay bird, causing him to fall to the ground. Kakashi could only smirk in response. "Make no mistake; I am more than happy to die for them. But whenever possible, I think it's best to keep oneself alive to. Right?"

Deidara only smiled gleefully. "Perhaps. But that is the most inappropriate line to say at a time like this, ne?"

Kakashi looked back to the crippled clay bird, which then ejected several bombs from its back and into the sky. "Uh oh." As the saying goes, what goes up must come down.

* * *

Once they reached a dense part of the forest, Jiraya and Tobi set their rescuees down. "Alright, lift your shirt up." The sage said to Naruto. Naruto didn't waste time with wisecracks and did as he was told. Jiraya inspected the seal closely but quickly afterwards gave his verdict. "Aw shit."

That sure didn't sound good, Naruto thought. "How bad?"

"Very bad. Do you have any idea what its function is?"

Naruto sighed. "He just said that it sealed all of my chakra, both Kyuubi's and my own. I did try to circulate my chakra, but I couldn't feel a thing inside."

Jiraya nodded as he took the information in. "This could take some time."

"Ero-senin, forget about us! Go help Kakashi-sensei! He-"

"Naruto, I'm worried that if I leave this alone for too long, it might become permanent!"

Naruto just stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"There is one thing I do recognize in this seal; it has a special security mechanism. No one has ever perfected it, and fortunately for us, this one is no exception. Seals, as you know them, can be undone by anyone so long as they know how. However, a few have found a way to make their seals after a certain time respond only to their chakra. It takes time, but when it happens, only the one who cast the seal can undo it. I don't think the Akatsuki will need to break this specific seal in order for them to extract the Kyuubi…in fact, I'd dare say it would work in their favor if they were to get their hands on you now."

At first, everyone stayed quiet as they desperately tried to process everything Jiraya had told them. Suddenly, Naruto shouted "Wait! Even though it was Kizu who made her do it, Sakura was technically the caster! Maybe-"

"That would be true." Jiraya confirmed. "But to my knowledge, Sakura's not a seal expert. And I'm not sure whether or not she was even aware of what was happening, but if she was, lacking control of her body probably threw off her perception a bit. Am I right?" Jiraya asked Sakura, who was sitting against a tree.

Sakura nodded slightly. "It felt too weird. It was almost like I was dreaming, yet it was all so clear. I could feel the sensations…but whatever signals my brain attempted to send to my body were blocked."

Naruto sighed. "Okay; whatever you're going to do, do it fast. Kakashi-sensei-"

"Kakashi should be fine; Deidara's an earth user, so Kakashi should have the advantage. What I have to do…" Jiraya leaned closer in. "…is to undo this seal in time…if it's not too late."

As Jiraya began to get to work, Sakura turned to Tobi, glaring at him with angry eyes. "And what about you?" Tobi could tell by the way she sounded she was not at all trusting of him. "Are you really working with us? You weren't exactly keen on helping me back then, and at this point I see no reason why you would switch sides now."

Tobi sighed. This wasn't going to be easy to explain. "Well, Sakura-san…you see…"

"I was the one who got him to join us." Jiraya interrupted, never taking his eyes off Naruto's belly.

Sakura blinked in disbelief. "What?"

Tobi laughed slightly. "It's true. To be honest, I don't believe it myself…"

* * *

_Tobi watched Kizu, in Sakura's body, as he inspected the troops. Every time he looked at him in the woman's body, his stomach twisted. His instinct told him it wasn't right. Not just Kizu's methods…but now he was beginning to doubt his ideology. His mind flashed back to when the real Sakura was talking to him. "Even if I am helping to sacrifice these people in order to make a better world…is that really any different from murder?" Tobi rubbed his forehead as he felt a headache coming on. "Come to think of it…once we get the Biju's power, will everyone be the same as before? Kizu-sama did tell me that the worst massacres in history began with leaders claiming they seized power for a better world…how is this any different?" The philosophical questions continued to clutter Tobi's mind. _

"_Psst." Tobi turned around, and saw a toad. Tobi, thinking he was becoming paranoid, was about to turn away. Suddenly, a hand appeared, prying it open and an old man's head appeared outside the creature's mouth. "You look like you're in deep thought." The senior commented with a smug smile on his face._

_Tobi recognized the shinobi as one of the sanin; Kizu warned him about this one especially. Yet he said nothing. He didn't know why; by all means he should be yelling to Kizu-sama that they had trouble, but couldn't._

"_You seem to be confused, too. Wanna tell me about it?" The old man commented, never dropping his smirk. _

_Tobi looked away, replying "You are doing something incredibly stupid by talking to the enemy as if we were friends."_

_The old man only continued to smile in response. "You're not sounding the alarm; my planning couldn't have been that bad." _

_The two said nothing for a brief period, as Tobi looked between him and Kizu. "You do realize she's working for us now, right?" Tobi knew that he didn't put enough force in that to convince him._

"_Her? No, no, I doubt she's willingly joined you. Tsunade talks about her and her progress all the time. I've even seen them do girl stuff together, like they were mother and daughter. And my baka student…he CANNOT take his mind of her! I've tried to get him to go peeking in all the places women like to go with me, but he's worried about what she would do to him if he ever caught her, and just says he respects her too much for that." Jiraya quickly stole a glance at her. "Then again, I can't blame him entirely for that. She has become quite a looker herself…and her strength is every bit as scary as her predecessor's." Both shinobi shuddered at the thought, having experienced it first hand. Jiraya turned his focus back to Tobi. "In fact, I'm thinking it's because your leader took possession of her that you're beginning to doubt him, aren't you?" _

_Tobi growled in annoyance, frightened by how well the old man nailed it. "And you want me to join you? How do I know I'll be joining the right side? I think at best, I'm stuck between two warring factions that aren't any better than the other." _

_If anything, that only seemed to brighten Jiraya's smile even more. "That kind of thinking is that of a true hero." Tobi could only stare at him in disbelief upon hearing that. "Even if you don't believe in our cause…you know in your heart that allowing your master to control that young lady against her will is wrong." Tobi finally sighed in defeat. "Tell you what; you help me, and I promise you're free to do whatever you want afterwards. However, you have to promise me that once you join me, you'll see this through to the end." _

_Tobi seemed to contemplate the proposal carefully, although it was hard for Jiraya to tell, given his deformed face. Finally, he stuck out his good arm. "It's a deal. But I warn you: the INSTANT this is over, and I'm not satisfied with the results…I won't hesitate to turn on you." _

_Jiraya nodded in agreement, and shook his hand. "First, Kizu surely knows Sakura's jutsus, right? Get him to heal your arm." Tobi extended his sleeve, which the toad then jumped into._

* * *

_Kakashi desperately tried to get through to Deidara, but Tobi kept blocking his path. Even with his mask, Tobi's enton jutsus still affected him adversely. The small distraction was enough to allow Deidara to cause a small explosion on any part of the bird, if he wished. Even if Deidara wouldn't, one misstep could send him falling to his doom. "Enton! Necromancer Ryu no Jutsu!" Tobi created two dragons made of smoke, surrounding them. Kakashi prepared to block any attack he could to the best of his ability, but nothing came. _

_Tobi extended his arm, and showed the jonin a toad in his hand. "Quickly. Inside." He whispered. Kakashi eyed him, completely clueless. The toad opened its mouth…and suddenly the copy-nin got it. Though Tobi was difficult to read even without his mask, Kakashi couldn't see any sign of him anticipating a trap. Not for himself, anyway. _

"_Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Kakashi created a clone, and placed a seal on it. "That should keep any chakra from leaking out upon moment of impact." Quickly, the copy nin dove in the toad's mouth, seemingly defying the laws of physics…_

* * *

"…And that's how it all happened. Tobi is here of his own free will." Jiraya said, still studying the seal on Naruto intently.

Sakura let out a sigh, allowing herself to relax and lean against the tree. "So it's true." Tobi turned to her. "You're starting to think for yourself now." Sakura smiled at him, happy that even if it wasn't immediate, she was able to reach someone.

Tobi blushed slightly, upon realizing how…pretty…she really was. "I can't guarantee it will stay this way." Everyone could tell he was bluffing.

* * *

Kakashi dodged the explosives the best he could. But even in peak condition, that was proving difficult. The longer it dragged on, the quicker Deidara was able to figure out a pattern. His luck finally ran out when two bombs to his side landed almost simultaneously. He dodged the first, but the blast of the second caught him! "AHH!" Thankfully, it didn't blow any limbs off…but it sure as hell crippled him, as evidenced by the severe bleeding and exposed muscle of his left leg.

"And that's a wrap, ya?" Deidara clapped his hands. "You've put up a good fight, but I couldn't afford to keep it up. You're the copy ninja, after all, and I hear you have an elemental advantage over me. As fun as it was to play with you, I couldn't risk you activating your Raikiri. Sorry."

Kakashi grunted, desperately trying to stand up. He could ignore the pain, but that didn't change the fact that his muscles were torn and useless. "You forgot. I-"

"Go ahead." Deidara replied confidently. "I know about your Magenkyo Sharingan. You used that on me during our first encounter, didn't you? It was impressive, I'll give you that. But you still needed the jinchuriki's help; without him, you would've probably died by my hands, even after losing that arm. Besides…" Deidara formed a tiny clay spider, which leapt towards Kakashi. "…now that I know exactly what I'm dealing with…I can simply prevent the problem altogether as opposed to trying to overcome it." Before the creature could complete its journey towards Kakashi, a tentacle of sand flung it away. A very familiar pile of sand. Deidara's eyes widened as he realized exactly what that was. "That's…no…"

Deidara turned around to look at a very pissed Garaa. "REMEMBER ME!?" A Shukaku-like hand formed from the ground, and grasped the nuke-nin. Deidara screamed in agony from the pressure, and less than a second later almost lost consciousness from being slammed into the ground. He lost an arm from this before, and he knew he wouldn't survive much more of this treatment. Right before the hand would smash him on a rock, it suddenly stopped.

"Wha-?" Deidara looked to see Garaa panting heavily, desperately trying to hold the sand together. Deidara saw his chance, and exploded the sand arm. Although it was not his specialty, Deidara launched a taijutsu attack on Garaa, sending a roundhouse across the Kazekage's head. "I see! You survived, but the Ichibi is clearly no longer yours! Tell me…" Deidara landed a side fist into Garaa's stomach…and nearly broke his hand. "Ahhh…" Deidara could only hold it in agony. "You've…"

Suddenly, Garaa grabbed Deidara by the shoulders. He began to beat the crap out of his former killer, for lack of a better phrase. After a number of knees, punches, and slamming, Deidara was black, blond, red and blue in no time. Deidara managed to grab another fist, and held on tightly. "I see." He spat out some loose teeth before continuing. "To compensate for limited sand powers, you trained yourself into an iron body. Nice. However-"A clay spider landed on Garaa's shoulder. Quickly, he flicked it off, but it exploded, sending him flying into a tree. "…taijutsu, no matter how powerful or proficient, is the worst counterattack to my works of art." Deidara created more clay birds, which gave chase. Garaa ran as fast he could, but he was already tired, and barely escaped the explosions. He managed to create a sand shield when one flew to his face, but he was not strong enough to stand the force of the explosion, and was sent flying on his back. As he struggled to get up, Deidara pinned him down. "That was amusing, hn? Oh well; goodbye!" Before anything could happen, something came hurling towards Deidara. "Wha-"

Quickly, Deidara leapt over the thing as it sped past him. The "object" then crashed into a tree at the same time Deidara landed.

"Oww! Couldn't you have watched where you were going!?" a young boy shouted.

"Excuse me!? Who was bitching at me to go faster!?"

Deidara got up to find three young teens, most likely genin. "Wait…I think those are his students!!" Deidara regained his composure and walked towards them.

The one with the black hair grabbed his teammates' attention and pointed at the blonde. "Shit guys…that's…"

"Well done; if you're here, then that means you defeated my team as well…right?" The three remained speechless, already anticipating the worst. Deidara held up his hand and said "Don't worry; as much as I valued their company, it's how the ninja world works. Not everyone makes it no matter how good they may be, hn?" The teens only tensed up more; Yuji had a hunch he was a psychopath. "Of course, I'm still going to kill you." Deidara created more clay birds. "It will draw that brat out here, and besides, it's fun!"

Yuji sometimes really hated being right.

"AHHHH!!"

Deidara managed to block a jumping kick from his side, and leapt to safety. "You!" In his place stood Tsunade. While she looked as fierce as ever, her heavy breathing gave away her exhaustion. "I can tell you're not at your best, Hokage-sama; if everything I heard about you was true, that kick should have taken my arm off."

"I'm not at my best, true, but for dealing with you, it should be enough." Tsunade charged, and Deidara counterattacked. But not with his usual clay creatures. Something exploded from underground, sending Tsunade flying in the air. Thankfully, she flipped and landed on her feet unharmed.

"Mines." Deidara explained. "As I stepped around this region, my feet secreted a chemical into the ground. When the pressure increases above a certain threshold, it explodes! I'm impressed that you are otherwise unharmed, though."

"I felt how soft the ground was, and as a medic-nin, I was easily able to pick up on the smell; I jumped to avoid the initial fire from the explosion…."

"….but the force of it still threw you off some. I'd like you to come here, and try that again." Tsunade charged, and as predicted, she stepped on another mine, but leapt to save her body from being torn to pieces. The process was almost repeated until she was just upon Deidara. Unfortunately, Deidara threw a smoke bomb down, and escaped to the treetops.

Snorting, Tsunade pushed down on where he was standing previously, and used the force of the explosion to carry herself towards him. "Got you where I want ya." Deidara reached into his pocket…in the air, Tsunade had no way of avoiding anything thrown at her. But unfortunately, Deidara didn't count on having an interactive audience.

"Look!" Yuji pointed. "He's going to blast her!" Iori picked up a kama, and threw it like a boomerang.

Just as Deidara removed his hand from the pouch, the kama came within a hair's width of his hand. Thankfully, that was enough to puncture the explosive, and blow off Deidara's tongue. "WHAAAARRRGHH!" His distraction allowed Tsunade to pummel him into the ground. While her super strength was gone, her experience in taijutsu still helped her give Deidara a good beating before they landed.

Once there, Tsunade knew what she needed to do. "I have enough chakra left for a chakra scalpel. I'll use it to disable his good arm." Before she could land it on his tendon, something crept along her stomach and burned her, while Deidara threw dirt in her eyes. "AHH!" Tsunade stumbled back, and Deidara was back on his feet, his remaining hand tongue coiled like a snake.

"Come on, babe, show me an eye…once I get an eye, you're helpless!" The instant he saw her open an eye, his tongue extended forward at a rapid pace.

"No!!!" Yuji threw his last snag of wire like a bolo, and the wire caught the tongue.

Of course, the wire was rapidly being broken down, but that was all the Hokage needed. Tsunade recovered, and thrusted her fingers onto his shoulder. The next thing Deidara felt was a searing pain, and then a dead weight. With a push kick sending him on his back, Tsunade backed away, and collapsed.

Fighting the Tsuchikage's monstrous machine was bad enough, but she had to fight a true S-class nin with minimal chakra. Deidara, on the other hand, was in pretty good shape. But with Team Naruto's help, she managed. "It's over, Deidara! Your tongues are useless now…" Deidara ran back towards his discarded clay bird, but a wired kunai from Tsunade threw him off balance. "And I'm not about to let you go back to your bird. Kakashi told me all about that one." Tsunade drew another kunai. Normally, she would have wanted him questioned. But he was too dangerous; with no able ninja to help her , she could not risk it; he had to be taken out now!

Deidara growled dangerously. "You think you've won?" With his right arm, he reached behind his back and pulled a cord. His Akatsuki cloak ripped to shreds, and it took Tsunade everything she had to keep herself from throwing up. A mud like substance poured out of his pores like sweat, and his torso expanded in a way Tsunade did not believe was anatomically possible without destroying every bone in the body. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Deidara turned his back to her, and Tsunade saw a mouth on it placed vertically, covering his spine. It opened up, and a large, drooling tongue slithered out. "Well then…" Deidara turned around, and looked at her with an absolutely crazy grin. "I do believe it's time for Round 2."

* * *

"And so that is the situation." Kizu explained to Danzou. Danzou gritted his teeth. From here on, the two would have to break contact. Danzou couldn't argue with him though; it wouldn't take long for Tsunade to question how he got the tape and put two and two together. She would be watching him like a hawk from now on!

"I see. Yes, I understand. While I have been hoping for an eventual takeover, I have to face the facts. I'm getting old, and the chances are slim for me to become Hokage. At first, all I had was my ideology; though not in the majority, I've had more than enough supporters to bend the situations as I see fit, enough to consider me as Hokage despite my disability. But if I'm on the verge of death, or worse, senility, it will mean nothing." Danzou gripped his cane tightly. "But while I view Madara as merely an accomplice and no longer my teacher, our ideology of the ninja world is the same. I will see to it my vision will not die with me; I will find others."

"Excellent." Kizu said. "I will leave the candidates to you. All I will ask is that they despise jinchuriki as people, and will never compromise on that. Nothing else matter to me. They may not have much sway now, but I'll be sure to push Uzumaki's buttons the right way. With time, I WILL make the masses turn on him."

"I can see it coming together. Before you depart for good, may I make a suggestion?"

"Speak."

"My grandson is on his team. It's not possible to make him side with us completely; but he is prone to anger, almost as much as Uchiha Sasuke. I think I can manipulate him to hate the system and use that against Uzumaki. Even if you fail, I'm sure I can make him the chink in the armor that will ruin everything for Namikaze's spawn."

Kizu grinned. "Interesting. Yes, I see the merits in that. Uzumaki had to suffer the betrayal of a dear friend before, but one more… as long as he won't become an obstacle, I will trust you with that." Kizu then turned to leave. "I apologize for the inconvenience; the fewer members, new timetables, and your goal of becoming Hokage going down the drain, I admit, it's embarrassing, but that's life. Just when you think you've attained your goal, something comes and obstructs your path. But don't worry, I will find a way around it." Kizu paused momentarily. "Oh, and if you don't mind, I think I will hang out here for a while."

"What will you do?" Danzou asked, intrigued.

"I just want to observe the situation. I finally got to meet him; I would like to get to know him on a more personal level." Kizu smiled maliciously as he anticipated it.

* * *

Tobi looked deep into the woods, observing the dire situation. Frantically, he looked back to Jiraya. "Are you finished yet!?"

Jiraya could only grunt in frustration. "Does it look like it!? If I get this wrong, I could kill him!!"

Naruto gulped. "There's a time limit, right? We might have even crossed it over! Damn it Ero-senin, please!! Just go!!"

"I'm sorry, I can't take that chance. I have to try to release you before I do anything else!!" Jiraya answered regretfully.

Tobi emphasized with great urgency "Your Hokage has given it everything she had, and it doesn't look like everyone else out there is going to be of much help! Deidara has transformed!!"

Tobi could see the panic in the eyes of the two men. He was almost caught off guard when Sakura got to her feet. "Shishou-sama!!!"

Tobi held her down. "You're in no condition to fight!!! You've been pushed to the point of exhaustion, and you've just lost to a Hyuuga!! You don't have anymore chakra in your body!!"

"I HAVE TO GO!!! If I don't, everyone…" Sakura finally broke down. She cried hysterically. She made many mistakes, and so often, came up short. If fate and karma existed, it seemed it was working like clockwork. Sakura's closest people were about to die, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Sakura momentarily gasped as Tobi embraced her, trying to comfort her. "I'm sorry. I'm to blame for all this. If only I had helped you earlier when you needed me, I could have stopped all of this." Tobi laid her down. "But rest assured, Sakura. I will make things right!!" With that, Tobi became a stream of smoke, and vanished. Sakura said nothing, only stared in astonishment as a single tear stroked down her cheek.

"Believe in him, Sakura!" Naruto shouted. "I've seen a lot of bad guys, and others who simply wound up on the wrong side. He's on the latter, and he IS going to make things right!!"

Sakura slowly smiled, and nodded. Turning back to the woods, she screamed "GO GET HIM, TOBI!!!"

* * *

Deidara's tongue scooped up earth, and threw the bits at Tsunade. The kunoichi rolled to dodge them, but when she got a good look, she realized they were not meant to hit her. The mud piles quickly expanded, and finally, exploded. While she avoided the fire, the shockwave sent her reeling into a tree head first, knocking her out. Deidara's rib cage moved as if it were a pair of wings, allowing him to fly. As he did, he took some of the clay leaking from his skin, and began to chew it like gum. "Now die!!!" Deidara prepared to spit his bomb. But some speeding cloud of smoke tackled him and threw his weapon off target. In no time, he was back down to earth. As Deidara stood, he hissed only one word. "Tobi…"

Tobi could look at him only in regret and pity. Despite his politeness all those years, he didn't really like Deidara that much. But still, to go against someone you worked with for so long was not the easiest thing in the world to do. He had to try to end this well, at least. "Deidara-sempai, please give up. There's no point to any of this; we lost."

"Because of you!!" the blonde shouted in retort.

"Deidara, do you think Kizu is really going to give you what you want? Once he has all the biju, why would he? I didn't allow myself to see it at first…but even though it hurts me to admit this…when he gets what he wants, Kizu will just kill us all."

While he was distracted, Deidara spat mud out of his mouth and pinned Tobi to a tree. "You honestly think I haven't figured that out!? I knew right from the beginning that Kizu would kill us once he found no use for us!!" Deidara's scowl slowly turned into a grin. "That's why I plan to kill him myself."

"It won't work, sempai. Kizu would have never allowed you to join if you had a ghost's chance of killing him. I've never seen him off guard in any manner, not even in sleep. I'm sure he even knows you want to kill him. Sempai, if you leave now, you should be able to escape. He hasn't placed a seal on you, you have a chance!"

"Just the words I'd expect to hear from that pompous oaf's pet!!" Deidara's back tongue scooped up more earth, flinging it at Tobi. Of course, Tobi changed into his corporal form and escaped, appearing right in front of Deidara. The Iwa nin was knocked to his side with a good side kick, but Deidara immediately began his counterattack: He simply placed his foot on the ground. Suddenly, an explosion went off right were Tobi was standing. Though he managed to avoid the brunt of the blast, his arm was badly singed. "I leaked an explosive chemical into the ground, controlling where it went. You have about 15 seconds left before you can become transparent again!" Deidara wasted no time, as he licked the clay pouring down his body. Like the gattling machines his village made, he spat his explosives at a rapid speed. Though Tobi's agility saved him, these projectile explosives were much stronger than the ones his partner normally used. Right before Tobi could become intangible again, one exploded right in front him, sending him flying like a rocket.

Tobi landed his head onto a tree. While he was not unconscious, the throbbing in his head was going to be problematic. No matter; he had to counterattack now! "Enton! Kanzanbai no Jutsu!!"

The area in front of him seemed to explode into smoke, and like a tidal wave, was headed right for Deidara! Deidara gasped for air as he suddenly found himself surrounded in toxic smoke, unable to see even inches in front of him. Before he knew it, Deidara felt himself take another punch to the jaw. Then a kick. In no time, Tobi was going to beat him senseless if he didn't act now.

Deidara's back tongue grabbed random earth and flung it in front of him. The resulting explosion cleared the smoke, and Deidara could breathe again. "I found you!!" Deidara's back tongue lashed at Tobi's face, causing him to scream in pain. "This tongue has a chemical far stronger than the ones my hands used! This won't just burn your skin; it will dissolve your bones!!"

Tobi quickly transformed into his ghost like state, and flew into the woods. As he changed back, he felt the reaction stop. Quickly feeling the side of his face, he realized Deidara wasn't kidding: he could feel the bad side of his face reduced to a stump! All that was left was hardened muscle and bone. At least he wasn't in any pain, and on the plus side, those extra body parts were gone. Quickly, Tobi pulled out a kunai and wrapped an explosive tag on it. "Deidara! I suppose I should thank you!! That acid treatment has really improved my face!!"

Deidara flew above the canopy, scanning for Tobi. "Don't thank me just yet; we've got more work to do!!" As he was flying, the clay seeping out of his body fell onto the trees. Deidara knew that Tobi would do something big, and could only chuckle at what would happen when he did. Deidara banked left as a kunai was shot straight up towards him.

The knife exploded as it reached its peak, but Tobi wasn't done yet. "Enton! Kurotaiyou no Jutsu!!" The cloud expanded, covering the entire forest in pitch black. Deidara flapped his new wings, hovering in place. He also noticed that he could barely breathe; staying in the area too long may even kill him! "You can't see a thing, but I can see you just fine!!" Tobi shouted.

"And I heard you!!!" Deidara flew straight towards the source.

Just as he was about to reach Tobi, he heard him yell another technique. "Enton! Kemurihana no Jutsu!" The air in front of Deidara seemingly exploded in front of Deidara, discombobulating his senses. He spun out of control, into several branches, and finally the forest floor. Deidara hacked as he struggled to breathe. He felt exhausted, like he was going to pass out any minute. He heard something land next to him. "It's over, Deidara. If you keep this up, you'll die. Just surrender, and they won't kill you."

"You're…right, Tobi." Deidara finally managed to stand, though he needed to support himself. "They won't kill me, just torture me so they can get me to say what they want. Most likely you too"

"Deidara, just cooperate and everything will be fine."

"I don't think so. The first thing they'll do is take away my tongues." Deidara looked at his arms, noting a tongue missing on one and the other being limp. "They already kind of did. That's why…" Deidara held up his good hand and made a sign. "…I'm not going to let them get their filthy hands on me!"

Without warning, the whole forest exploded, destroying Tobi's super smoke screen and surrounding them in an inferno. Tobi went into ghost mode to protect himself from the initial explosion, but once he changed back, a tree's roots blew up, causing it to fall, and pin him to the ground When Tobi tried to stand, he yelped in pain. Looking behind him, he could see the branch landed on his leg, probably breaking it. "Oh no…"

Deidara walked up to him, and kneeled. "In a few seconds you'll be able to escape this. But you won't be able to fight me, no matter what you do. You'll just be able to slow me down at best." Deidara's smile grew even wider. "In case I'm wrong, though…I'm going to kill you now, before I kill those others and get the jinchuriki for myself."

* * *

Sakura looked into the forest in fear. "No…"

"What's wrong?" Jiraya asked, not taking his eyes off the seal.

"I…I think Tobi lost. I definitely saw Tsunade-shishou get knocked out."

Naruto stared straight into Jiraya's eyes, who read the plea in his eyes crystal clear. "Naruto, I can't!! If we're going to do this, we have to get it right!!"

"Ero-senin, look! Our friends are out of commission! If you can't undo the seal, the only one left to fight will be you!!"

"But it could take too long, and then you might lose all your ninjutsu for good!"

"Up to you, Ero-senin! Me, or you!!"

Jiraya stared at Naruto almost as if he was staring into death itself. Finally, he sat down, muttering under his breath. Quickly, he got back to work. "It needs a tiger sign…it's incompatible with dragon…" Jiraya continued to mutter to himself, ruling out certain hand signs and trying to figure the correct combination of the ones he could use. "Okay. I may have something."

"So…?" the blonde inquired.

Jiraya nodded. "It's still a huge risk. But you're right; I can tell your seal only has a few minutes left before only Kizu himself can undo it. But you must understand: If I'm wrong, there's no telling what could happen. I…" Jiraya seemed to struggle to find the right words. "I might even…kill you." Naruto gulped in response. But an explosion caught his attention.

"Oh no, Tobi!" Sakura cried.

Naruto turned back to Jiraya and yelled "Do it!!"

Jiraya almost hyperventilated, but regained what he could of his calm. "Okay." With one last deep breath, he began. "Tiger, Monkey, Ram…" The signs seemed to go on forever. Before Naruto could yell at him to hurry up, Jiraya thrust his fingers deep into his abdomen. "If this doesn't work…please forgive me!"

* * *

Deidara hacked, recovering from a surprise attack. "Impressive. It seems you still have some fight in you."

Tobi leaned against a tree, breathing as heavily as Deidara was. He escaped his initial predicament and got a few good shots in, but his broken leg wasn't helping matters any. Deidara's back tongue scooped up more dirt, and flung it at him. Tobi couldn't become intangible just yet, and dodging was out of the question. "I suppose…this will be my end." Suddenly, something jumped in front of him and flung the bomb away. It was orange, blue, and fast. Very fast.

The thing tackled Deidara and sent him reeling across the forest. "What the…?" Deidara looked up to see a very pissed Naruto. That was made obvious by the orange coat of chakra and beast like features surrounding him. Quickly Deidara counted his tails…three! "Shit!" Deidara scrambled away, shoving dirt in his mouth. The Iwa nin fired, stunning Naruto. It didn't do much damage, but Deidara would take what he could get. "Come on!" Deidara's back tongue threw more mud bombs onto Naruto's skin. A chakra arm reached to grab Deidara, and pull him in. Deidara nearly panicked when he saw an unstable Rasengan about to collide with his face. But in the nick of time, the bombs went off, releasing his hold. They did a number on Naruto, but Deidara knew whatever damage he took would be repaired quickly in his current state. Of course, they were the distraction. Deidara began to prepare his knockout blow, smearing his clay all over the jinchuriki's body. With his clothes in tatters, Deidara was easily able to touch the boy's skin, possibly doing even more damage. Just as he finished, Naruto backhanded Deidara into the flaming trees. Naruto was about to lunge in pursuit, but something distracted him.

"NARUTO!!!" In a beast like manner, Naruto searched the forests, looking for the source. Finally, he took off on all fours.

Deidara grinned in anticipation. "This might be even better. Two birds with one stone at least, ya." Quietly, Deidara followed him, making sure he wouldn't be heard or spotted.

Naruto ran to the edge of the forest, and came face-to-face with Sakura and Jiraya. The elder in particular was especially nervous. "I was afraid of this! I released his chakra, but it caused a leak in his Kyuubi seal! Sakura, get-"

"Don't worry about me!" Sakura yelled. "I'll be fine, just have the seal ready." Sakura took a step forward. "Naruto?" Naruto twitched much like a large carnivore would, growling. "Naruto, it's me! You remember?" Naruto looked like he was about to pounce. "Come on, Naruto!" Sakura screamed.

It wasn't a desperate plea; it sounded more like Tsunade pushing a student, Jiraya noted. "She must have inherited that from her."

Sakura continued to shout at Naruto "I've brought you back from this when you had twice the tails you do now! You've come back from worse! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER NOW!!"

She finally seemed to strike a cord with Naruto, who was beginning to become more stable, and stood on his legs. "That's it sweetie, come on…" Suddenly, Naruto lunged towards Jiraya quicker than either of them could react. Naruto made a downward slash, but thankfully, Jiraya got out of the way in time. A pouch ripped open, revealing a seal. To everyone's astonishment, Naruto grabbed it, and slammed it onto his forehead.

"AHHHHHRRRGGGGHHH!!!" The orange chakra dissipated, and his features returned to normal. Naruto's legs lost their strength, but Sakura caught him before he fell face first.

"Oh Naruto, thank goodness. We thought you lost it."

Naruto chuckled. "Almost. I heard you, and that was enough."

Sakura smiled, but soon frowned when she noticed a sticky substance all over Naruto. "Naruto, what is this-?"

Before anyone could answer, everyone turned their heads toward the forest, seeing Deidara perched on one of the charred trees. "Art is a-"Everything seemed to slow down as the three watched Deidara about to activate the explosive clay all over Naruto. Sakura's and Jiraya's first instinct was to duck for cover, but there was no time. Besides, doing so would mean abandoning Naruto.

Time seemed to start again when Deidara suddenly screamed, clutching his eyes. Everyone looked up to see Shiguri lodged on Deidara's shoulders, trying to stab his eyes out with a kunai. "Shiguri!!" Naruto cried.

"Hurry!" the boy cried.

Deidara elbowed Shiguri off him, clutching his face. "You son of a bitch! I'll deal with you later!"

Before Shiguri fell to the floor, something caught him and came towards Naruto at an incredible speed. "Fuzzy brows!!"

Lee set his friend's student down. "I finally defeated most of the enemy, and Jaa told me your students headed in this direction. The explosions confirmed it for me."

Before anymore questions could be asked, Jiraya quickly shot his toad oil all over Naruto. "AHH!! What'd you do that for!?"

"No!! You ruined it, you old fool!" Deidara screamed.

"Oh."

"It seems the oil disrupted whatever chemical reaction could take place." Sakura confirmed.

Naruto and Sakura turned heads when they heard more people come to join them. Garaa supported Tsunade on his shoulder, and Iori carried Yuji and Kakashi on her back. "No more…I'm pooped…" Iori collapsed right on her face.

"She's so strong Naruto…" Kakashi noted, smiling beneath his mask. "You should be proud."

Finally, a stream of smoke landed next to Naruto, and a crippled Tobi appeared. "Thank you. He would have gotten me if you hadn't come."

Naruto did not have time to respond to either one; he had a plan. "Ero-senin, summon a toad stomach. A really, really strong one. But don't close it completely until I'm ready."

The two sanins' eyes widened as they realized what it was the jinchuriki was planning to do. Tsunade called him out on it. "Naruto, it's-"

"Sorry Ba-chan, but we're out of options." Jiraya gulped, and did as his pupil asked once again. So did Naruto.

"Taijuu Kage no Bushin!" Thousands of Narutos appeared, and rushed Deidara.

"You fool! That won't work on me!" Bombs blew up each bushin on contact, but there were too many of them for Deidara to destroy altogether, as many dodged his attacks and forced him to dodge theirs.

Meanwhile, all the Konoha nin ran inside the frog stomach Jiraya summoned. "Just a little longer-!"

Deidara began to retreat to the woods, with the army of clones following him. "Scared, are ya!?" the clones shouted. Suddenly, explosions from underground went off and destroyed all of them.

"You all should have never followed me into territory that I've been in already. You never know where I will plant some mines." Deidara circled back to the edge and touched down." Now-"Deidara stopped his tirade when he noticed something forming in Naruto's hand. "Is that…a Rasengan!?" It looked similar, but Deidara noticed something swirling around it, resembling a shuriken. "This…this must be the jutsu that killed Kakuzu!"

"Ready to meet your maker, Deidara!?" Naruto yelled as his clones completed the sphere in his hand.

Deidara smiled. "I think that should be said about you!" Deidara leaned down and chewed dirt. "He's gotten better over the years, but he's still a close range fighter! No matter how good that technique is, I'll make sure it never reaches me!!"

"Here goes! Futon: Rasenshuriken!!" Deidara shot his mines out like a gattling gun, but before any could reach Naruto, he threw his weapon. It didn't dissipate; it continued to travel, and continued to grow. "Now, Ero-senin!" Naruto dove into the toad stomach, where a hole sealed up. None of Deidara's explosives could stop it. And it was too fast for him to dodge. Naruto, nor anyone else inside the cocoon, could hear him scream.

* * *

"Is it over?" Jiraya and Naruto worked hard together to keep the wind chakra from puncturing the toad stomach; one mistake and Naruto could have killed everyone, including himself.

"It should be. If I remember my fight with Itachi correctly, when I threw the Rasenshuriken, it seemed to explode all it once. I don't feel any more pressure, so let's check it out." The toad stomach dissipated, and the group beheld the devastation in the area. The ground was barren and cracked, the forest trees were reduced to stumps, and there was simply that eerie feeling one had after an area has been completely destroyed.

"Wow, Naruto-kun. You always have to steal the show." Lee commented.

Naruto continued looking around. "I don't see Deidara anywhere…"

"Naruto, look!" Sakura pointed.

Naruto turned to see Deidara rising from the rubble. At first, he panicked, but calmed down once he saw Deidara's condition. He was bleeding through every pore, coughing up blood, and most notably, his arms were gone. Upon seeing that, Naruto relaxed. "It's over. The Rasenshuriken damages at the cellular level; if it weren't for the Kyuubi, I would have lost my arm the first few times I tried that jutsu. I'd wager you don't have much time left, even if you smeared your entire body with clay armor." Deidara grunted like he wanted to say something fowl. Then he started laughing. Soon his laugh became more and more maniacal. "What's so funny!?" Naruto demanded.

"I never…ever…thought I would be forced to show it!!!" Naruto looked at him quizzically; but whatever it was, he knew it couldn't be good. "My ultimate art!!!" Deidara bent over and seemingly bit his stomach.

"There's a cord there!" Tobi yelled.

Deidara pulled, and a large mouth appeared. Though subtly, the mouth began to open. "I installed it myself. It takes time to open, but once it sucks in enough oxygen, everything you see around you will go up in smoke!" Deidara laughed as his body bulged and skin began to turn red.

"Kakashi-sensei…"

Kakashi already had a good look with his sharingan. "Kamui will not be enough, not this time. He's really doing it; he's committing suicide and taking us with him! If I'm reading it correctly, the amount of chakra he's putting out could completely obliterate Konoha if he was in its center!" Naruto prepared to attack him, but Kakashi held him back. "Even if it won't be as powerful, touching him will set off a powerful explosion prematurely!"

Everyone let it sunk in. No way of preventing it, no way of escaping it. Quickly, Sakura embraced Naruto, who returned it. Unseen by everyone else, Iori quickly grabbed onto Yuji. Though taken by surprise, he too returned the embrace.

Soon, Deidara looked like he swallowed a giant marshmallow whole. The mouth on his abdomen looked wide open; he was going to blow any second now. " Twenty seconds. It's been nice knowing everybody, and it's as I always say…Art is a Bang!"

Quickly, Tobi limped over to Sakura and Naruto. "Sakura…let me ask you…" Sakura nodded, indifferent to anything else that might happen at that point. "When you told me that you could do all those things for me, in exchange for leaving the Akatsuki…did you mean it? A place to call my own? Real friends? Even…" Tobi rubbed the area on his face where his unusual deformity once was. "…this?"

Sakura smiled sadly. "Yes Tobi, I meant every word I said. It wouldn't have been easy, but with the support of my friends, we could have made you one of us. I'm sorry it's come to this…and I want you to know…I forgive you."

Tobi chuckled lightly. Sakura noticed he was crying. "That means a lot to someone like me. But to be honest…even if you had lied to me…I would still do what I'm about to do now…" Quickly, he looked Sakura in the eye. "Haruno Sakura…thank you for showing me the way…it's with my deepest regrets that I must inform you…I'm afraid I cannot walk that path."

Before she could respond, Tobi hopped as fast as he could to Deidara. Lightly, he touched his skin. "Tobi!!...What are you planning!?" Deidara shouted, unconcerned about his own death.

Suddenly, they both became a cloud of smoke. The smoke swirled up towards the sky at an incredible speed. Both Naruto's and Sakura's eyes widened in horror as they realized what Tobi was doing. "_Tobi_!!"

"Everyone get down!!" Jiraya yelled. "That explosion now has all three dimensions to expand!!" Everyone pressed themselves flat to the ground, as they watched Tobi continue to take Deidara up in the air. "He won't have much longer…" Finally, the trail seemed to have disappeared. Then, there was a sudden ball of light. "Brace yourselves!!!"

The sound was deafening, and the pressure was enormous. The few remaining trees were flattened, and rocks flew over the Konoha nins. Naruto was worried just the force of it would kill them all. It seemed to last forever…then, it stopped. Slowly, everyone rose.

"It's gone, everybody!!" Naruto shouted. Everyone stood up, relieved.

"It's over…" Tsunade said.

"Yeah…" Naruto confirmed. Quickly, Sakura embraced Naruto again. "I thought I lost you. I thought I really lost you this time."

"I'm never pushing you away like that again."

As the two hugged one another, Sakura looked up to the sky. "Tobi…thank you…and sorry. We'll make you a grave as soon as we can. It's the least we could do…"

While Tsunade inspected everyone's injuries, Naruto and Sakura continued to hug each other. Then, Naruto felt Sakura's body go limp. "Sakura…?" At first frightened, Naruto calmed down when he felt Sakura breathe. She fell asleep!

"She's exhausted." Tsunade noted. "I'm partially responsible. I've worked the poor girl to death; being both a fighter and a medic is a difficult job, and I could only afford to give her a few days rest at a time."

"Plus, from what she told me, she was fighting Kizu in her mind." Kakashi mentioned. "Non-stop, she did not rest once. She was under his control for a day, at least. Good thing for Hinata, he forgot that Sakura's weak point was her stamina, and wound up treating her like what I would presume to be his own body instead."

Naruto's eyes widened when he mentioned Hinata. "Is she…?"

"She was hurt pretty badly. But I think she'll be fine."

Naruto felt guilty for not at least realizing Hinata's feelings for him sooner. And for making her feel like she had to prove herself for him. But for now, Sakura concerned him more.

"Alright." Tsunade was out of chakra, so most of her patients needed to have their wounds stabilized by hand and treated at the hospital later. Tsunade used parts of her jacket as bandages. "Kakashi, your leg is going to be fine, but we need to get you to the medics, as I can't treat you as I am. Miyamoto, your foot is pretty bad, we need to hurry along. Kazekage-sama, you're fine. You just need some rest." Garaa gave her a weak nod.

Then, she turned to Sakura. "Same for her…" Tsunade began to rub her chin. Sakura's top was going to cause some problems; she couldn't carry her wearing a top that screamed Akatsuki. She used up all of her jacket too. "Hmm…" Then, she saw Jiraya's. "Gimme that!"

"Hey!"

Before he could protest, Tsunade walked with Jiraya's jacket towards Sakura. "Eyes back!" Everyone, even Iori, turned around as Tsunade discarded Sakura's Akatsuki top. "Okay, you can look now."

Jiraya's jacket was tied around Sakura's chest. Naruto asked Tsunade "So, what now? When do we go back out to the front again?"

Tsunade smiled. "We won't. The Tsuchikage is dead. Without him, Iwagakure will be in ruins for quite a while. And with the stronger nins usually being executed under his policy, finding a new Tsuchikage is going to be difficult for them." Everyone conscious laughed out loud in joy.

* * *

"Are you alright, Naruto?"

"I'm fine, Ba-chan."

"You know, I can-"

"But I want to carry her!"

Everyone slowly walked back to Konoha. Those that were debilitated were carried. Lee carried Yuji, Jiraya carried Kakashi…and Naruto, obviously, carried Sakura, bridal-style no less. Tsunade kept nagging him to hand her over, but to no avail. "A god-mother's love, I guess." Jiraya guessed. But what was more important was that everyone was glad to be alive, and heading back home. The trek back was too long for their liking though; in prime condition this would have been a quick five-minute run for them. Everyone doing the walking hoped that Deidara and the Tsuchikage were being forced to do triathlons in hell as they struggled to get back.

Soon though, the village came within sight. "Finally…" Naruto grumbled. "After this whole mess is cleared, I just want to go home, have a nice bath, some Ichiraku ramen, and bed." His thoughts then turned to the pink kunoichi he was carrying. "And maybe…" Something in his mind screamed "Don't go there!..." But truthfully, at this point, he could think of no reason not to. "We'll see, I guess…" His cheeks began to flare red the more he thought about it..

Everyone's attention was then focused on the group in front of them. The elders and the council. "Homura, Koharu…is there a problem?"

Homura nodded. "I'm afraid there is, Hokage-sama…regarding your pupil." Both Naruto and Tsunade's minds halted when he mentioned Sakura. "I'm sorry…but we've seen the tape."

* * *

Next: The court martial of Sakura!

Kanzanbai-Volcanic Ash

Kurotaiyou-Black Sun

Kemurihana-Smoke Flower


	34. Nothing Can Bring Us Down

"What?" Tsunade asked in disbelief.

Homura repeated his statement. "I said we saw the tape. We know your apprentice is in league with the Akatsuki." Homura sighed, feeling that both she and Hiruzen were always too soft. "I know this must be difficult for you, but a traitor is a traitor. We must-"

"You creeps stay away from her!" Naruto yelled, tightly gripping Sakura's sleeping form. "It wasn't her fault!!"

Koharu looked at him in disbelief and contempt. "Uzumaki, you should know that she did not simply switch sides; she's in league with the Akatsuki, the very group that is pursuing you."

"You don't know anything!! All these years she has tried to keep me safe from Akatsuki!! Do you think I would defend her if she joined them!?" Naruto continued to yell.

Koharu quickly gave her reply. "Uchiha Sasuke deliberately tried to kill you all those years ago, and your actions towards him since then have been anything but logical. And look where that got us!" Naruto bit his lips until they drew blood. If he lacked any self control, he would have squeezed Sakura until she bruised.

"It's a tragedy, and on this matter I do sympathize with you, Tsunade-sama." Everyone turned to see Danzo walk from behind Koharu and Homura to face them. "But the facts are the facts. We have absolute proof that she is now an agent for Akatsuki; I wouldn't be surprised if she turns out to have been a double agent for years."

Everyone with Naruto couldn't believe what they were hearing. _"How could they have known? Ba-chan destroyed the…"_ It hit Naruto like a ton of bricks._ "Another copy must have been made! And the only way Danzo could have gotten that tape…" _Naruto's eyes briefly flashed red, but he managed to control himself. Just barely, anyway. _"…Akatsuki. Danzo is the real agent of Akatsuki here…"_

Tsunade was thinking the exact same thing. _"There's no way to prove it. He may have cut all ties now. Thankfully…I saw this coming."_ Quickly, Tsunade regained her composure. "The evidence is strong, that I will acknowledge. And I have prepared myself to accept the worst case scenario." Naruto nearly balked at her decision.

Koharu lowered her head. "I'm afraid, for precaution…"

"That won't be necessary." Tsunade interrupted. "Not anymore. The Tsuchikage was killed by an Akatsuki member. Which means the war is over. Therefore, she must undergo trial."

Danzo gritted his teeth. _"Damn! This was the perfect opportunity to make the jinchuriki go berserk!" _Danzo calmed himself. _"No need to panic. I may have only one piece of_ _evidence, but it should be enough. The process may be slower than I wanted, but Kizu did warn me, and I have prepared myself."_

"Very well." Koharu said. "Then she will proceed through a court martial, as do all convicted criminals during times of peace. But let me warn you, Hokage-sama: The evidence against her is overwhelming. Even if the defense convinces both the shinobi council that she is not to be held responsible for her actions, her activities will most likely be restricted within the village."

Tsunade sighed regretfully. "Understood."

ANBU ninja, most likely root, appeared. "We'll take her from here, Uzumaki…"

"Get the hell away from her!!" the blonde screamed, baring predator-like teeth.

"Naruto, stop it!!" Tsunade shouted. Both parties froze, then she turned her attention to the council members. "Sakura is exhausted from her ordeal. I think it would be courteous to let her sleep in a real bed, and perhaps prepare her for what's about to happen once she wakes up." Tsunade looked at Naruto. "Naruto, perhaps you would be willing to accommodate Sakura?" Saying that in public caused Naruto to blush, but he wasn't about to turn that down.

"Absurd!" Danzo shouted. "The two are teammates! How do I know his bias will not cause him to escape with her!!"

"That's a pretty stupid statement gramps, especially for you!" Every one turned to Shiguri. "I don't know much about this group you're talking about." Shiguri looked at the elder council members. "But I can tell by the way you talked to sensei that this group is out to get him. If Sakura really joined them, there's no way in hell he would be this protective of her now!! He said so himself!!"

There was a moment of silence. In his mind, Naruto chuckled, thinking of his actions towards Sasuke. _"How wrong you are, Shiguri. I guess I'm an idiot in that sense."_ He thought. Best not to let the elders in on that.

"As I said, Uzumaki's actions towards Uchiha alone are reason alone for me to believe otherwise." Koharu stated. "However, if Homura will allow it, I will take pity on her and allow her freedom to rest."

To this, Homura responded. "I will allow it. I've grown quite fond of Sakura over the years. I feel I should at least allow her that."

Naruto breathed deeply, still upset about the situation but for now would relent. "Fair enough."

Koharu interjected. "If we won't take her to the dungeon just yet, perhaps it would be best if we left her with her family until she recovers?"

Tsunade answered "Her father is out on reconnaissance in Earth Country. And I think it would be a wise idea not to inform her mother just yet."

The two council members nodded, then turned to Danzo. He gave a reluctant sigh. "Very well. Toba! Fume! Escort Uzumaki and Haruno to his residence! Do not let them out of your sight!"

With that, those that fought in the last battle made their way down back to Konoha. Naruto so desperately wanted to caress Sakura at this point. "It will be alright, Sakura-chan…I promise!"

While no one was looking, Tsunade turned to Kakashi. She gave him an odd look, to which Kakashi responded with a thumbs up. _"Good. He's got it."_ They both anticipated their efforts to cover up Sakura's apparent betrayal would backfire. But at least now she had a fighting chance.

* * *

"Hnnn…" Sakura woke up, feeling terrible, but better than before. "Ugh. So tired…" Sakura's thoughts and memories were jumbled, but her mind frantically tried to get everything in order. "Tobi…controlled…Hinata…" Finally it all came to her. Sakura shot up from the bed, and froze. After a minute, she calmed herself and fell back down. _"Thank Kami I'm free!"_ she screamed in her mind. She wanted to set about doing other things, but she felt so tired still. "All this stress hasn't been doing me much good. Might be best for everyone if I rest a bit more."

Just as she was about to snuggle into the covers, she couldn't help but notice the orange color of the blankets. Her blankets were red…which meant she wasn't in her room. "Could this be the hospital? No, the sheets are blue and the beds aren't anywhere near as comfortable as this. Wait, if it's orange…" She quickly turned to her side and saw Naruto, sleeping in a chair he brought next to her.

Sakura's first instinct was to wake him up. But at the same time, he looked so peaceful. Sakura decided to relax into her host's bed and watch him. Sakura had to chuckle at how his head tilted to the side, with a bit of drool flowing out of his mouth. Not long ago, she would have whacked him and woke him up. But now, she felt like she understood Naruto better than anyone else, and the quirks about him that she once found annoying…turned out to be actually quite cute. It felt like she watched him for an eternity when he finally started coming to.

Sakura smiled at the look he gave her when he realized she woke up before he did. "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura only giggled in response. "Morning, Sleepy-Head."

"Awww, that's what I was supposed to call you. I've practicing my smiles all night last night." Naruto retorted.

Sakura attempted to stifle more laughter, with great failure of course. Quickly though, Sakura's face turned serious as she remembered yesterday. "Naruto…is every one okay?"

Naruto grimaced as he prepared to inform Sakura. "Most everyone. Kakashi-sensei and Yuji are hospitalized, but Ba-chan told me they would be okay. She's probably healed them by now, but I'd imagine they will be off duty for a while. Hinata was hurt badly, so she won't be discharged for some time now. But she's going to pull through."

Sakura nodded, and then looked down at what she was wearing. She still had the same shorts and stockings, but she was now wearing a large t-shirt as well, and could feel that she had no bra on, which unsettled her greatly.

Before she could ask what was going on, Naruto handed her some spare clothes, which she could tell actually belonged to her, and wrinkled his nose. That last part caught Sakura's attention; back when they were both chunin, they had to go on minor stealth missions together. They both agreed back then that because their hands needed to be near their weapons at all times, they needed a sign language involving facial expressions. Naruto made most of it up, and of course Sakura thought it was downright weird and unnecessary at the time. But it worked, so she went with it. Naruto's nose wrinkle meant "Don't say a word". "Ba-chan got these from your mother; she told her you were in the hospital and no visitors were allowed. Get dressed; we need to talk."

* * *

Sakura finally walked out of Naruto's bedroom, now wearing her casual red blouse and denim skirt. Before she could even call his name, she saw him put something on two plates: Bacon and Eggs! Almost as if her own stomach had eyes, it growled. _ "That sounded more like a roar!" _she thought. She then realized that she hadn't eaten anything in almost 3 days, and the hunger pangs became almost unbearable. "Uhh…Naruto…"

As if reading her mind, Naruto looked at the skillet and said "Sorry, Sakura. I haven't been able to stock up for quite a while now. This is all I really have. I'm afraid you'll have to swallow a food pill or two after this."

Sakura sighed disappointedly. While food pills effectively provided people with whatever nutrition their body needed without risk of starvation, it was not as satisfying as eating real food and feeling it in one's stomach. "It'll have to do."

Normally, Naruto would scarf down whatever he had in front of him while Sakura took time and relished her food. Now their characteristic eating behaviors were reversed. Sakura brought the plate to her and made it look like she swiped every morsel in one bite, while Naruto looked at her stunned. Sakura herself was aware of her unusual behavior, but couldn't help it. "Sorry." She chuckled nervously, as she wiped what food morsels were stuck on her lips with a napkin.

"I understand." Naruto chuckled, just thankful that Sakura was back. But he dreaded what was about to come…

Sakura could feel that whatever he needed to discuss, he didn't want to. Which meant whatever it was, it certainly wasn't good news. She touched his hand and said "Naruto…I need to know."

Naruto sighed. "They saw it..."

It took a second for that to register in Sakura's mind. But when it did…well, Sakura didn't know how to react. By all means, she should have seen it coming! "So…what now?" Sakura knew that in times of war, most ninja deemed traitors were executed, since investigative teams could not be spared and Konoha would be under martial law.

It took a while for Naruto to respond, and looked away as he gave his answer. "You'll have to go through a court martial; officially, the war is over, so now they have to give you a chance. From what Ba-chan told me, though…the end won't be pretty either way." Naruto turned to her and cupped her chin. "But rest assured; everyone is doing everything they can to help you. I promise, after this is over, you'll never have to set foot in a jail cell again!"

The two said nothing for a while, but Sakura caught Naruto by surprise as she pulled him in for a deep kiss. This court martial was going to last for a while; she wanted to make sure that she would at least have a damn good kiss to help her remember when things got tough. Naruto didn't have a thing to say. Not by sound, anyway. He rolled his eyes, twice. That was another one of their quirky facial sign languages. "Say the Word", that's what it meant. He was offering her a chance for them to run together! Tempting as it was, Sakura had to nod her head no. After all, running would prove them right, wouldn't it? "Very well then." Naruto said regretfully.

Naruto walked to the door and knocked. "She's ready."

Two ANBU ninjas that Sakura was not familiar with came in. "Haruno Sakura, we are under orders to place you under arrest. Any attempt at resistance will result in your death."

Her wrists were placed behind her back and tied with thick twine wire that not even Tsunade would be able to break through. And just like that, she was taken away. When they left, Naruto finally lost it. He screamed and smashed every object he could pick up against the walls.

None of it did him any good.

* * *

Sakura had been down here many times before. But it was never like this; this time, SHE was the prisoner. There were only a few lights down the hallway to indicate which direction she should go. Any deviation from the path could lead her to being impaled by the spikes hidden in the darkness. Finally, she came to the check-in room.

She recognized the clerk at the front desk, and his eyes widened upon seeing her. "So, it's true." He got the paperwork ready. "I suppose we don't need to go through the usual check-in procedures. But I still need a blood seal." Sakura stuck out her finger, and with expert precision, the ANBU to her right sliced it just enough to draw blood. She pressed her finger against the paper, and the clerk took it. He then handed her a box. "Here's your prison uniform. You may change over there." He indicated a rice paper shoji door. "May Kami have mercy on you."

Sakura went over and changed. While it was dark in the room, it still unsettled Sakura that they could see the shadow of her figure. Finally, she changed into her dull gray sweater and pants. The material was tight, and it itched terribly. Konoha may have been a more humane ninja village, but it was still harsh towards its prisoners. And she would be seeing more of that very soon.

"Hold out your wrists." One of her escorts commanded her. Sakura did so, and the two placed seals on both. They were meant to block her chakra. "This way."

Soon, Sakura was lead to her cell. She entered, and flinched at the closing of her iron bar prison. The cell was dark, with only one window high up that cast light. The floors and walls were pure concrete, nothing comfortable at all. At least they were gracious enough to give her shoes. There was a small toilet, and like anyone Sakura was unnerved that upon using it she would have no privacy, hence her oversized shirt. And finally, her bed. A bed of straw, to be more precise. Sakura sighed, and plopped herself onto the bed. It was soft enough, but no one liked getting straw tangled in their hair and clothes. Sakura estimated that it would at least be a week before her trial would start, which meant she would have plenty of time to get used to this new cell.

* * *

"Something has to be wrong with me. I'm actually looking forward to paperwork now." Tsunade grumbled as she got to work. In her entire life as Hokage, Tsunade always dreaded paperwork. With the chaos of the war, many things had to be put on hold, and now Tsunade's nerves felt relaxed because of that. Was Kami that cruel to start a massive war in order to make her more productive? Tsunade was brought out of her thoughts when someone knocked on her door. "Enter."

In walked in none other then Naruto himself. Tsunade stood, and smiled. "I'm glad you came. I imagine you've got a lot on your mind, yes? Have a seat."

Naruto did so, and spoke. "Before you say anything, Ba-chan, I just want to say I'm sorry about the way I behaved these past couple of months to you and everyone else who knew about my father." Tsunade was surprised by Naruto's apology. "I put up a farce the whole time. But I care for you all. I really do. I was just so hurt, and a part of me told me I should place the blame on you. I started acting like we barely knew each other, but it only made things worse for me. And I nearly lost all of you because of that."

Tsunade smiled slightly. "I accept your apology, Naruto. And rest assured, Jiraya and Kakashi don't hold anything against you neither. In fact, we should apologize to you, if anything. What concerns me at the moment though is you and Sakura…did you read my letter?"

Naruto nodded. "A bit late, but I did…and well…we confessed to one another when she and Kakashi-sensei came to get me…" Naruto blushed a little bit. "And the main reason I've come was to understand how Sakura is being treated, what you're going to do to get her free and what I can do to help, and finally, what to do about her marriage."

Tsunade sighed. That was certainly a challenging Q&A "Well, while in prison she's certainly not going to be treated like a princess. There's really nothing I can do in that regard. The one thing I was able to do was get the guards to feed her food pills instead of the usual slop we feed our prisoners. So, at least she won't be losing any weight...and no direct harm will come to her either. As for her upcoming trial, rest assured, I anticipated this happening. I got Kakashi to collect what evidence he could. Jiraya was also on the scene, and assured me he got something that could help. As soon as Garaa fixes things up in Suna and the trial goes underway, he will testify in her defense. As for you…I'm sorry, but I'm afraid all you'll be able to do is give your testimony."

Naruto groaned in disappointment, and asked "You said that even if she was found not guilty, the outcome still wouldn't be good, correct?"

"That's right. Both the Shinobi and Civilian councils will act as the jury. While it will be the Shinobi council that determines whether she will be found guilty or not, the civilian council if opposed the to the shinobis' verdict can set certain terms. The problem is that the civilian council does not understand jutsus and what is possible the same way we do. And there's another thing that will make the civilian council an even bigger problem. I assume you've figured out how the council found out, right?" Naruto nodded; it was best not to say this out loud. "No doubt he will influence the civ council anyway he can, and he has some strong supporters in both to make this difficult for us." Naruto sighed. "The trial will also have to be delayed until Hyuuga Hiashi returns. He didn't have to, but because Neji had been forced to retire, he fought in his stead. He'll be informed of the situation, and while he is known for making neutral judgments, he has grown fond of you and every one associated with Neji. Whatever his decision, rest assured that it will not be because of any prejudice towards you." A moment of silence followed. Naruto was especially going to hate this part.

"Now, regarding her marriage…legally, there's nothing I can do." Naruto clenched his fists. "The only way really is for her father or the other party to cancel the marriage. If this gets out, that could happen. But I'm not counting on that."

"So…"

"…so, I may have to pay a visit to the family of the groom-to be. It shouldn't be hard; once they realize Sakura is as strong as I am, they should call it off. Nobility likes submissive women, and Sakura is anything but."

That certainly gave Naruto some hope. Didn't really do much to alleviate his mood, though. "Thanks for your time Ba-chan. And I apologize once more. I won't keep you from your work anymore."

As he turned to leave, Tsunade said "By the way, Jiraya would like to talk to you. When you have the time, go see him. He said it's important."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement. "I have to take care of a few things first."

* * *

First, Naruto formally apologized to Kakashi. He said pretty much the same thing as Tsunade.

He then visited Iori and Yuji, just to make sure they were alright. Sine he traveled with him, Naruto figured Shiguri could wait. Naruto was surprised to see Yuji with her. When she told him her story, Naruto nearly threw a fit when he realized that she too was going to be put on trial. At least unlike Sakura, she was simply placed under house-arrest. Iori's predicament in a way pained him more than Sakura's, since in the case of the later he could provide useful information in the trial. He was very much relieved though when Iori mentioned Shikamaru was there with her; if anyone could prove her innocent, it was him. Still, if the courts failed either Sakura or Iori, he was prepared to do whatever it took to free both of them.

Yuji was probably the highlight of his day. Naruto learned of his adventures with the Ainu, and what he managed to accomplish with a badly damaged foot. Naruto couldn't be prouder.

Naruto had another stop to make, and Yuji was accompanying him at that moment. "So, you're going to visit the Ainu girl?" he asked his underdog student.

"Things were looking really bad for her; Hokage-sama said that if she had arrived at the hospital a second too late, she could've died." Yuji looked towards the hospital. "She's alive, but unconscious. They don't know when she'll wake up."

Naruto was about to comfort him, but then something occurred to him. "Listen…it's none of my business, but what does Iori think about this?"

Yuji gave him a quizzical look, which then turned bright red, signaling his realization. "Uh…well…to be honest, I haven't told Iori! But I don't think of her that way! I mean, I don't think of HYOUIKE that way!!"

Naruto chuckled, giving him a pat on the back. "It's okay, it's okay. I just didn't want Iori's feelings to be crushed."

"You mean-"

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that! I just wanted to make sure that IF there is anything between you two, she wouldn't get the wrong idea." Naruto chuckled "Well, I guess the same should go for me to, and Sakura-chan actually might have a right to get jealous."

"You mean…you've been ch-"

Quickly, Naruto clamped his hand over Yuji's mouth. "NO!!" Naruto quieted down when he saw that people were staring at him. "Uh, what I mean is…I'm visiting someone who's had feelings for me for a long time, even longer than Sakura has."

Yuji seemed to understand. "So…you're going to reject her?"

Naruto grimaced. "Yes. The thing is…I understand what it feels like to love someone but not be loved back. I don't want to put her in such a position…but I have to. It wouldn't be right otherwise."

Yuji was beginning to get the drift. "You mean…Sakura…"

"It wasn't her fault. It's just…" Naruto sighed. "Okay. It was difficult, but I didn't care. So long as she was happy, that was all that mattered to me. Thankfully, as time went on, I just found myself getting happier and happier."

Yuji then spoke up. "If that was the way you felt about Sakura-nechan back then, it might be the same case with this other girl. Listen, I admit that I'm not even a novice on this subject, but if I were you, I would just tell her there's nothing wrong with her. You just loved somebody else. I mean, the one you love has more to do with how the two of you feel around each other and get to know one another, as opposed to there being something wrong with everyone else in the sea, right?"

Naruto thought about it. "Yeah…that makes sense, I guess…"

Finally, the two reached the hospital. "I guess we've got different destinations." Naruto said. "I'll see you outside, Yuji."

"Sure thing, sensei!"

* * *

Hinata sighed as she looked out the window. It was over, the war was over. Although she wasn't the best ninja in Konoha, she was happy that she could help them in their ultimate battle. However, even though she gave up on ever having Naruto long before the war started, it still hurt. She believed she understood what Naruto must have gone through emotionally when he attempted to rescue Sasuke. The difference here was that she actually succeeded, and in a way, it did alleviate her mood a bit. At least she was able to communicate to Naruto how much he meant to her, at least subtly. But this time, he would not choose her like Sakura did Naruto.

"Hiashi-sama will be very proud of you, Hinata." Hinata turned to face Neji, who was sitting by her side. "You rescued Sakura-san from herself. That is no small feat; even I would have a hard time with her."

Hinata smiled. "Thank you, Neji-nisan. It's…something else is bugging me."

Neji understood immediately. Everyone could tell what she thought about Naruto; even Sakura noticed. "Hinata-sama…"

"I know. I'm not delusional at all. But so long as he's happy, I'm happy." The Hyuuga cousins were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in." Hinata chimed.

The door opened, revealing Naruto. As if that wasn't enough to send Hinata's spirit sky high, she noticed the flowers in his hand. She had to mentally slap herself. _"Well of course they're not romantic!" _"N-Naruto-kun, thank you for coming to see me!"

Naruto smiled and replied "Of course." He walked towards them, greeting Neji. "Good to see you again, Neji. How've you been?"

Neji sighed as he closed his book. "I've been better. I apologize for being of no use to you all in these recent battles."

"It's not your fault at all. You didn't have to do what you did back for me at Monsoon Country. I appreciate it, nonetheless, but I feel terrible for having to put you through that. I should've have fought Kenji from the start." Naruto then looked at Hinata, clearly dreading what he was about to say. _"Here goes."_ He thought to himself. "Listen, Neji. Could you step outside the room for a few minutes? I need to talk with Hinata alone."

Neji eyes widened in realization. A part of him wanted to stay and protect Hinata from what was about to come. But he knew that she needed to hear this, for better or for worse. "Very well." Naruto could detect a hint of a threat in his voice.

"_I REALLY better not screw this up."_ When Neji left, Naruto placed the flowers on Hinata's stand. "How are you feeling, Hinata?" Naruto took note that she was covered in casts and bandages.

"I'm getting better. The Hokage doesn't have time and chakra to spare for everyone, but she sped things along for me. The bones in my body have mostly healed, and she says with some bed rest I should be out of here by the end of the week."

"I'm glad. I was worried about you going on your own to fight Sakura-chan. Not even I'm that brave!" Naruto chuckled a bit, but stopped when he noticed Hinata turning away and frowning. _"Shit, that sure didn't go well!"_ Naruto frantically thought of something to lighten the mood, but if jokes made it worse…anything else "happy" he could think of was most likely unable to do any good. _"I guess…I guess the honest truth is all I can tell her…well, here goes…" _

Naruto took a deep breath, and spoke. "Hinata…I need to talk to you about something important."

Hinata turned her attention to Naruto. A part of her told her that Naruto figured out she liked him, and she did not want to hear him say it. It was pointless, and would only serve to embarrass her further. "Go on."

Naruto could feel the unease. _"Crap." _"Hinata…back when we started the rescue operation, you said to me that you would save Sakura-chan, and made it your promise of a lifetime." Hinata nodded, avoiding eye contact. "When you said that, I figured out…your feelings." Hinata gulped, and tightened her grip on the cover sheets. Then, Naruto touched Hinata's hands. "Please don't be afraid, Hinata! I'm…I'm really flattered and humbled that you thought so highly of me for all these years! And I really feel like a jerk for not even noticing! I know what it's like…"

Hinata finally turned around and looked at him. _"Maybe, this talk isn't going to be as bad as I thought…" _"It's okay, Naruto-kun. It's my fault, partially; I barely even let you know I existed. You, on the other hand, were able to work up the courage and get the attention of the one you loved, for better or worse." Naruto gave a small chuckle, remembering the times Sakura kicked his ass. "Besides…I know I'm not worth much…"

Naruto almost shouted "Don't you dare say that!" Hinata looked at him in shock. "Hinata…there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You're smart, strong, and beautiful. You have a lot of qualities anyone could like. I can't love you not because of some minor flaw you have. The reason I can't love you…is simply because I'm in love with Sakura-chan."

Hinata's lips slowly curved into a smile. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I know I could never take such a special place in your heart. But would it okay if…" Hinata began stuttering again. "…if we can still be friends? And with Sakura, too."

Naruto gave her genuine smile. "I'd like that." Naruto had a feeling he knew what Hinata wanted. He leaned down, and received a kiss to his forehead.

"What you and Sakura-san share is very special. You better take good care of it." Hinata said, giving him a beautiful but non-romantic smile.

Naruto was surprised at the hinted threat in her words, but was undeterred; of course he would do everything he could to keep Sakura and himself together. Naruto got up, and bowed. "You take care of yourself. And don't worry about Sakura-chan; she'll be fine." The jonin turned around and wiped some sweat off his brow. "Phew." Naruto walked out the room, only to nearly run into Hiashi Hyuuga himself! _"Ahh! Did he hear me!?"_ "H-Hiashi-sama! How ya doing!?"

Naruto never interacted much with Hiashi, and was one of the few ninja in the village Naruto did not think up a nick-name for and actually addressed politely. "I just returned from my mission in Earth Country, and I heard about everything from Hokage-sama."

"Oh…well…"

"I'm aware your teammate is in a rather compromising position, and since I'm back, I'd imagine that the trial will begin soon. I can't promise anything, but depending on what's presented, we'll see. But if you must know my opinion based on what I know now, I don't see how or why Haruno would betray Konoha."

Naruto quickly bowed and said "All I ask is to do what you think is right."

"On that, at least, you have my word."

Naruto excused himself, allowing Hiashi, Neji, and someone else, who did not have the Byakuugan, to enter the room.

"F-father…" Hinata was nervous that her father would become overprotective and call her an idiot for trying to fight Sakura head-on.

"I heard everything that happened, my daughter. I'm so sorry that none of us were around to help you…"

"Uh, well…" Hiashi's tone was genuinely concerned, unlike what Hinata expected.

"…but you have made me so very proud."

Hinata blushed at her father's praise. While Hiashi had become more caring and attentive to Hinata then he had in the past, he had pretty much given up on her being a strong ninja. For a long time, Hinata thought that she wouldn't care if she received praise from Hiashi, but just the opposite turned out to be true. _"I guess this is how Naruto-kun felt back in the academy in a way." _"Thank you." She said, barely above a whisper. That was when she noticed the stranger next to him. "Father, who is he?"

He was about the same age as the rest of the Rookie 9 of her generation. He had spiky brown hair, and a lithe but athletic build. He wore a green tunic with blue jeans. The pouches and vests on his clothes clued Hinata in that he was a ninja, but not from here, nor any hidden village in particular since he lacked a Hiate of any kind. But what really struck Hinata were his eyes. At a glance, they were cold, with a steely resolve. He was truly a warrior, that was for sure. But Hinata noticed something else. In those eyes, there was a hint of warmth, as well.

Hiashi looked at his company, and quickly said "Oh my. Forgive my manners. Hinata, this is Hane Hero. He was a ninja in one of the lesser villages surrounding earth country, but Iwagakure destroyed most of them when the last Tsuchikage came into power. He managed to survive, and has been fighting them since he was 10. During my mission into Earth Country, he has helped me tremendously, even saved my life at one point. Since he did not have a home to return to, I invited him to live in our compound, with the council's approval of course, until he figures out what he will do."

Hero moved forward slightly and bowed. "It's a pleasure, Hinata-sama."

Hinata blushed slightly, realizing how handsome this young man was. Noticing the stares Hiashi and Neji gave her, she quickly regained her composure and bowed her head the best she could. "Likewise."

* * *

Yuji sighed as he looked Hyouike's seemingly lifeless form. "Come on, Hyouike. That was a bad stabbing, but not THAT bad!" Nothing. "Right?" Still nothing. Yuji sighed and leaned back on the chair.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you. I know you were trying to help…" Yuji scratched his head. "I'll be checking up on your people. I think one of them should be able to speak with Hokage-sama. I don't know what will happen, but I promise you and all your people will find a better place. Still…what you told me about the Nidaime…I have to find out for myself what happened. I need to hear both sides of the story. But I'll wait until you've woken up; wouldn't be fair, otherwise." Yuji sighed and patted Hyouike's head. "Well…I better get going now. Wake up soon, okay?"

Yuji was about to leave, but chuckled a bit. "Funny thing happened today. Sensei thought I was in love with you." Yuji chuckled a bit again. "I mean, everyone knows I like Iori. Granted, being with you would probably be better for my health. But…there's just something about her…." Yuji closed the door and left.

If he stayed longer, he would have noticed the Ainu girl's finger move…

* * *

Jiraya found himself in his apartment. It was high-class and expensive, but due to his constant espionage work, Jiraya rarely stopped by here. The place was almost completely bare, and Jiraya, ironically, hated coming home. But he had to speak with Naruto at the moment. Plus, inviting him to the local brothel would have probably hinted to Naruto he wasn't being serious, and he had to be for this.

Jiraya stirred out of his thoughts when something knocked on his door. "Ero-senin." An all too familiar voice called.

"Come in, it's unlocked."

Naruto walked in, looking…humbled. "How've you been?" the blonde asked.

Jiraya gave a small smile, not his usual cocky one. "Just kicking it while I waited for you. Come sit, these chairs are the best." He gestured.

When Naruto took his seat, he began "Ero-senin, I-"

Jiraya held up his hand. "Don't you dare apologize." For a second, Naruto looked at the floor, thinking now Jiraya was the one angry with him. "I'm the one who should apologize." Naruto looked up at him for a second. "You really did have every right to know. When I took you away for training at least. If not that, your father told us specifically to tell you when you turned 18." Jiraya paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "We more or less chickened out at the last minute, for a number of reasons. Mainly, you were so happy, and we knew you wouldn't take the news well. With your promotion, your new team, your girlfriend…a part of us didn't want to ruin that for you." Jiraya took a good long look in his sake cup. "But that would still make us cowards nonetheless. Naruto…I'm sorry I kept the truth from you. Your father was like a son to me, and knowing that just makes me feel even worse about how I handled your situation. We used to get into all kinds of trouble together, and I had never felt so proud in my life when he became a legendary ninja and the Hokage. That is, until I met you."

Naruto smiled slightly. "He really was a great ninja, huh?"

"You couldn't begin to imagine the potential he had! He grasped everything in an instant, and the few things he did have difficulty with, he worked hard until he got it right. And he always believed in himself and others." Jiraya smiled fondly. "Those were the days…"

"I take it he was from a prestigious clan?" Naruto asked. He didn't care, but if his father was that talented, that would be the most logical explanation.

"Truthfully, I have no way of knowing." Naruto looked at him quizzically. "I found him in the woods, nearly starved to death. He wasn't from Konoha, and though we tried to trace his origins, we couldn't find out where he was from. He himself did not know; he apparently had a case of amnesia. So, we nursed him back to health, and since no one would take him in, he went straight to the ninja academy."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. _"You were all alone, just like me?" _

"Most of the instructors were worried that because he was already of standard genin age, he would graduate by the time he was 15 and looked down on. But within months, he showed all the basic jutsus with perfection, and the old man put him on my team, since we were one short. I felt bad that not only did this kid have no family, but no past either. So, I took him under my wing like he was my own."

Like father like son was the worst cliché in most modern literature, but it seemed that truth was indeed stranger than fiction.

That was when Jiraya's story took a darker turn. "…which leads me to something else. Something that MAY have to do with Akatsuki."

Naruto's interest piqued. "You don't mean…my father was working for Akatsuki?"

"NO!" Jiraya yelled. In his defense, anyone would deny such a thing so loudly. "No, but I'm beginning to believe he had some sort of connection. Remember the incident from before the chunin finals?"

"You mean when Itachi and Kakuzu's bodies were stolen?" Naruto asked.

"Correct. You were told the details about one of the dead guards, right?"

"Sakura-chan told me that. She said it was ALMOST as if they got hit by a Rasengan."

Jiraya confirmed it. "It was a different technique, but the use of rotating chakra and spatial composition was the same. Your father did not just create the Rasengan out of thin air. At least, that's what he told me. When he started it, he claimed he knew someone else who used it."

"Wait! If he had amnesia…" Naruto began.

"That's what I asked him. He said he really didn't remember, but he had that one memory of someone using a special technique. Because of that, we finally decided to have Inoichi and his mother check him out. They found something…sort of. They found a seal somewhere in his mind. While they couldn't determine its exact nature, they hypothesized it was created to block memories. Naturally, this lead to some complications among the councils. Danzo in particular, wanted him executed because of it." Naruto's teeth clenched in anger. He had a bad feeling where this story would be winding up next. "Even so, his supporters couldn't prove that the seal would bring anything harmful upon the village, and the Yamanakas had no way of removing it. The shinobi council even ordered a search for relatives, both for our security, and some sympathizers felt it was more imperative than ever to find his family and restore his memories. But in all the shinobi nations, we couldn't find anyone related to your old man. It was as if…he just fell out of the sky."

Naruto began to piece everything together. "So…you're thinking that my Dad was from the Soragakure that Itachi mentioned in his will? And that seal Ino's dad found was to prevent any information from being leaked? And Rasengan…"

"…was a by-product of some other jutsu, yes. But I have no way of proving it." Jiraya sighed as he looked away into the window. "Although, there is something else you should know as well…"

The sanin thought back to the Kyuubi's attack…

* * *

_Jiraya gripped his bloodied arm as the Kyuubi finally made its way to the edge of the village. "NO!!!" The Kyuubi condensed a chakra ball, and swallowed it. Like dragon's breath, it shot its chakra across the village. Many ninja had fallen, desperately trying to_ _protect their village. Not even two of the legendary sanin, nor the Yodaime Hokage, were enough to stop it. "It's over…" _

"_No. Not yet it's not." _

_Jiraya turned around to see Minato. He was still a bloody mess, and had virtually no chakra left. He tried to beat the Kyuubi with Gamabunta, but in the end the great toad could not give the Yodaime the edge he needed. Jiraya then noticed he was carrying something. "A scroll? No…that's…" His answer was confirmed when a high-pitched cry echoed across the forest. "Have you lost your mind, Minato!? Bringing him here…" _

"_Believe me. This is the last thing I wanted." Minato said, sounding like his heart had been broken._

_Jiraya was momentarily speechless when he realized why Minato brought his only child from out of the evacuees. "Minato, he's your OWN SON!! What will Kushina think!?" Minato did not answer. "Minato…" Jiraya continued to press._

"…_she agreed to this." The blond man finally answered._

_Jiraya yelled "No, you're lying! She would never sell out her own son!! I can't believe it!!" _

_Minato sighed sadly. "Neither do I, but it's the truth. You can ask her about it later…" _

"_Minato, stop this! It doesn't have to be this way! If you must, let me! I can seal the Kyuubi within my own body and kill us both…" _

"_No. Not this one, Ero-senin. This Biju is different from the others. Only someone with my blood can seal it, and only someone young can contain it. Besides, all the Biju are immortal beings that can't be killed. You will not be able to offer up your life as a sacrifice to the death god, at least, not without something else to put the creature in..." The baby cried loudly, causing Minato to instinctively hold little Naruto tightly. Tears flowed down his scared face as he tried to comfort his son for what may be the only time he could. "I'm so sorry…" _

_Jiraya could finally see that Minato had not gone mad, but was simply at his limit. He couldn't bear to see Minato taken away from his son and lover, not when so much happiness was ahead in their future. "Someone else can-!" _

"_No. Any adult who attempts to be the container will die; their chakra coils will have matured and cannot sustain the Kyuubi's enormous chakra. Only an infant whose chakra coils are still developing can adapt to it." Minato looked at his still crying son. "Kushina was right. Whoever is cursed with the Kyuubi's burden will be shunned and thought of as a demon. It would be wrong…to choose someone other than our own son. As Hokage, I must put the needs of my people before my own, no matter what that means." Finally, he walked away._

_Jiraya couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Minato you're not making any sense! What do you mean you're the only one who can do it!? Hiruzen and I know that same technique!!" Nothing. "Stop it!! You have a future!! Don't throw it away!! Minato!!"_

"_Do me a favor, would you, old pervert?" Minato asked. Jiraya stopped, and couldn't bring himself to continue. Even if he were to attempt to hold Minato down, he was just as bad in shape as Minato was. "Let the old man know what I'm going to do, and tell him I want my son to be looked upon as a hero. Let the councils know that I do not wish for the next generation to know the Kyuubi still lives among them. I know that probably won't work, but it's better than assuming everything will just be alright." With that, Minato summoned a lesser toad. The coughed up blood that landed on the grass was a sign of how far he was pushing himself. "Either you will need to be Hokage now, or the old man will have to come out of retirement. I'd very much appreciate it if Orochimaru wasn't Hokage, but if the both of you feel it's the right move, I'll trust your judgment. If you choose to force the old man out of retirement…tell him I'm sorry for the trouble." Then Minato flashed him a smirk. A sad one, but a smirk nonetheless. "And thank you for everything…master…"_

_That was the last Jiraya would see of his disciple, as he bounded off for a final confrontation with the Kyuubi…_

* * *

Naruto just sat there in silence for the longest time. Jiraya anxiously awaited his response. "Naruto?"

Naruto snapped out of it, realizing he spaced out. "Sorry, Ero-senin. It's…it's just so much to take in!!"

"I understand." Truthfully, he would feel the same had someone told him a similar story.

Naruto tapped his fingers anxiously. "You mentioned another person. Someone named…Kushina. She sounded like a very important person to my dad."

Jiraya answered "Uzumaki Kushina is your mother." Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief, his mind drifting off again.

This time, Jiraya was more patient with him, as well as more confident with what he was telling him. After what seemed to be forever, Naruto finally recovered enough from his shock to speak. "That explains why I don't have my father's last name. They never married, did they?" he asked in a subdued voice.

Jiraya, for once throughout their conversation, smirked. "No. But they loved one another very much. In fact…the way their romance budded reminds me very much of how your relationship with Sakura occurred."

"REALLY!?" Naruto yelled.

"Yeah. With the gender roles reversed." Naruto blinked in confusion. Jiraya sighed, frustrated that as far as he's come, there were some simple things Naruto _still_ couldn't grasp. "Remember when you were younger, you had a crush on Sakura but she couldn't stand you?"

"Uh-huh."

"Back then, your mother had the crush on Minato, but he couldn't stand her. And I have to admit, at least by juvenile standards, she wasn't the prettiest girl. Not only that, but she was loud, boastful, claimed she was going to be better than everyone, and just got on everyone's nerves. I guess that's to be expected, given that she was without a family…"

"WHAT!?" Naruto yelled in disbelief, then reduced his voice to a whisper as his mind processed it. "You mean…they…they were both alone in the world?"

Jiraya answered "Pretty much. Minato never had any memory of a family. Kushina was different though; arguably more tragic. You see, she was from a different village, in Whirlpool Country. In fact, she was descended from the founder of Whirlpool Country, and to many considered to be a princess. She sure didn't act the part though. Anyway, she lost both her parents and her entire village to Mist. It was during the 2nd Great Shinobi War, when all the major ninja countries became military power houses and began to try to cut down on the competition. Those…those were hard times on all of us." Jiraya sighed.

Naruto started fidgeting; Jiraya could tell anymore would be too much. "I have so many questions…"

Jiraya then pulled out a scroll. "I know. It's a lot for one night, and you look as though you had enough. I suggest you go home and let it all settle in your mind. We'll talk more about it another time. But before you go, I have something for you." Jiraya pulled a tape out of the scroll, and handed it to Naruto. "Your mother wanted me to give this to you if something happened to her…which apparently something did."

Naruto hesitantly took the tape. "You mean…she was killed?"

Jiraya almost hesitated to answer; he himself was not prepared to tell Naruto. "I don't know. She was just…gone." Jiraya could easily sense the panic in Naruto's eyes. Anyone in his position would think that they were abandoned. "Naruto, your mother loved you so much. Whatever happened to her, she did not abandon you. She never would. You'll see for yourself in here. Just get some rest. You don't have to watch the tape now, but I want you to have it. I think it's past time you did."

Naruto got up, and then did something most unusual: he bowed. "Sorry, and thank you. I…I just need sometime to think."

Jiraya waved goodbye as Naruto took off, and reclined into his chair. "Kushina…just what DID happen to you?"

* * *

Naruto just stared at the tape for the longest time. He wanted so badly to find out what was on it, like what did his mother looked like. What was she going to tell him? But what stopped him was that he was also afraid of what he might see. Even if it turned out that she was the loving mother he wanted so desperately to remember, he would still break down in anguish. He just knew it. It would remind him of something he lost and couldn't even remember having. He admitted to himself that some of his pride as an adult told him not to seek comfort and have someone watch it with him. But there was one exception: Sakura. He knew Sakura would be there if he couldn't take it, and would never think any less of him. As absurd as it was, or should be, he felt she was the only one he could rely on. But it had to wait; she was in prison, following a trial. Who knew how long it would take? "Wait for me, mom. There's someone very special I want you to meet…before I finally get to meet you." Naruto set the tape in the case below the TV, which only had a few movies he really enjoyed. With that, Naruto went to bed, his head swimming with everything he was just told about his parents.

* * *

Days had passed. At least, that's what it felt like to Sakura. She couldn't tell. She heard that ninja cells were supposed to drive people mad to a point, but experiencing it first-hand was something else. In addition to not being aware of time, she had nothing to do. There was nothing in her cell for her to play with, the guards would not give her books (not that she could read them very well anyway, given the limited amount of light), and there was not enough space or any equipment to do her normal workouts, another safe-guard to ensure that if prisoners were released or escaped, they wouldn't be stronger than before. Even if she could find something in the way of exercise, it wouldn't be as effective with her chakra sealed off. The only other activity she could think of was not something she wanted to share with the guards. The vivid memory of her kiss with Naruto made it worse, how she wanted to do more than simply kissing him. "Well, I bet Danzo recommended these guards, and are a part of root. Knowing Sai, they probably have the libido of a rock…"Sakura mentally slapped herself. As true as that might be, she was NOT going to give them a show. Even worse was the fact that she was only fed food pills. The guards said it was better than prison food, but as true as it may be, terrible food would give her tongue and stomach some kind of sensation. "Kami, I'm going mad already." She muttered.

Just then, she heard footsteps. One of the ANBU soldiers was coming in and looked into her cell. He had a face on his mask, but Sakura had a feeling she knew who it was. "Hokage-sama ordered me to send you this message: 'Your trial will begin tomorrow.'"

Sakura smiled slightly. "Thank you…Sai." The guard did not respond, but then again, that was their sometimes teammate's nature. He turned and left. Sakura could see that the sun was beginning to set from her window. "Must be about six'o clock…"

* * *

Naruto rubbed the washcloth on his face. It was going to be a long day, and he needed to be alert. First was Sakura's trial, and he heard today's session was going to be a long one. Iori's would start after Sakura's trial finished. He was never a particularly good detective, and his eyewitness account for Sakura wasn't that powerful, plus many would think he was lying to protect them. Never before had he felt so useless…

Naruto was brought out of his musings when he heard a knock on his door. "Naruto! You ready?"

It was Kakashi! "Almost! Give me a minute!" Naruto made the final adjustments on his suit and tie and walked towards the door. Normally, he hated the formal clothes and the way they constrained him. But today and many other days to come, he could not afford any screw-ups. He opened the door, and greeted his sensei.

Like Naruto, he was also dressed up in a more formal, business-like suit. However…"Kakashi-sensei, take off the mask. Please…" the jinchuriki implored him, covering his own face with his palm.

Kakashi only smiled beneath the mask. "Uh, sorry…but no. The councils a long time ago decreed so long as I wished, the mask can stay on. That includes occasions like this."

Naruto grumbled. "Fine. Just don't get us kicked out."

The two made their way down the street to the courthouse. "It's been crazy ever since Sasuke left, hasn't it?" Kakashi asked. Naruto silently nodded in agreement. "Before I knew it, all of you had grown up so fast. I spent most of my time on the sidelines, watching you and Sakura do your own thing." Kakashi sighed as he remembered his own past. "After your elemental training, everything seemed to be smooth-sailing for you, and whatever you still had to learn, Jiraya took care of that. I was thinking of giving Sakura some attention, figuring she still needed some work on genjutsu. But by the time I asked her, she informed me Kurenai was already giving her instructions."

Naruto got curious about what he was getting at. Was Kakashi-sensei feeling…sad? Perhaps even jealous? Then Kakashi seemed to answer his thoughts. "Your father…he was a hundred times the sensei I ever was. While he firmly believed in his students learning independently, he always checked in with each of us to monitor our progress. He always guided us in terms of which ninjutsu skills to specialize in, once he found our affinities. Even during actual battles, in the 2nd Shinobi War…" Kakashi hated to think about that part. How Obito died for both Rin and him. "…he treated each battle like a lesson. Every time he sent us out on our own, it was like a test. But he would only do so if he believed in us, and he always made sure that he was never far behind in case something went wrong."

Naruto was now listening to him with keen interest. "Kakashi-sensei…you weren't that…"

"Naruto…when I was 8 years old, my father committed suicide. His teammates were in danger, and he abandoned a mission to save them. But because of that, many other Konoha ninja were killed in battle. He was shamed and ostracized, even by those he saved. One day, I came back home from the academy…and found him in the living room dead, his hands still clenching the knife he used to kill himself."

Naruto stopped walking, unable to even breathe. He suspected from time to time Kakashi had a tragic past, but he never imagined anything like this!

"After that day, in many ways, I became like Danzo, following the rules of the ninja world to an absolute. Minato-sensei, to a degree, brought me out of my shell. But I think my teammate, Obito, was the one who really got me going into letting go of the past." Naruto listened even more intently. "He was a lot like you, Naruto. Goofy, not very talented despite being an Uchiha, and LOUD. But, whenever I was around him, I felt…comfortable. Even happy. Like I could just let go of all my problems…of course, I still kind of acted like an ass towards him and Rin."

Naruto chuckled. "Ah, so you were kind of like teme back then."

Kakashi chuckled nervously. "Naruto, I think that comparison carries a different tone these days, if you know what I mean." Both had become aware of Sasuke's now criminal status, and it was uncomfortable for both of them. "But it's true." He confirmed.

Kakashi continued. "While we were on a mission in Earth Country, the kunoichi on our team, Rin, was kidnapped. We were supposed to destroy a bridge that aided the enemy. Obito insisted we go after Rin, and I insisted we put the mission first. We had an argument, and eventually in our frustrations, went our separate ways. But Obito, having learned about my father, told me this: 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are lower than trash.'" Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the same line Kakashi told his team when he was giving them the bell test. "Having learned about my father from Minato-sensei, he told me that my father was a true hero. I wanted to go forward without him, but I couldn't. Finally, I realized I had to be there for them. I wanted to. I came to their rescue as they were about to get killed, and rescued Rin. However, I was injured." Kakashi pointed to his concealed Sharingan. "Lost my eye in that fight. Without warning, an avalanche came down, and Obito shoved us out of the way. He was crushed, but still alive…barely. He then requested…"

"…for his sharingan to be implanted into your eye-socket, right?"

Kakashi was momentarily shocked by Naruto's perception. "Yes. After that he ordered me to take Rin and go. He loved her, and trusted me to take care of her. With his Sharingan, I was able to help her escape. And, in a way, I allowed him to see the world through my eyes, like we were one. Back then…and to this day. I realized that day that I had lost a true friend. Though it had been hard on your father as well, he pulled himself, me, and Rin together. We still managed to be a team…"

Naruto could easily sense the unease. "What happened? What DID tear you apart?" Kakashi still didn't answer. Then Naruto looked up at the Kage Mountain, looking at his father's face and it clicked. "Oh."

Kakashi nodded in conformation. "Once he was gone…everything seemed to fall apart." Naruto and Kakashi finally neared the judicial hall. "We can talk more about your father later, Naruto. I think it's best you come into this with a clear head, for Sakura's sake."

* * *

Due to Tsunade's close relation to Sakura, the councils would not allow her to be the judge as. Homura would be the judge instead to ensure neutrality. So, she quietly sat in the benches along with the rest Sakura's close friends. Tsunade noticed that Sakura's mother was in the benches, but her father was missing. Tsunade was sure that he had returned…she could only imagine why he didn't show up. Getting her mind back to the present, Jiraya sat next to her. Both suspected Danzo was working with Akatsuki trying to use Sakura against them…and predicted he would do everything he could to prevent her from being found not guilty.

"You've got it?" Tsunade whispered.

"Yeah. Hard to say how big an impact it would be, but I promise you it will put a dent in the prosecution's case. Everything else is beyond my control." Tsunade never questioned what that was. Jiraya could disappear and go anywhere he wanted; Tsunade had to stay within the Hokage tower, making the chances of espionage greater. Therefore, it was best that she herself did not know what he had up his sleeves. Then, the two sanin noticed Kakashi and Naruto walk over to them and take their seats. "You're all here." Tsunade acknowledged with a smile.

"We're waiting for a couple more." Naruto mentioned.

Then, Tsunade noticed Yuji making his way towards the same bench. "Miyamoto. I take it your foot is well?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, much better, Hokage-sama. Thank you again." Then Shiguri sat next to him. While he did not have any close relations to Sakura, he wanted to be there for someone close to his best friend and his sensei. As well as one other thing…

"Shiguri, what happened?" Naruto asked. Shiguri didn't wear any sunglasses, and though he applied make up to it, he could see hints of a black eye.

Shiguri didn't bother trying to deny it. "Well…let's just say gramps is not thrilled about me siding with you guys."

Naruto winced. Before the trial could start, he went over to Shiguri. "Hey…if it's alright with you, would you like to stay at my place? I've got a bed that I can pull out of the couch…"

Shiguri gave him a small smile. "Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I'm already staying with Yuji." Shiguri sighed and looked towards the court. "I've a feeling I'm not coming back home."

The group was interrupted as another voice chimed in. "Well, since this seems to be the seat for Sakura's closest friends, would we mind if we joined you?"

Naruto looked up to see Ino and Hinata, both dressed in conservative but form-fitting dresses. "Ino! Hinata! Thanks for showing up!" The two girls took their seats. "So, if you don't mind me asking, do you two have anything that may help?"

Ino sighed regretfully "No. Not me, anyway. That Danzo asshole outright forbade it, saying because we were best friends I would simply lie if I went into her mind. Thankfully, both councils agreed my dad should be part of the case. Danzo tried to block that to, but everyone is fond of him and knows he will be impartial to the ordeal. In practice, if not in heart."

It was Hinata's turn to speak. "I will be called as a witness eventually. Since I was involved in the operation, I have to be." Hinata turned her head towards Naruto. "And trust me, I will defend her. It would be odd to have a person nearly broken in two to defend the one who did that to her, right?" Naruto could only smile back. Even if this one day would turn out badly, he had a good feeling about the trial at the end.

"'Scuse us." Naruto noted that other members his generation of Konoha 11 had shown up. Since Naruto's bench was already full, they took seats wherever they could find them. It touched him to know that they all came for her.

Just then, Homura took the stage as judge and hit the gavel. "Everyone, please be seated." Everyone quieted down. "We will now begin the court martial of Haruno Sakura." With that announcement, ANBU guards came in, escorting Sakura in chains.

Naruto's heart sank as he looked at her. She looked tired, tired in the way only a ninja jail could make one. He could see how her eyes were very downcast. Then, she walked across from Naruto and saw him. She gave him a small but strong smile, which Naruto returned. _"She hasn't given up yet. Neither should I." _Everyone could see how she silently appreciated everyone being there.

Finally, it began. Sakura, of course, pleaded not guilty and gave her account of her predicament.

"So, you had no control over your actions?" Danzo asked, playing the part of the indifferent prosecutor.

Sakura could see he was anything but. "That's correct. It was like my mind and body was severed, with someone else pulling the strings. It was…surreal."

Danzo pulled out the whopper right there." Any reason we should believe you? Your teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, betrayed Konoha; I see no reason why you wouldn't either."

Sakura winced at the implicit use of Sasuke. "I have served Konoha faithfully for more than half a decade. Not only in the battlefield, but in medicine as well. Hokage-sama was the one who trained me, and I share her ideals. My best friends are still here with me in Konoha. I have no motive or desire to turn against Konoha. I could not even dare think of it under my free will."

Danzo said nothing, but turned and said "You are dismissed. I now call upon my first witness." The witnesses were the civilians who were present at the time. None if it went down as well as Danzo had hoped. Most of them never seen their abductors beyond the known Akatsuki members. Those who had seen Sakura could not confirm it for sure; the main reason was because while they caught a flash of pink hair, the eyes looked gray. One of Sakura's most striking features had always been her green eyes. The possibility of contacts being used were brought up, but Danzo knew that logically speaking, if Sakura was trying to disguise herself, Sakura would have used a lot more than contacts.

Then, he showed the tape. That was the moment Team 7 dreaded; while many had assured her and Tsunade they had a decent defense, even they had to admit that defending someone against taped evidence was a damn hard thing to do. The court room fell silent as they watched it. Naruto finally understood what everyone was telling him about the ultimate outcome. _"Even if we can convince the councils themselves it wasn't her fault…the village will still think that she betrayed them…"_

"…the video tape does not lie. I rest my case." Sakura's head hung low, and Naruto couldn't do anything for her.

Homura then announced "We will now have recess. We will adjourn in one hour, and now listen to the defense." With that, everyone left. Except for the 2 remaining members of Team 7, Naruto's two students, the two Sanin and the Konoha 11.

Naruto walked up to approach her, only to have the ANBU guards draw their swords. "We are aware of your relationship with the defendant; however, we are under orders to treat her as a dangerous criminal. Any contact is strictly forbidden. I'm sorry."

Naruto growled, but shrugged it off. "You alright, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura turned to face him, looking utterly defeated. "No. I'm not…" Naruto could tell she was about to cry. Naruto's face scowled, and looked straight at one of the two guards. The two looked at him, then her, then each other.

Finally, one of the guards sheathed his sword and sighed. "Fine. But don't tell anyone we allowed it."

"Bi!"

"Just this once, Ha, I'd like to have a heart. Wouldn't you?" His companion grumbled, and though skeptical, withdrew his sword. They would still observe of course.

Finally, Sakura clung onto Naruto and cried. She didn't let it all out, but it helped. "I'm scared…"

"…so am I…" Naruto assured her. After 5 minutes, she forced herself to stop crying. "Sakura-chan, let it all out…"

"I appreciate the offer, but I can't go looking like a wreck now. I just needed that little bit…"

Naruto sighed. Sakura could be as stubborn as he was, but she had a point; this was not the time to let their emotions get the better of them. "Listen…" Naruto pulled out a scroll, and revealed a bento sushi box. "I know it's not much, but…"

"OH NARUTO, THANK YOU!!" Sakura's shriek nearly gave Naruto a heart attack, and didn't notice the quick peck from Sakura.

"Y-you're welcome, I…" Naruto had to prevent his mouth from gaping in disbelief as he saw Sakura eat everything.

Still, it didn't go noticed by the pink-haired kunoichi. "What?" Her eyes then widened in realization. _"AHHH!! How could I have been so stupid!?"_ "I'm so sorry Naruto!! I-It's just that back in prison I was fed nothing but food pills, and I just missed having real food in my stomach!!"

Naruto waved his hand. "Don't worry about it, please! I'm just glad you enjoyed it."

The two shared a brief laugh. Then, Sakura turned her attention to everyone else there. "Ino!" I-"

Ino held up her hand. "Don't apologize; you weren't yourself. I'm just glad you're okay!" She then looked between her and Naruto, and smiled devilishly. "So, I take it the two of you have made up…"

Sakura just went "Uh, yeah…"

"So, tell me! I want all the juicy details…" Naruto and Sakura didn't like the smile, the way she rubbed her hands and the look in her eyes.

"For the love of kami, Ino-pig!! We didn't have time for anything!"

Ino had to lean on her knees has she laughed. "I'm just messing with you! I'm just glad all is well; I was worried that you prison might…change you." Ino had to stifle another laugh.

Sakura growled as a vein popped in her head, embarrassed by the implication. "For your information Ino-pig, I saw no one else." Her scowl then turned into a devious smile. "I wonder; perhaps you were concerned because YOU secretly…"

Ino clamped her hand over Sakura's mouth. "Geez, forehead, don't give that sanin pervert any ideas!!"

A vein on Jiraya's forehead popped, while Tsunade just chuckled. "Don't worry; I'm sure he's thought of something like that already."

This caused everyone, even the two ANBU guards, to burst out laughing at his expense "Why me…" the old hermit cried.

The conversation turned more serious as Sakura addressed Hinata. Naruto cringed at the tears starting to form in her eyes. "Hinata. I…"

"Please stop blaming yourself, Sakura-san. You were in trouble, and I did what I had to help." Hinata chuckled a little bit. "To be fair, I'd much rather not go through that again, thank you very much. But seeing you free in mind and body is more than enough. My job's not done yet; I have to step up during the defense for you."

Sakura quickly pulled Hinata into a hug, catching her by surprise. "Thank you, thank you so much! I promise, I'll make it up to you!!"

Hinata's old self came back for a minute. "S-sure. What a-are friends for?"

Sakura relinquished her hold on Hinata and got a better hold on herself. Then, she turned to her own part-time student. "Yuji…I heard from Shishou you were hurt badly in the last battle. How-"

"No, not the last battle! That motherfucker tortured me for days before I even got there!!" the juvenile shouted. Everyone was stunned by the normally shy and humble kid's outburst. Realizing the awkward situation, Yuji corrected himself." I mean, yeah, but I'm all better now!"

Naruto interrupted him shouting "We should have seen him, Sakura-chan! My team was in a bad situation, and with a mangled foot, he turned it around and even managed to kill his opponent!" Naruto shut himself up when he remembered how sensitive Yuji was about killing. "Yuji, I-"

Yuji held up his hand, silencing his sensei. "It's alright. True, I don't like it, but I signed up to be a ninja. It comes with the territory, and I just have to live with it. I'm not going to kill unless I have to, but if I do…I'm prepared."

Sakura smiled slightly, and rubbed his head. "I think our little Yuji has grown up."

Yuji's face blushed bright red, and nearly yelled "Hey, cut it out! And who said you could rub my head!"

"I'm sorry, but who called me Sakura-nechan before we had to head out to the front?" Yuji's face turned an even darker shade of red.

Shiguri laughed and elbowed his friend. "You dodged a kunai there! I was just about to sing the kissing in a tree song for you two!"

That earned him a good whack from everyone around him. "I'd prefer it if you didn't put that image in our head, please!" Sakura yelled.

Shiguri rubbed his head, and then got serious. He bowed and said "Sakura-sensei. I wanted to tell you, I am so, so sorry for what my grandfather is doing! I don't agree with what he's doing, I know it's wrong!"

Sakura was taken back by his statement, but smiled slightly. "Shiguri, you don't have to-

"Yes, I do! He's not just prosecuting you, or enforcing his beliefs! He's really trying his hardest to throw you in prison!"

Naruto sighed. "We already know that."

"What!? I know my grandfather is not exactly an angel, but why-"

"I'll explain it to you later. Right now, we need to get ready for our part of the story." Naruto ended the conversation right there.

* * *

Finally, the defense came. Shikaku would act in Sakura's defense. Danzo knew he was a sharp one, but he didn't realize the extent of what everyone did to help Sakura, weakening his case. While he was having doubts he could throw Sakura in jail, he was sure it would be difficult enough to dissuade the councils' initial impressions of the tape. "Still, in the long run, I can work whatever results I get to my advantage."

First came the testimony of many of her peers; most of them didn't have anything significant to contribute.

Naruto's testimony was the last one; while he imagined the Shinobi council would be swayed by his account, for the civilian council which did not know much about Akatsuki, that wouldn't be enough.

"So, the goal of the Akatsuki is to extract Biju…correct?" One of the councilors from the civilian council inquired Naruto.

"Correct."

"And you have the Kyuubi."

Naruto stayed silence for a moment, knowing the stigma that came with it. "Yes."

"Then why would you protect her?"

"Because, as I said, she was being controlled by the group in order to get to me!" the jinchuriki angrily retorted.

"It sounds more to me that you're protecting a traitor, despite your best interests…much like you did with…"

Shikaku interrupted the council member. "I recommend you keep your opinions to yourself until we ask for your verdict, or we can expel you from the trial!" He then turned his attention back to Naruto. "You claim it was the piercings on her face that controlled her?"

"Yes."

"And what happened after they were removed?"

"She was more or less back to normal."

"And did she help you take out the remaining 2 Akatsuki?"

"She couldn't. A fight with Hyuuga Hinata sealed her chakra, and on top of that, she was exhausted." Naruto went on to tell them about how Jiraya unsealed his stomach, Tobi's aid, and how it ended.

"Very well. You are dismissed."

Homura then shouted "We will resume tomorrow at 8 am!" With the sound of the gavel, the court split.

Naruto could only watch helplessly as Sakura was taken away. But, as usual, he did what he could to keep her spirits up. "Hey! I'll bring some Umeboshi next time!!" The small smile from Sakura did not go unnoticed.

* * *

Naruto, despite his demeanor at the end of the trial, wasn't in high spirits. How could he be? Though he didn't believe it would do the trick today, he decided to venture to Ichiraku for a few bowls of ramen. As he walked up, he took a seat. "Some pork ramen, please." He said towards the kitchen, not looking up.

"Sure thing, Naruto-kun!" That wasn't Teuchi…

Naruto perked up when he realized Ayame was the one who answered him. "Ayame-chan…where's the old man?"

Ayame didn't answer him for a moment, suddenly sporting a more downcast expression. "He's in the hospital. Heart attack."

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked down at the table. He always felt that he knew enough about Teuchi and his daughter to keep tabs on them, but the war and Sakura's predicament changed things dramatically. "Oh. I'm so sorry…"

Ayame turned around smiling "Oh, don't be, Naruto-kun! It's nobody's fault. He's…he's just getting old. The doctors say he'll pull through, but he's been forced to retire."

A sudden but quick pain struck Naruto as he realized he may never see Teuchi work at this stand again. "So, you're here by yourself? It has to be tough…"

"Well, yes, but with the war, business has been slow lately, so I'm getting by…anyway, pork ramen, right? Coming up!" She turned back to the Ayame Naruto knew and got to work.

As Ayame got to work, Naruto sensed a familiar presence. "What brings you here, Ero-senin?"

Jiraya smiled and took his seat. "Just checking in with you." Ayame asked for his order as she cooked Naruto's, but Jiraya let her know he was fine. "I'll be out of here in a minute."

"Just depressed that we couldn't get Sakura out today." Naruto stated.

"It's going to be tough, Naruto, but we'll manage. I promise you." Jiraya rose and said "That's all, kid. See ya tomorrow…"

"Wait." Naruto grabbed the sage's sleeve before he walked away. "I would like to ask you something."

Jiraya was curious, but smiled and sat back down. "Okay. What?"

"I'd like to ask you something about my parents…how they fell in love." Naruto barely got that last part out.

Jiraya's eyes lit up. "You didn't look at the tape?" he asked curiously

Naruto flinched, feeling ashamed of himself. "I can't. Laugh if you want….but I would very much like Sakura-chan to watch it with me."

"I understand." The toad sage acknowledged with a knowing smile. Jiraya leaned forward as he began. "Well, I don't know all the details, but it was just something that happened between them overtime. Kushina didn't start out that good as a kunoichi, but Minato noticed how hard she worked and helped her at times. Soon, much to his annoyance, she kept asking him for help and though he expressed frustration, he always did it in the end. Of course, if he refused, she would have pounded him." Jiraya chuckled as he thought of the few times she did that to him. "Eventually she was starting to rival your father. Then one day, we were attacked by an S-class criminal named Kuroinsei and his gang of rogue ninjas. It took me and the other 2 sanin combined to gradually weaken him. Minato and Kushina had to work together, and from what I heard they did so very well; they perfectly complemented one another even. However, as good as your father was, he was not invincible. A kunai hit him, and sent him falling from the 3rd floor of a building. That didn't kill him, but the one who threw it was about to. I was on top of one my toads, helping Tsunade and Orochimaru deal with the Kuroinsei guy. From on top of Gamabunta, I was able to see what was going on, but due to our injuries, I wasn't sure I could make it in time. As I hurried along, it looked like your dad wouldn't make it…but then Kushina got between him and Minato, taking the ninjato that was meant for him. Suddenly, Minato flew into a rage, and gathered rotating chakra in his hand. That…"

"…that was how my father completed the Rasengan. To protect my mother…" He could just see it like it was a movie.

"Yes. He ran on his arm and good leg like an animal, and hit the number 2 man in the chest. I'll never forget the agonizing scream he made, and how his body was sent spinning through four buildings. He didn't seem to recognize that, though. He got to Kushina as soon as he could, and did his best to get her to Tsunade. Thankfully, Orochimaru finally landed the killing blow on our opponent, allowing Tsunade to focus her attention on treating people. It didn't look good for your mother; not even Tsunade was certain she would make it. But she was strong, and she pulled through. Eventually, when they both fully recovered, your dad asked her out on a date, as a token of his thanks. Naturally, she was quite excited, and wouldn't stop jumping around and screaming. You should have seen the look on your father's face!! He thought he just doomed himself!"

Jiraya laughed and soon Naruto began laughing with him. "So, my mother was like me? I admit, I'm a bit silly myself, but I just can't imagine a girl with my personality!

Jiraya finally calmed down and continued with his story. "Anyway, he went through with it, and it changed him forever. He was still the same Minato I knew, but every time someone would mention Kushina when they were separated…he would just give this distant look." Jiraya sighed, but he was smiling. "Soon, he stopped doing research with me, and every time I went to look for him, he would be with Kushina. Your mother and father, despite some differences, found that they had a lot in common, and could feel like themselves without fear whenever they were near each other. And I have to admit, your mother did become quite beautiful with age. Eventually, it became more intimate…and here you are before us."

Naruto gulped when he mentioned "intimate" and nothing about marriage. "You mean…"

Jiraya firmly patted him on the shoulder. "No need to worry. You were just unexpected; but when Kushina found out she was pregnant…the two of them were overjoyed. Oh, and you know what the real kick was?"

Naruto nodded dumbfounded. "They named you after a character in one of my books!" Jiraya then realized his mistake; he could almost see, in slow motion, Naruto about to jump up and panic. Quickly, Jiraya grabbed a hold of him. "Wait!! It wasn't from one of my Icha Icha books!!! It was from one of my very first books, having nothing to do with sex!!! Honest!"

Naruto's face seemed to turn back to normal, but then shot him a glance of skepticism. "Well, what IS that book about, because you forced me to read every novel you published back then, and truth be told, the few books I do own from you I only read for the smut. I'm not aware of you writing anything else"

Jiraya wanted to deny that, but it was best to stay on subject. "It was an adventure book, one about the kind of ninja I wanted to be when I was young. Minato read it, and liked the book, and asked me if they could name you after the main character. I wasn't sure at first, but Kushina liked the idea too, so that's how you came to be named."

"How come I never heard of the book?" Naruto asked, still not believing him.

"Because it was a flop financially. So…I went ahead and did adult fiction instead." Naruto palmed himself in disbelief. Jiraya winced as he admitted to his student "Yeah, I know; I gave up. And after working so hard to create a character who wouldn't do that…"

The two were interrupted when Ayame's lovely voice chimed in. "I'm sorry for the wait, Naruto-kun!! Here's your ramen, just the way you like it! I added some extra pork in there for you too!"

Naruto was caught off guard by Ayame's gesture. "Ayame-chan!! You didn't have to do that!"

Ayame dismissed his reply. "But I wanted to, Naruto-kun! I understand you're going through a hard time!"

Naruto was about to ask her what she was talking about, but then it occurred to him: Sakura. "Oh." Naruto slowly took in some Ramen. "Thank you so much, Ayame-chan." He said between bites.

"You don't have to thank me, Naruto-kun. You've always been our best customer; I wish I could be on the civilian council to help you, but I need to support my father right now."

"Don't beat yourself over it; I understand completely." The jonin still said between mouthfuls.

Jiraya, deciding it was time for him to leave Naruto to eat in peace, rose from his seat and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "I've got to get going. You enjoy your meal, and I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

"I'm glad to have found you all. I only wish I could participate with you, but even with the best medicine, you can clearly see that time will take me any day now. Despite our…differences, the Sandaime and I knew that we would always need new, young ones such as yourselves to carry on our legacy and protect the village. If only the current generation were as smart and as experienced as you all."

Danzo addressed a group of adults, ranging in age between 30 and 50. Some were civilians; others were ninja but were now working their way up to the council. Like him, they shared his extreme views, but never took an interest in politics…until now.

"I always knew the jinchuriki would be trouble in the end; I just never imagined that he would sway so many people to view him as one of us…"

"This generation is spoiled; in the Sandaime's arrogance to keep the existence of jinchuriki secret, he has made the village dangerously naïve…"

"And now the Akatsuki is hunting these Biju. We can't allow them to obtain Kyuubi. By any means necessary."

Danzo smiled evilly. "To ask both councils and the Hokage to kill him will be a waste of time. I suggest you use some of my own private ninja to investigate other jinchuriki around the continent; I'm sure we'll find compelling evidence to make the masses view him with the contempt they once had. There's one more thing: You need to make plans for a new Hokage. Tsunade won't be Hokage for much longer; despite her medical abilities, she will be retiring soon. She's approaching 60, and is already past her prime. I suggest you all go about who to select for the next Hokage."

"We will. That will take years, though."

"Take your time; you'll have plenty of it." The leader of Root replied, bowing respectfully.

Danzo walked away on his cane, back to his mansion. Although he was still sadden that his dream would not be reached, at least other individuals would carry it on for him. In death, he will have created the stepping stones to destroying Sarutobi's own legacy. Finally, his servants opened his mansion gates, allowing him easy access. Although long retired, Danzo's senses were still on par with other ninja, and sensed a presence inside. It wasn't anything threatening; just angry. He made note of Shiguri, standing there in the dark. "Decided to finally crawl back?" the old man asked indifferently.

"You know something about Sakura the others don't, don't you?" Danzo ignored him and walked to his easy chair. "Well!? Answer me!!"

Danzo sighed irritably. "So what if I did? Would someone you simply suspect of being guilty confess outright? Would strong denial be enough to convince everyone else? As usual, you're nothing but a worthless child."

Shiguri did his best to pretend the words didn't hurt him. "I find it too convenient that you were the one who brought that tape to the council's attention."

"Believe what you will; I am simply doing my duty. The only reason I tell the guards not to bar you from my home is because we are relatives, even if you are in fact a bastard child; you should be grateful for that and learn some respect. At least unlike Tsunade…I was actually interested in finding your mother after your father was killed."

Shiguri tried to retort, but he couldn't. _"Tsunade? And my mother? But if she knew…she would have! Right?" _The words wouldn't come out. Finally, he took out his frustration on the nearest wall and left a nice dent in it with his fist. His head became jumbled in chaos as he stormed out.

Trusting his senses that he was gone, and making sure the place wasn't bugged, he went to his bedroom.

"Everything is ready, Danzo-sama." An unknown root ninja addressed him.

"Excellent. Proceed." The nin disappeared, and Danzo simply looked into the moon. "Let's see how you handle this, Uzumaki. If this won't cause you to snap…well, I'll just have to take more desperate measures." Danzo's mouth curved into a wicked smile.

* * *

"Five minutes, as usual!" the guards yelled.

Sakura grimaced. "Cold showers. Oh joy." Sakura quickly stepped into the bathroom, discarding her uniform. The guards looked away the entire time, but she was suspicious as always. It was irrelevant in the end; this place was a hell-hole as it was, and any peeping toms wouldn't add anything to it. Sakura just wanted to get this part over with. Quickly, she stepped in and turned the water on. "AHHH!!" Sakura yelped as the cold water hit her body. Sakura gritted her teeth, and applied the soap to her body. "I'll be lucky if I don't die of pneumonia by now." It also unnerved her how she was showering in a jail. Though there were no other inmates, the kunoichi still felt uneasy. Especially when considering her chakra was sealed. "Stay calm, girl. Remember what shishou taught you…"

* * *

_A 13-year old Sakura collapsed on her knees. She never felt so exhausted before. _

"_Get up, Sakura!!" Tsunade came down on her with a kick, which she barely managed to dodge. That did not protect her from the shockwave that sent her flying though. _

"_AHHHH!!!" Sakura already had a good grasp of Tsunade's super strength; but Tsunade had seal experts seal off her chakra, and today, she was being forced to fight Tsunade without it. Worse, Tsunade threatened that unless she made satisfactory progress, she would not remove it. _

"_Your chakra won't always be there when you need it, Sakura! What will you do when that happens!? Give up!? Or find a way around it!?" Tsunade launched her kunai, which Sakura leapt over. _

_Though she successfully avoided them, she could feel how much strain it was putting on her body. She never had the most stamina in her graduating class, but she felt she was moving as though she was sick. Substitutions would do her no good either. Sakura ducked for cover as her master chucked a boulder at her. "I should just beg and give up…" _

_But then she remembered Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke, who was a born prodigy and now needed her help. Naruto, who started out as a dunce but worked hard and became one of the strongest genin of their generation. "NO!!! I made a promise…!" _

_Tsunade walked towards her student threateningly. "Last chance, Sakura!! Your training will mean nothing if you cannot fight under the worst of conditions!!" _

_Tsunade charged, but this time, Sakura was ready. She threw kunai with explosive tags attached. Tsunade dodged every one of them. "Not good enough!" _

"_I'm not done yet!!" At the same time, Sakura threw a smoke bomb down. Tsunade simply responded by executing a powered-up roundhouse, blowing the smoke away. But then something happened that she didn't see coming: Sakura threw lose soil in her eyes! Tsunade was blinded, if only for a split second. "Now's my chance!!" Sakura leapt onto the tall woman, and pulled out a kunai. She made a motion to stab Tsunade, coming within a hair's reach of her throat, and stopped. _

_Tsunade took note of it, and smiled. "Very good. You learned to never give up, and use every tool you had available to you. You were also smart to go for an area that would have killed me instantly, instead of taking a chance to just wound me. You pass." _

_Sakura smiled, and withdrew her kunai…and suddenly felt herself collapse in searing pain. Tsunade smirked, and held up a hand forming a chakra scalpel. "Of course, you were nowhere close to killing me." It took Sakura all of her willpower not to cuss out her teacher._

* * *

"…good times…" Sakura smiled, trying to distract herself from the cold water just enough to make it bearable.

* * *

The two guards stood at the door, seemingly emotionless. Though their behavior with her was strict, personally they admired her work, and were saddened to see her go through this. They also had enough experience dealing with prisoners to more or less see a guilty man or an innocent one. Judging by her behavior, they were pinning on the later. Still, they had a job to do, and sadly it was not judging her ultimate fate.

One of the guards was then distracted by the sound of something rolling, like a marble. His partner heard it to, and they both drew their swords. Finally they found the marble rolling towards them…and before they could react, an explosion of smoke blanketed them. "Quick! Get Haruno and…and…" It was too late for both of them, as they both passed out.

Just then, a large man walked towards the showers. He was extremely muscular, and covered in scars. His head was bald, and he wore a simple prison uniform. "So, this is it." he noted.

"Yes." Another voice said from somewhere unknown said within the walls. "I assume you'll have no problem with this job?"

"For my freedom…" the man grinned madly. "…I don't require much. And to be honest, when you told me exactly who she was, I would have gladly done this for the fun of it! I presume you've brought my weapon?"

Upon his request, the masked ninja removed a scroll, and pulled out a fearsome weapon. It strongly resembled Zabuza's sword, but instead of a handle, the blade was attached by a chain. The man picked the blade up carefully like it weighed nothing. "Excellent. My master will be pleased, and he has already prepared a carriage and ship for you." The unknown person instructing him disappeared.

The man just smiled. "Hmph. Time to get to work." He eagerly began swinging his weapon in anticipation.

* * *

Sakura quickly dried off and dressed. The first thing she was going to do when she got out of this was to make a trip to the bathhouse. "Shit, I shouldn't have thought of that." It was never good to tempt one's self with things that were out of reach. She opened the door and prepared for her day in court. "Okay, I'm-" She noticed the guards were lying down, limp as ragdolls. Quickly, she checked their pulse. "Oh don't worry; they're not dead. But they probably soon will be!!" Even with her chakra sealed, Sakura's shinobi instincts took over. Not only did she dodge the weapon, but she carried her guards with her. She looked up to the cave ceiling and nearly panicked. She knew this man! Muscular, covered in scars, shaved head….but what she remembered most was the weapon. Had he trained harder, he could have become a weapons master on par with the Seven Mist Swordsman. During a minor war with another village, she fought him and defeated him easily; he survived only because of his cooperation after capture. "Gekido Raiu."

The large man laughed. "I'm glad you remembered me! I remember you…that pink-haired bitch that took me down in one blow, and healed me only to have me interrogated and sent to that hellhole in the capital! I thought it was only natural that I return the favor…"

Sakura got into a defensive stance. "I've beaten you before. What makes you think this time will be any different?" At this point, a bluff was her best chance.

But Raiu did not buy it. "What kind of a fool would fall for that? I know your chakra is sealed off, same as any other ninja prisoner! And…" He showed his wrists, which lacked the seal markings she had. "…my boss gave mine back. I'll admit I'm a bit rusty, but as you are now, you will still be a great warm up!"

Quickly, Sakura leaped out of the way, and threw a shuriken she took from the pouches of her fallen guards. Raiu easily blocked it with his chain, and swung the sword at Sakura. The kunoichi side-stepped, and made a run for it. Raiu decided to play along for now. While taking the sleeping guards as hostages would have proven efficient, he hated using hostages; it made it look like he was weak. Sakura, having her chakra sealed, made it bad enough and he wasn't about to stoop any lower. Quickly, he followed her into the caverns.

Sakura hoped she could get away from him; it didn't seem likely. But if she had to fight him…she would just have to find a way to win. Suddenly, a chain grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall on her face. Quickly, she was yanked so hard she worried her leg would be popped out of its socket. She almost didn't see the blade in time, but successfully arched her body over it, and grabbed onto Raiu's shoulder. As soon as gravity took it's course, Sakura took out another shuriken and stabbed the rogue nin in the neck.

Raiu screamed, and slammed Sakura away with a back fist. Sadly, she didn't get a fatal spot. "I must really be getting soft, to allow someone like you in your condition to nearly kill me!" He pulled the star out and pulled Sakura, still caught in his chain, towards him. He lifted Sakura into the air and began to choke her. Sakura kicked his chin a couple of times, but without her chakra she only had the strength of an average woman; not much good against a large muscle man like him. "Sucks to be you, doesn't it?" He saw that Sakura was struggling to keep her mouth shut, fighting the mechanics of her own body. "Looks like you got something to say. Well, out with it then, let it all out! Or do I need to help you…" He squeezed tighter, and Sakura's moth opened wide…spitting out dirt into Raiu's eyes. "AAAHHHH!!" He let go of Sakura, who freed herself and ran away as fast as she could.

"There's only one way to beat him…"

* * *

Raiu ran back to the cavern where he first attacked Sakura. "Doubt she needs to wash herself." The only logical explanation would be that she was setting up trap. But how? She might have gotten the swords from the two guards, but not only was she only an average swordsman, the weapons were inferior to his own. He looked around, unable to find her. However, he saw the guards have been robbed of their swords. Then, he heard running water coming from the shower room. "Odd…" Figuring that's where he would find her, he walked inside.

He opened the door, finding all of the faucets running ice-cold water, causing the whole floor to flood. And right in front of him was Sakura, holding the two ninjato. "You're so stupid." Raiu sighed. "You may as well kneel while I cut your head off; no point in fighting the inevitable, and it's quicker."

Sakura just looked at him with her best killer face. "Then why are you afraid to come over here?"

Raiu growled, took a step…and quickly retreated back when he felt himself about to slip. He looked down at the floor, noticing the remaining shuriken Sakura had borrowed was jammed into the floor, with their sharp points sticking straight up. "Almost had me there." Without a word, he threw his heavy blade, which Sakura ducked, leaving the blade to hit only a concrete wall. What Raiu did not know was that the water tanker was behind that wall, and his blade punctured it, releasing highly pressurized water directly towards him, sending him flying out the doorway, while Sakura crouched down and used the blades to hold her in place.

* * *

Raiu tried to get his bearings straight, but like any human being, his body could only recover on its own time. When it seemed his senses kicked back in, something snaked around his neck. In his position, even an average man would have no trouble dragging someone like him with proper leverage. He looked down to notice it was his own chain that choked his neck. Sakura pulled him towards the stair rail, and wrapped it there. She then pulled his wrists behind him…that part took a lot of work…and wrapped his chain around them behind his back. His blade would keep him anchored. But just in case that didn't work, Sakura impaled Raiu's leg with one of the two ninjato she acquired. Raiu screamed in both pain and rage; any movement now would sever his leg.

Quickly, Sakura pointed the other sword at Raiu's throat. "Can't believe I lost to a bitch like you again, and when you were practically delivered to me on a silver platter." He whispered under his breath.

"I am the Hokage's apprentice after all, and in all honesty your village hyped you up quite a bit." Sakura pushed the blade against the skin of his neck, making sure he would bleed but not die. "Who sent you? Tell me!!"

Before she could get an answer, someone grabbed her and carried her away with the speed and grace only a ninja can have. Sakura was about to fight him off, but suddenly an explosion rocked the cave. Sakura looked back in shock as Raiu was reduced to a blackened spot on the floor. "Suicide? No…he didn't behave like he knew he was going to die! Someone was controlling him without knowing it…" Sakura then looked up to her rescuer: Sai!

Quickly, Sai dispelled summons that were protecting Sakura's guards. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner, Sakura. I suspected something, but I didn't receive word of it until it was almost too late."

Sai then turned to Sakura, quickly checking whatever wounds she received. He wasn't a medic-nin, but any ninja in his position knew how to spot potentially fatal wounds and at least treat them until a proper doctor could see them. "Good, nothing serious. Anyway, I can't say who and why…but I think you know."

Sakura's eyes widened, and she gave a slight nod. _"Danzo…" _"Sai, don't tell N-"

"No. He has a right to know. After all…I think you know keeping the truth from him will only hurt him, even if it's meant to protect him. I'm sure personal experience taught you that much, am I right?"

Sakura's lips quivered, but realized Sai was right. Naruto had to know; he had been, after all, concerned for her everyday since her arrest.

Sai wrapped a towel around her, and was about to depart as she tried to dry her prison uniform. However, he stopped. There was something he needed to say. "Sakura…I owe you and Naruto an apology. I haven't been the friend I should have, the one I wanted to be. I swear, I will make it up to you both." The guards began to wake up, and Sai vanished.

* * *

Naruto was worried. He heard a frantic knocking on the door as he was getting ready for court, and found out it was Kakashi, who looked unusually distraught. Naruto was told that today had been canceled. He was then told to come to the Hokage's office within two hours. Naruto tried to think of all the reasons a trial would be suspended and what was important enough for him to meet with Tsunade at the same time. He couldn't think of anything…and that worried him.

Finally, he reached Tsunade's office. But they weren't alone; Kakashi, Jiraya, Yamato the Konoha 11 of his generation, and even Sai were there.

"Naruto, glad you can make it." The Hokage noted.

Naruto noticed the serious looks everyone was giving him. In fact, Ino in particular seemed to be trying to stop herself from crying. "Does this have anything to do with why court has been suspended?"

Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. There was an incident earlier this morning. We don't know how, but Sakura was attacked."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Is she-"

"She's fine, but it nonetheless unnerved her. The attacker himself was a ninja who Sakura herself defeated quite sometime ago; he was locked away in the capital, but he was brought here somehow. Raiu didn't have any resources to bribe someone to take him here…which means that someone hired his skills to attack Sakura when she was vulnerable."

Naruto could only think of one person. "Danzo. He had her attacked to get to me."

Tsunade nodded. "Correct. Sadly, we have no physical evidence to convict him. But that's not the main reason I summoned you all here…due to this incident, the shinobi council has agreed to shorten the trial for her safety. Basically, each side gets one day to present their case. We'll be in court for nearly 12 hours on each day, and this is normally considered extreme and unnecessary. But because someone is clearly trying to harm Sakura, they're willing to go through with this, on the condition that if they find her innocent, she will be put under surveillance for a month. It works both ways, as it can also be used for her protection. However, despite that, I'm sure Danzo will do everything he can to make sure we don't pull this off."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Okay. Tell me what you need us to do."

* * *

Sai entered his home after the meeting as discreetly as he could; he had to leave, less Danzo finally decided to terminate him. As usual, he looked around to see signs of anyone unwanted breaking in. He set up a number of home-made security systems to make sure of that. It looked okay so far. In a place as barren as his, one could easily see if anything was out of sync. But he was experienced in getting in and out of the messiest homes without leaving a trace, and so were his root comrades. "There's one last place I have to check."

He went to the middle of his room, and opened a trap door, which normally contained his drawings inside. But when he lifted the door, he noticed a tag. "Oh-"

An explosion rocked the small apartment. It seemed unlikely that even most skilled ninjas could have survived it untouched.

* * *

Naruto would probably be furious with Jiraya if he saw him now, and would chide him into trying to get his case ready. But he had his case ready for several days now…taking some time for a little research wasn't going to hurt anything.

Normally, Jiraya wouldn't get this close to the bath house, but he found the most beautiful butt he had ever seen, and for this he HAD to get a close-up. "Oh yeah, that's it. Lift it a little more…niiiccceee…"

On the other side of a bath house, the woman currently under Jiraya's gaze tapped a small radio in her ear. "Target is distracted. Take him out."

"_Roger." _

As the sanin was still jotting down notes, something whizzed in the air and struck him in the neck. After the initial pain, the sanin found his world spinning, and his breaths growing shorter and shorter. "No…not now…" With that, Jiraya collapsed on the ground. It was a good five minutes before someone found him and called for help.

* * *

"…I see. Is that all?" Tsunade asked the investigator, still in shock from news of Jiraya's death.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I'm sorry." He answered, quickly tucking his clipboard under his arm.

Though she was sad, oddly, she shed no tears. Facing away from him, she finally said "I've had a long day. I think I'll be turning in." With that, she slammed the door in his face.

The investigator left. It was odd…it seemed she just wanted to hear the details of Jiraya's death and be done with it. Such a behavior usually suggested that person would be the killer, but in Tsunade's case, there was no rational motive to substantiate such a claim. Well, it wasn't his job anyway; an investigation would be conducted in full, and they would find the real killer soon enough (or so they would try), and he took his leave.

In her office, instead of leaving and going to bed, Tsunade anxiously waited for a phone call. She wasn't worried about her phone being tapped; Danzo may be crafty, but he wasn't stupid enough to try and bug the office of the Hokage. What she was worried about was that he tapped into others' phones; phones in the residencies of people she was in contact with…The phone finally rang, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Quickly, she picked it up. "Hello?"

"_It's done."_ A familiar voice said over the phone.

"Excellent. And what about him?"

"_He's fine, but in hiding. Danzo tried to do him in too." _

"Are you sure your phone isn't tapped?"

"_Don't worry; I'm using a phone booth." _

She was glad that the council had approved the budget to install those earlier. "Okay; attend tomorrow as planned." Quickly, she hung up.

* * *

Danzo walked over to his seat. He had finished his prosecution of Sakura last night, and now there was nothing more he could do. He was shocked that Sakura actually managed to kill the man he sent to her cell; he had seen even better ninja than her have their chakra sealed away and fall to low-life thugs. Even so, surely just the news of it should have sent the jinchuriki into a blind rage and unleash some of the Kyuubi. As he looked at Naruto, he could see that he was clearly in control. "How can this be? Could Kizu have been wrong? No…even if he was mistaken, they are still teammates who embrace Hiruzen's ideals. Even mere friendship should trigger something, just like it did for Uchiha Sasuke! Breaking Namikaze's son is a harder task than I realized…Kizu was right in asking me to call upon successors; I'll never be able to accomplish that in whatever time I have left…" Nothing more he could do now; just see what fate had decided.

Now it was time for Sakura's defense. As planned, Kakashi went up first. There were fears of bias, but due to his reputation everyone readily accepted Kakashi coming to his student's defense. Shikaku interrogated him, and the Copy-nin gave his testimony. Then, Shikaku asked Kakashi "Are you ready to bring him out?" Kakashi nodded, and Shikaku addressed the two councils. "I now call upon a witness that we've kept secret from you for military reasons. Be warned, he is a little…strange." With that, Kakashi unveiled a scroll, and summoned a head. The councils were initially disgusted with Kakashi, but their opinions were about to change very soon.

"So…" the head spoke. "…this is it?" The councils screamed and gasped in disbelief at what they saw. Though he was equally shocked, Homura maintained a calm attitude and hit his gavel.

"Order! Odd as this is, I would trust the Copy Ninja and Nara Shikaku not to do something this absurd without reason."

Kakashi bowed. "I apologize for this…unusual witness, but I can assure you he is relevant to the case in hand. For you see, he is Hidan, missing nin of the Hot Springs village and member of Akatsuki. As for why he's only a head…to put it bluntly he is immortal." Kakashi nodded at Shikaku to go ahead, who then turned to face the Akatsuki his comrade had captured. "Now then, I believe you have story to tell these gentlemen. The one about the pink-haired kunoichi."

With that, Hidan began to tell his story. How he got out of the hole Shikamaru buried him in, that Akatsuki got him the new body, although he didn't delve into the details, and the incident with Sakura.

"Can you explain how the jutsu worked?" Shikaku asked the head.

"I already told that scared freak, fuck no!!!" Kakashi assumed he meant Ibuki.

Homura threatened him from the podium. "You will watch your tongue…"

Hidan reacted immediately, shouting "FUCK YOU!!! I'LL SAY WHATEVER I-"

Before he could continue with his foul-mouthed rant, Kakashi ran a powerful electric current from his palm into Hidan, sending the single head into a fit of convulsions. "My apologies…even now he still has quite the temper…" Kakashi ceased, and asked Hidan "Would you mind repeating that, a bit more calmly this time perhaps?"

"Sure, sure, whatever you say." Hidan panted. "No, I don't know how it works. Kizu-sama never tells us anything until he thinks we're ready to know."

A council member from the civilian council rose. "Pardon the interruption, but if he's willing to tell us this much about the defendant, why hasn't he confessed secrets about Akatsuki? He says nothing of who his leader is, or what the organization's objective is."

Kakashi answered calmly "Ibuki tried his best, but it seems all Akatsuki members are given a seal that prevents them from spilling vital information. Since Sakura was never part of any major Akatsuki activities, any information regarding her was not considered a threat by the organization and was therefore attainable. Everything else…was impossible for even Ibuki to get out." With that, Kakashi rolled the head back up and returned to the benches.

Kakashi and Hidan's portion went well, but Tsunade had a feeling not good enough. Next, Hinata took the stand. Danzo already showed the councils photos of her injuries as a result of fighting Sakura. Naturally, they were surprised Hinata testified in favor of Sakura. Shikaku asked "…so, with your Byakugan you could see some kind of radio waves being transmitted to Sakura?"

"Yes, that's correct." Hinata answered.

"Even so, that alone convinced you Haruno was not acting on her free will?" Shikaku personally did not need anymore convincing, but he had a job to do and be thorough.

"More than that. She was behaving as if she didn't want to get caught; if she intended to betray us, I'd imagine she would be much more subtle and natural in her behavior. Also, the only one she seemed to recognize was Hokage-sama. She didn't seem to even know who the Kazekage was as well…or for that matter myself." Hinata then explained that she was the one chosen to free Sakura in what became fighting for her life.

"And yet after the beating she gave you, you still defend her?"

"If my assumption had been wrong, Sakura would have used the opportunity to kill me and I would not be here before you. She was able to resist whatever force was controlling her just enough to stop herself and help me free her. Also, while such an event would truly sadden me…if I felt Sakura, or anyone from this village really did betray us…I would not hesitate to do what was necessary."

If anyone could have convinced the councils that Sakura had really turned nuke-nin, it was Hinata. The fact that she did the opposite certainly did have a powerful effect on the council's opinion. After she left, Inoichi began his testimony. "…it was as she said. Her memories confirm it."

Shikaku asked "But what if those memories were implanted? With all the jutsus in the world, surely Akatsuki could…"

"I have considered that possibility as well. But I see no signs of memory tapping. I double-checked just to be sure, and as far as the expertise of my clan is concerned, no lasting effect on her mind occurred."

Shikaku simply smiled at his friend.

Most members of the council accepted his words and everyone else's. Hidan, while foul-mouthed and having no regard for Sakura's well-being, was clearly not motivated to keep any secrets from them. Hinata was seen as the purest in her generation, and no one could think of any good reason why she would lie for Sakura, especially after the beating she received. Although Inoichi had a close bond with Sakura, he was known to uphold the law no matter who broke it, especially when his sister went to serve Orochimaru. Garaa, who testified earlier, spoke in favor of Sakura and most would not argue with the Kage of an allied village Still, for many the tape alone had them believing that Sakura had made a decision similar to Sasuke's.

"Is there anyone else you would like to call to Haruno's defense?" Homura asked Shikaku.

The Nara man gave Tsunade a wink. "Yes. I summon…Jiraya."

There was an outburst of surprise from almost everyone, and Homura had to pound his gavel again. "I hope that for your sake this is not a joke, Nara."

"Don't worry, old timer! He's telling the truth!" The voice was Jiraya's, but the one who spoke it was not; it was an unassuming man in glasses and a suit. He walked up to the podium, electing whispers of protests. When he took his seat, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and appeared once again as the sage that everyone knew. "Sorry about faking my death, but whoever was behind that incident a couple days ago does not want us to win." As if fate was playing a bad joke, a ninja dressed in black came from behind and slashed his midsection wide open. Shikaku bound their shadows, but the ninja began foaming at the mouth; another suicide assassin!.

Everyone was panicking, but Tsunade put a stop to that with one word: "SILENCE!" Everyone stopped dead in their tracks, and noticed that the corpse the suicide assassin struck turned into nothing but toads. Tsunade then walked over to the wall and knocked. "Okay, you can come out now."

Opening up as if it were fleshy muscles, the walls retracted to reveal Jiraya. "Like my toad clone said, someone really doesn't want us to win." Jiraya walked up and took his seat again. "Anyway, I have something to show you that may change your perception of what Haruno Sakura did." Quickly, he pulled a tape from a scroll. "When doing espionage, I always record what I do. It takes a while to get it on VHS, which is why I couldn't show it to you all immediately." Without further delay, a television was brought forward and Jiraya inserted his tape into the VCR.

Danzo gripped his cane in anger and defeat. Whatever it was, he was sure he just lost. He was already taking a big risk as it was with attempting to use Sakura as Biju bait and two assassination attempts, one he was still unsure if he was successful. Anymore, and it wouldn't be hard for anyone to connect the dots. _"So this is it." _

Finally, the tape began to play. "I apologize, but I did not have anytime to determine the exact location of what I wanted to show you; you'll just have to sit through this for a few minutes."

The whole court was forced to watch a few battles, some of which the civilians did not have the stomach to watch, and finally him going inside a toad. The next part really got Sakura's attention: His meeting with Tobi!

She heard it from him before, but seeing it was different. It happened just like Jiraya said; however, the conversation as she knew it ended and continued to something else she wasn't told, and the camera mounted on what she assumed was Jiraya's shoulder shifted towards her.

"_How are you guys doing that?" _

"_I don't understand how the jutsu works, if that's what you're asking. But from what I can gather, Kizu-sama is using the jewels on her face to transmit his chakra and possess her body like it's his. He can use all her jutsus, but has very limited access to her memories." _

Jiraya interrupted _"My toad spies are telling me that Naruto is on his way here. Quickly, you need to hide me and get him to heal you."_

"_Aren't you going to want to stop your jinchuriki?" _

"_There are others with him; they're staging a rescue attempt of some sort. He should be fine." _

That was it; Tobi had confirmed her innocence!

"You actually managed to convince that one Akatsuki member to join you?" While it sounded like a standard interrogation question, truthfully Shikaku asked with the utmost amazement and smiled.

"Yeah, I did. From what I can tell, Haruno actually got him to doubt his superior and that prompted him to act. You can ask Hidan there, he'll confirm it."

Deciding it was best not to pull out the foul-mouthed head again, Jiraya was dismissed, and the defense portion of the trial had officially come to an end. The only thing left was the combined verdict of the councils.

Homura made the announcement: "Both the prosecution and defense have presented their cases; we will return in two days, and will return to hear the councils' verdict." Everyone dispersed with the hit of the gavel.

* * *

Every friend and associate of Sakura didn't speak with each other the entire time; everyone was too nervous. Despite several credible testimonies, the tape of possessed Sakura would still be a huge factor working against her.

Both Naruto and Tsunade were among those most affected by the ordeal. If Sakura was deemed guilty, both Tsunade and Naruto were prepared to give up everything to help her. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the day came for them to hear the verdict of the councils.

"Have you each reached a verdict?" Homura asked.

"Yes." Both councils responded unanimously.

"Very well, how did the civilian council vote? All in favor?" The council held up their hands; of the 20 members, only 8 voted innocent; 12 deemed her guilty.

Naruto clenched his fists. It was now up to the Shinobi council. But if they denied Sakura her freedom, he would do everything he could to stop her from going back to prison, damn the rest of the village.

"Now for the Shinobi council: all in favor?" Both Naruto and Sakura nearly screamed in joy; 7 out of the 10 members ruled her innocent, including Koharu (since Homura and Danzo were taking an active role in the trial, they could not vote). Sakura was free, but not without consequence, as the civilian council's overall opinion was opposite the shinobi's. At the moment, she didn't care; being demoted to a genin was a small price to pay in order to avoid life in prison…or worse.

Homura began the terms of Sakura's release. "Very well. Haruno Sakura, officially you are hereby cleared of all charges. However, given the great uncertainty and concern, we must take precautions in case our councils are mistaken. First of all, while you will retain your jonin rank, you are hereby stripped of your duties to ANBU. You will be restricted to team missions only, and always as one of the subordinates. While we will allow you to perform medical services to our ninja with informed consents, you will be strictly forbidden from working in the public hospital. You are also forbidden from leaving the village for non-shinobi matters without an approved escort. These terms will be absolute for a full year. Afterwards, the councils will review your case and decide whether to extend or remove these restrictions. Dismissed!" The final sound of the gavel sounded like music to most everyone's ears.

Ino clasped her hands in gratitude. Hinata hugged her father, who was one of the shinobi council members who voted Sakura innocent.

Tsunade and Kakashi embraced Sakura in a group hug. Yuji came up to her, and bowed. Feeling awkward with the formalities, Yuji finally gave her a bear hug. "Glad you're okay, sis."

Though it still felt weird for Sakura to be considered an older sister to anyone, it felt nice. "Glad to be out of this mess." Sakura turned around to see Jiraya standing a slight distance away from the rest of her friends. Sakura walked in front of him and bowed. "Thank you so much, Jiraya-sama; if it weren't for you, I'd be in jail now." Jiraya blushed slightly, and waved his hand as a gesture of modesty.

Sakura nearly shrieked in surprise when someone grabbed her from behind. "Oh, my darling! I'm so glad you're okay!" It was a gray-haired woman who strongly resembled Sakura. Tsunade and Naruto had a pretty good idea of who it was.

Sakura gave a small smile and turned around to hug the other woman. "Thank you, Mom." Mrs. Haruno sobbed quietly in joy. Sakura looked around the courthouse, and while not surprised at what she found, was disappointed nonetheless. "Mom…where's Father?"

Her mother hesitated to answer. "I'm sorry; your father has…business to attend to."

Tsunade angrily growled "That's odd. I haven't been giving him or any other of the senior ninja missions lately. And he was specifically asked to attend."

Sakura's mother was about to give a half-assed answer, but Sakura interrupted. "It's alright, Shishou-sama. I have something to discuss with him anyway."

Tsunade had a pretty good feeling what that something was. She wasn't sure how Sakura's court martial affected Mr. Haruno's desire to get Sakura married, but nonetheless she had to do her part. "Listen, I know this is a bit sudden, but I need to make a brief trip. Kakashi will fill in for me if you need anything." Kakashi was about to protest, but sighed in defeat. He hated paperwork more than Tsunade. Sakura then eased herself out of her mother's hug, and ran towards Naruto.

"Sa-" Before he could even speak, Sakura hugged him so tight it felt like he was being smashed against her, and kissed him passionately. Naruto immediately went into the flow of it, but this was not the right place or time. Regretfully, he broke the kiss. "Sakura…if it's alright, would you like to stop by my place, if only for a few minutes? There's something I need to show you."

Sakura looked at him in surprise. "Um…would it be alright if we have dinner at your place as well? You can pick anything you like; so long as it's food." Sakura chuckled slightly, getting fed up with food pills.

Naruto gave her a soft and gentle smile in understanding. "Deal. I'll see you tonight."

With that, Sakura ran off to join her mother, who looked at her in shock. Naruto had a bad feeling about what Sakura was about to do. A part of him wanted to come with her, but he knew whatever it was, it was Sakura's business alone.

* * *

Midoriiro leaned against a tree to catch her breath. Even with her shinobi training, making it to Konoha in the time she had was taxing. Thankfully, the Mizukage had left a note giving her an extension; apparently, the outside woods were swarming with Konoha ANBU and Jonin. Understandable really, considering they just finished a war.

She was reminded of that when she heard someone approaching. Instinctively, she took to the trees and leapt into the bushiest branches. As expected, a pair of hunter-nin were quickly scanning the area. She remained completely motionless until they left.

Deciding to briefly check out her surroundings, she made a quick trip to the canopy, where she would not be found. From there, she caught her first glimpse of Konoha. "It's beautiful." She wished she could have grown up there, where even the shinobi raised and trained their children like normal people. She would not let Taifuu and Mizukage destroy such a place. But what about Sasuke? "Sasuke-chan…why would you ever leave such a place? What have you done?"

* * *

There you have it! I realize how ridiculously long these chapters are becoming…I guess I'm doing too much and wanting to get too much done in one chapter. I'll do my best to shorten these chapters from now on.

Next chapter, Sakura confronts her father, watches the tape with Naruto…and I am going to use this M rating the way it was intended to! Don't worry, I promise to make it tasteful!

Hane-Wing

Ha-Teeth

Kuroinsei-Black Meteor

Raiu Gekido-Thunderstorm Rage


	35. Lovers in a Warm Embrace

Hello again! I apologize for the late update, but I've been busy with school, volunteering, and getting everyone to turn in their census form (yup, had a temporary job with the census bureau). Sadly, updates to this fic will be coming to a major slow-down in the future? Why? I explain in the AN at the end.

Now, I said I wouldn't do it, but there is a lemon in this chapter. I hesitated at first mainly because, to be blunt, I am a virgin (just don't have much luck with women). However, because I planned for such events to be at least referenced frequently, I figured I may as well describe them.

Now, do keep in mind, this was rated M to begin with. While FF "prohibits" lemons, from what I understand this happens only if you're reported (I'd wager if the staff stumbled across this fic, they wouldn't care unless someone specifically told them to). So, if such material offends you, either skip the section where it starts or abandon this fic. All I can promise you is that the event and future ones won't be too kinky, it will be tasteful both in description and in context, and please don't ruin everyone else's enjoyment. After all, I rated this M, so if such material offends you all you have to do is press the red x on the top right corner of your computer.

That being said, let us begin!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto; with what's coming up, you'll see that's painfully obvious!

* * *

Naruto got to work immediately at the rarely used kitchen stove. He didn't know how long Sakura would be; but it was probably best to get started immediately. As pathetic as his fire jutsus were, they were good enough to reheat meals as if they never went cold in the first place. Naruto grinned to himself. "I bet Sakura could never imagine me doing this." However, as much cause as this was for celebration, he knew something serious was about to happen between Sakura and her family, and it would be about her arranged marriage. A part of him hoped that her father felt that her trial alone had brought shame upon them and quickly canceled to save face. But it wasn't right to think that; if anything he hoped Sakura and her family would be closer together in understanding. The one thing that bothered him the most though was that he couldn't help. He wanted to, but it was a personal matter for Sakura, something he had no right to get involved in unless she asked. All he could do for her was wish her luck…

* * *

Sakura and her mother walked down the street towards their house in silence, something Sakura anticipated when she kissed Naruto in front of her, but nonetheless didn't like it.

At first, Sakura didn't give much thought about how people would perceive her after the trial. But as she started to observe the people passing by, she saw many looked at her with suspicion. They didn't care that the shinobi who risked their lives for the village found her innocent, just what they had seen on the first tape. "Was this how you felt…Naruto?"

Finally, her mother spoke up. "Sakura…your father will never approve…especially him."

Sakura sighed. "Yeah. I kinda figured that."

"Then why-"

"I love him. That's all you need to know." There was no point in going into detail about it, and her mother would probably never understand herself, as she was never a ninja in the first place.

Her mother looked at her in shock. "Sakura! You know exactly what he is! He's a monster! He will only bring you pain-"

Sakura just stopped, clenching her fists. "Care to prove it, mother?" she hissed in a threatening tone, having it with the Kyuubi excuse. Her mother only looked at her, shocked at her defiance. "I could say a bunch of things on the subject right now…but I think I'll wait. I have a feeling he'll need to hear what I have to say regarding him as well."

As they continued walking, her mother walked up and grabbed her by the arm. "Dear, regardless of who you are in love with right now, your own father has already made a decision for your future! I'm sorry, but it is simply not your place to-"

"Mother, don't you wish you could be something more than what you are now?" Her mother once again just gawked at her, speechless. Though she put up a tough façade, inside Sakura was deeply saddened by what she saw. Her mother clearly never had any say in what she did or her future, from childbirth to present. What stung Sakura more was that she was on the verge of becoming like that. "I was once like you, caring more about being feminine and being a proper bride. I dreamed about serving the boy I had a crush on back then…but it just made me useless and I felt all alone as everyone else went after their dreams. I realized I had to take control of my own life, and found out what was really important." Sakura turned to face her mother. "Mom…I know you are not happy where you are right now. Don't you ever wish that you had the strength to change that?"

Her mother's face seemed to hint at inner turmoil. "It doesn't matter anymore…my fate was decided a long time ago."

Sakura wanted to hold her mother, but realized they just reached their home. "I'll show you what it means to be in control of your own fate, mother."

* * *

Sakura entered the house, noting that it had just begun to rain outside. Finally, she found her father in the living room, downing a cup of sake. Sakura remembered how he seemed to do it with increasing frequency over the years. "You certainly seem to be in a bad mood." Sakura said, grabbing his attention.

"Do I have any reason to feel the opposite?" His speech was slurred, if only slightly. Drunk, but not enough to throw off his own shinobi senses and abilities.

"I'm standing right here; did you bother to come to my trial at all?" Sakura asked, trying her best not to sound too accusing.

"It wouldn't matter in the eyes of your new fiancé anyway; the fact you were put on trial alone has questioned not only your honor, but mine as well." He slammed his cup on the table and finally stood up to face her.

Sakura took a good look at her father's face before she answered. As expected, his frown and wrinkles on his face suggested superficial anger. But it was his eyes that got to her. Eyes that were strong with belief, but also contained bottled-up rage. Like Sasuke back then, her father was ready to explode at any minute. Sakura hoped that she would be able to diffuse the situation. "So, does that mean the marriage is off?"

"No, I fully intend to send you off. I served the lord's father long ago, we're good friends. I'm sure any excuse I can give will be good enough."

Sakura breathed, and prepared herself. She hoped this would turn out well; her gut told her it wouldn't. "I'm sorry, father. I should have told you sooner, but with the war I felt it was best to wait to tell you…" Well, that was part of the truth, but the main reason wouldn't do her any favors "… but I can't agree to this."

Her father only looked at her dumbfounded. "WHAT!"

* * *

"This doesn't look good." One of the two guards assigned to observe Sakura from afar said. They both sensed violent intent from Sakura's father; one wrong word and he would snap. "We better get ready to-"

"No." His partner placed his hand on his partner's sword-handle. "This is her fight; don't worry, no matter how good her father is now, Sakura has trained hard throughout her youth. I'm sure she'll come out on top."

The one who wanted to intervene wasn't entirely convinced. "I'm aware of that, but it's our job-"

"Hokage-sama told us to stay out of anything personal regarding Haruno; I believe she anticipated this. Don't worry; if it looks like it will get too out of control, we'll restrain them. I'll inform Kakashi-taichou in any case."

The other guard looked at his partner in disbelief, but finally relented and fully sheathed his sword. "I hope you're right; I don't want to get fired. You act as though you're familiar with her."

The other remained in silence as he observed. If only he knew…

* * *

"What makes you think you can defy ME!" Sakura's father shouted, obviously not being used to being talked back at, especially by women other than his own mother. If Sakura's small statement of protest could even be called that.

"I'm a grown woman; you can't tell me what to do." Sakura retorted firmly.

"You're a woman, and more importantly my daughter! That's exactly the reason you must do as I say!"

Sakura had to stop herself from crying. Now was not the time to break down, not in front of him. She had to win this, one way or another...and she both dreaded and relished the thought of the worst-case scenario. "Why should I! You never cared about me! Mom was always the one to take care of me, AND you! You were never there for me whenever I got hurt, whenever I had a birthday, you never asked me how my day was, tucked me in… and when I graduated and became a genin, the one who congratulated me was mom! And to this day that's how it remained! If you never gave a damn about me all this time, why would you now!"

"You're still my daughter, and I intend to make use of you anyway I can, for my clan's honor!"

Sakura didn't know what kept her from loosing it when he said that. "I know our family history! Our clan was decimated during the 3rd shinobi war, and the Kyuubi finished off what little was left! And I know the real reason you never cared for me was because I didn't inherit your Kekkei Genkai! You have NO RIGHT to tell me what to do about my life when it was one you never wanted to have in the first place!"

"And just what do you intend to do!" her father yelled, almost daring her to say more.

"I'm moving out. You'll never have to deal with me again, and you can wallow in your self-pity for all I care."

"You dare disrespect me again, you worthless-"

"You don't know the meaning of respect, father. And I'm not worthless. Ask anyone from my class, ANBU…the Hokage will be more than happy to confirm everything. In fact, I think you should know, she's on her way to my 'fiancé's' family right now."

Her father's eyes widened, and she could swear the fury inside him was manifesting physically. "I will give you ONE CHANCE to kneel and beg for forgiveness. If not…I'm afraid I'll have to teach you the hard way, and show you your rightful place."

That was it. Sakura just created a fight on her hands. A part of her felt that she practically asked for this, and that there was another way around it…but he was already on the edge long before the present; if she truly wanted to be free of him, she had to face him head on Sakura clenched her fists. "Rightful place? I suggest you crawl back into whatever rock you were living under right now, father. I promise you that you're going to be in for a rude awakening if you don't stop this instant."

Her father only stared at her unfazed. "I think not. Do you even know what our family's Kekkei Genkai is?" He held the palm of his hand directly in front of Sakura, and revealed a red eye in it, similar to the Sharingan but without the tomoes. Then, it pulsed. Sakura felt her kidney being torn apart, and fell to her knees in pain, clutching it. "Naibukujogan. I project my chakra from this eye, and I can tear apart my victim's organs from the inside. Don't worry, I don't plan on killing you; just cause enough pain until you give up…"

"No! Please, stop this!" Sakura's mother lunged at him, and directed his wrist away from Sakura.

Without even hesitating, Sakura's father back fisted his wife away from him. Never being a kunoichi herself, his fist hit her square in the temple and knocked her out. Mr. Haruno's face contorted in even more anger. "I'll deal with you later." He inched towards Sakura, who was still writhing in pain. "So, do you understand now? I would suggest begging right now. The louder, the better…" Then, he noticed Sakura's palms were emitting green chakra, which were clutching her sides. _"She's healing herself!" _He almost got hit by the incredibly fast uppercut that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He leaped to the other side of the room, and smirked at his ability to dodge it. Until blood spewed out of a cut on his cheek.

Sakura rose, having recovered. "Your one chance of victory was lost once you told me what was happening. Sorry father, but I know I am superior in every way."

"Your medical skills may have saved you, but a good beating will-"

"Father. Did the Hokage ever tell you that I was the one who killed Orochimaru?"

"You don't deserve credit for that! The Hokage wore him down, obviously." he retorted.

"Wrong. Shishou was poisoned, and Orochimaru was at full health. If you don't believe me, you can ask her. Then again…I doubt you'd believe a kunoichi of any kind. I just want you to let that thought sink in for a bit." Her father produced a kunai from his sleeve and moved in to slash her. He cut her stomach open…which then turned into their coffee table. "You're the one who should give it up father. I surpassed you a long time ago." He looked at her in shock when he observed her standing right next to him. He didn't even notice!

Her father screamed in fury and made slashing motions at her again. However, she dodged each one with ease. "After taking so many blows from Shishou, I make it a point not to get hit." Her father retreated and smashed a frame, extracting a sword. He slashed it into Sakura's shoulder, burying it deep into Sakura' clavicle. But to his shock, she turned into wood, and the branches wrapped around him, immobilizing and suffocating him. "Genjutsu! When did she…" No time to ask when and how. "Kai!" The genjutsu vanished, and Mr. Haruno fell to his knees; these days breaking genjutsu were not easy for him.

"Father, please. I don't want to hurt you." Sakura stood right behind him. Mr. Haruno found an opportunity to use his Naibukujogan, and shot his hand out. But before he could activate it, Sakura quickly side-stepped and wrapped some paper around his hand. Sakura's father made a motion to rip it off, but it stuck to his skin. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I've smeared that paper with normal glue, and used my chakra to quicken and enhance its cohesiveness. You won't be able to use that eye for 48 hours. Rip it off and it will come off with the paper." After some struggle, her father finally gave up, and sat in a relaxed, defeated position. Sakura slowly inched towards him, and then kneeled to his level.

"Father…I'm sorry. But this has gone on for too long. Your family is more important than your bloodline." Nothing. "I…I know that things didn't go for you as you hoped when you were younger. But please, don't shut us out. We can put this behind us, make a new life for ourselves." Sakura held her hand out towards her father. As expected, he seemed torn, hesitant. Finally, he reached out and touched her hand. Sakura's eyes watered; she just felt overjoyed that her father was going to give them being a real family a chance.

"Real shinobi never let their guard down." He whispered as his frown turned into a sneer. It was too late for Sakura to pull away, and her father thrust another kunai towards her abdomen. Sakura moved out of the way to avoid a fatal blow, but it still cut deep into her side. Sakura tried to run, but her father held her tight, and threw her against the wall. "Futon! Fuutama no Jutsu!" Sakura rolled out of the way as wind bullets tore the walls in her small house. A direct hit would result in severe lacerations; as it was now she was cut up pretty badly.

"Don't make me laugh! I would never want to settle with raising a family! My own father was cold and calculating, and was always treated with the utmost respect! He made all the decisions, nothing else, and as his eldest son, that was what I was destined to be! If that is so wrong…why did the village treat us so right?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she realized the truth: her father was so set in his ways, almost to the point of insanity. Like…_"…like Danzo…" _Sakura wiped away her tears, and came out of her corner in the hallway. "If you kill me now, you'll be thrown in jail for the rest of your life, and that's if Shishou pities you. Hell, just for backhanding mom you'll be doing some time. But I am going to give you one more chance, you let me AND mom go, and we'll leave you in peace."

"And if I refuse?" her father asked mockingly, his face contorted in insanity.

"I am going to put a premature end to your career as a ninja."

Her father only laughed maniacally in response. "Let's see you try it! Futon! Shippu Nodachi no Jutsu!" A tornado formed in her father's hands as if it were a sword, tearing the house to shreds as he swung it towards her. Most ninja would have been unable to dodge it. Most, that is. Sakura leaped over it with ease, and rolled towards her father. All her father had to do was bring the blade down. But of course, Sakura knew that. She quickly threw a smoke bomb she retrieved in one of the cabinets while her father was caught in the genjutsu earlier, causing her father to break his concentration.

Once the giant wind blade dissipated, she rose and landed a devastating kick onto her father's kneecap. With her strength, his leg bent like a flimsy piece of plastic, the knee shattering like glass. Her father doubled over in pain, clutching his leg. "NO! THISAAUUGGHHH!" Sakura's father was in too much pain to form coherent words, and was reduced to clutching his leg. Sakura's heart dropped when she realized something else; she could see in his eyes that he was also loosing his mind. Sakura held back her tears as she tried to hold herself together. She already tried reaching out to her father a minute ago; he was beyond help the day she was born.

Just then, someone came through the door. Sakura looked up, stunned. "Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi sighed with regret. "I apologize, Sakura; I wasn't informed of this until a minute ago…" Kakashi seemed hesitant to continue. "…I saw what was happening, but I realized this was something you had to do on your own, or else you would never be able to get over it. I…I'm sorry."

Sakura looked down, watching her father finally pass out. "No. You're right. It was meant to be. I'd have been upset if you or who ever's watching me interfered, even if it was to save my life." Sakura looked at Kakashi, with a melancholy look. "I…I just felt I had to prove myself to him. Even though a part of me knew it was fruitless."

Kakashi walked up to her and patted her shoulder. "Sakura…your father may never be able to see it, but you have grown into one of the most amazing kunoichi I have ever seen. Don't ever tell yourself different."

Sakura's guards and protection then entered. One went to her father and immediately got to work on stabilizing his leg, the other checked up on her mother. "She's okay, she'll have a bruise, but I think our medi-nins can fix that easily."

"What about him?" Sakura asked, referring to her father.

"Hokage-sama would be able to put his knee back to optimal condition through therapy. However, considering what he did to you, I doubt that's going to happen anytime soon."

Her mother regained consciousness, and the ANBU debriefed her about everything that happened. She could only look at her daughter in shock. Sakura rushed over to her mother, who was sobbing. "Why…?"

"It's okay mom, we're safe. He won't ever hurt you again." Sakura smiled. "Now, you'll be able to truly live, mother…"

"Why couldn't you have just done what he said?"

Sakura's small smile dropped dead upon hearing that. "What?"

"If you had, it would never have come to this!"

Sakura couldn't believe what she just heard. After all he said, after what he did when everyone could have walked away peacefully…firmly, she gripped her mother's shoulder. "Mom, open your eyes! He tortured me, he tried to kill me…he hit you! He doesn't care about us, he said it himself!"

Her mother didn't hear her. "If you only had done what you were told…"

"Whether or not he was provoked, that doesn't change the fact that he always felt the way he did. I'd imagine it wouldn't have taken much more sake to drive him over the edge anyway!"

The two only stared at each other in silence. Sakura knew her mother was raised to be a traditional and proper woman. But surely she could see her chance to escape a hell she was forced into…right?

Mrs. Haruno turned away from her. "Now…you can never come back." Sakura's body trembled in disbelief, and tears flowed down her face freely. Her mind stopped thinking, and she ran out the house.

"Sakura!" Kakashi yelled, trying to reach for her but she was too fast. Kakashi sighed, feeling her pain. _"My father is dead because of tradition. I know how you feel, Sakura." _Tsunade was going to chew him out for this, and that was if she was in a good mood. He figured now would be the time to do what the council and Tsunade ordered him to. "Follow her. Keep me posted." He then stared intently at one of the guards. "And this time, if something happens, you will do your job properly, or else I'll make sure I have a partner scrubbing the toilets when Hokage-sama gets back. Are we clear!" he almost shouted.

"Yes, Kakashi-sama!" The one attending to her mother said as he sprinted out.

* * *

One of Naruto's clones wiped some sweat off his brow as he continued to cook. "Done." Just then, the doorbell rang. "If it's her, the timing couldn't be more perfect!" He handed the dish to his clone, and walked towards the door. "Sakura-chan, is that you?" he shouted before he reached the door.

"…yeah…"

That didn't sound good. Naruto quickly opened the door, and his jaw dropped at what he saw. Sakura was covered in cuts and bruises, her hair was a mess, and she was soaking wet from the heavy rain. But what really caught his attention was her eyes, which were deep red from crying. Sakura embraced him and cried more. Naruto didn't do anything but hug her back as if her life depended on it. He didn't know how long they stayed like that…but it had been a while, that much he could discern. During that time, he wished Sakura told him what happened, but knew it was best to wait until she was ready to tell him. However, he had a hunch, one he hoped was wrong. If he wasn't, she was going to stay here, no ifs ands or buts.

Finally, her sobs quieted down to nothing. "Sakura…you're soaking wet. We need to get something dry for you, and warm you up too. I know you probably don't care right now…but I'd very much like it if you didn't catch a cold."

Sakura nodded weakly, and Naruto ran to the bathroom, while one of his clones handed her a towel. "Thank you." Sakura weakly replied.

After a few minutes of the bushin comforting her, the real Naruto came back. "Okay, Sakura-chan. I got the bath ready for you."

Sakura looked at him in surprise. She expected nothing more than a shower! "Naruto…you didn't have to go that far…"

"Don't be ridiculous." Naruto scoffed. "I'm not going to allow you to stress yourself out more than you already have. You've been through hell with your possession, your trial…and whatever just happened to you. So, just kick back and relax. I'll get some clothes for you while I dry yours…" He then got a good look at Sakura's clothes, realizing that while not reduced to rags, they were torn badly. "…well, I'll at least get you some dry ones until we figure out what to do."

Sakura smiled slightly, and kissed him. She then made her way to the bathroom while Naruto looked through his laundry.

* * *

"**She went straight to Uzumaki Naruto's apartment, Kakashi-sama." **The voice over the phone said.

Kakashi, back in the Hokage's office, smiled slightly. "Watch the apartment, but don't concern yourself with what goes on inside. She'll be safe with him."

"**Affirmative." **

With that, Kakashi hung up the phone. "If it weren't those two, I would say that a great edition of Icha-Icha would be on the way." He then looked at some of the paperwork Tsunade left behind and sweat dropped. _"Help me…"_

_

* * *

_

Sakura closed away the last of her cuts with her medical ninjutsu. She used up a lot of chakra right after getting it back, but it was worth it; no matter how emotionally traumatized she was, Sakura was not going to let her physical body fester from infection, and at least kill the pain. Sakura smiled slightly and sighed as she leaned deeper into the hot water. Despite what she just went through, the hot bath put her almost completely at ease and forget her troubles. If there was a heaven, this had to be it. Naruto went an extra mile and even made it a bubble bath. Sakura giggled at the thought. It was childish…but the bubbles had an aesthetic appeal to them, which only served to relax her more. _"Now if only Naruto would join me…" _Sakura had to hold back another giggle at the thought. _"Then again, at this point that's probably not too far-fetched…"_

_

* * *

_

"Aw, come on…" Naruto searched through his room, but realized almost nothing he had was clean; he was still something of a slob, and Sakura's trial threw off his laundry schedule even more than usual. The only things he could find that were clean were a large wife-beater t-shirt, a pair of boxers, and his robe. Naruto groaned, fearing he was going to ruin Sakura's evening even further. It was either this, or Sakura would have to spend the evening in nothing but a towel. While a nice and common thought that entered his mind, this was the absolute worse time to piss off Sakura.

Naruto returned from his room and knocked on the bathroom door. "Sakura…there's a slight problem."

"Yes, Naruto?" Her question didn't have any frustration or annoyance in it…in fact, it was quite cheerful, especially compared to her demeanor earlier.

"I couldn't find any clean clothes for you to wear, not out in public anyway…all I could find was my robe and some underwear."

"Open the door just a crack, and hand them to me." Naruto, surprised by the pleasant tone in her voice, did so, and felt them snatched out of his hand. "I'll be a few more minutes, okay?"

Naruto nodded. "Take your time." He was relieved that went well, and decided to reheat the food he cooked.

* * *

All good things had to come to an end, and Sakura reluctantly pulled the plug to her first hot bath in months. Stepping out of the bath, she dried herself off with Naruto's towel, and proceeded to pick up the robe and boxers. But something caught her eye; not on the floor, but in the bathroom mirror. She didn't know why; she had seen her own naked body several times before. But, it was different now. Back when she was still a cadet, she always tried to make herself look pretty to cover up her "flaws". Overtime, as romantic interests dropped in her priority lists, she decided to accept her body as average. Of course, she would clobber anyone who would claim she was ugly, namely Sai. Plus, she always made it a point to look well-groomed and fit, and would dress nice when the occasion called for it. But now, she had fallen in love again, and the desire to look womanly struck her. While Naruto had claimed over and over again that she was beautiful, she dismissed Naruto as being the type to see the "inner-beauty". Granted, that was not a bad thing, and arguably more important than physical beauty. But for any relationship between adults to work, there had to be some sort of physical attraction. Sakura knew that she was attracted to Naruto. But him to her?

Sakura began to inspect herself…and was starting to feel that she had been harsh on her physical appearance in terms of being womanly and sexy. While not as thin as Ino, she did have a healthy hourglass shape body. Her legs were toned, but conveyed softness as well. She used to think of her pink-hair as weird, but when picturing herself in other hair-colors, she realized she wouldn't have it any other way, and it made her feel unique. She then moved on to the one part of her body that she hated the most going through puberty…her breasts. But looking at them now, she couldn't remember why she did. As they were now, they were pert and perfectly round. While not particularly large, calling her small-breasted would have been an insult. For her, they were perfect. Beginning to feeling a bit more confident about herself, she turned around to get a good look at her posterior…and blushed. "Oh my…no wonder Shishou insisted on me wearing those skirt-shorts …" If anything, her body became that of a reverse Tsunade; she did fill out exceptionally in one area like her teacher, except in her case it was below her waist.

She was startled out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. "Sakura-chan? Is everything okay? I heard the water drain, and you've been in there for a while now!"

Sakura quickly gathered the garments. "Sorry, Naruto! I was…lost in thought." Sakura quickly dressed in what little Naruto had to offer.

* * *

Sakura came out of the bathroom, wearing Naruto's orange robe and the undergarments he provided, not that he could see them. If it weren't for the somber mood, Naruto would have smiled and told her she looked cute in his robe. "Feeling better?" he asked instead.

Sakura nodded slightly. "Yeah. Thanks. That felt really good."

Before Sakura could speak, Naruto guided her to the dinner table. Her eyes widened as she saw the Miso Soup, rice, and Tonkatsu on two dinner plates. She looked to the sink and oven, and realized that Naruto cooked it all, judging by the fresh burns on the pan. "I know that given whatever happened, you're probably not in the mood to eat." He pulled up a chair for her. "But you can just tell me whatever happened while I eat. Or not. It's up to you." Naruto stroked her cheek and smiled. "I just want to make you comfortable."

Sakura took her seat and gave him and appreciative smile. "No, I appreciate it, and I don't want to let such a good meal go to waste. I've had nothing but food pills for nearly a whole month, basic rations for the last 3 months, and no matter how bad of a mood I'm in…I'm still damn hungry. Besides…when a woman is upset, we do nothing but eat." She chuckled at the last part.

She and Naruto sat and ate in silence. Sakura was impressed; Naruto knew how to cook, and to cook well. And that just wasn't her stomach talking. "Every time I think I have you figured out, you pull something that only impresses me more." Sakura said as she wiped her mouth.

Naruto replied "Well, it wasn't always convenient to go to Ichiraku's, and there were a lot of times where I just wanted to be alone. So, I kinda had to learn. Took me forever though, and during our training trip, Ero-senin helped me out a lot." Naruto folded his hands together and looked at Sakura seriously. "Now, about what happened…I'll understand if you don't-"

"I came here fully intending to tell you what happened." Sakura went on with the story, doing her best to stay strong.

Naruto's heart dropped as he listened to her. Sakura had grown into an amazing and kind person…it broke his heart to see her get beat down like this again. After she finished, he embraced her, with Sakura returning the embrace. "I'm so sorry, Sakura. I honestly don't know what to say…you've been through so much. You don't deserve any of this." Sakura nodded silently, and let Naruto guide her towards the couch.

They sat there in silence, with Sakura leaning her head on his shoulder. Both were content to simply be in each other's company. But as the minutes passed…Naruto realized he contributed to her suffering these past few months as well. When Sakura confessed that she knew about his heritage, Naruto shut her out like everyone else. Neither was able to think straight for a long time, and nearly lost one another. And that's when Naruto had an epiphany. He had kept something from Sakura for years as well…when he disguised himself as Sasuke. He even tried to kiss her, but it was Sasuke she was falling in love with. He realized that in the end, it probably made Sasuke's departure so much harder on her than it would have otherwise. "Sakura…."

"Hmm?" Sakura asked, not looking.

"Listen, about earlier, about my father…"

Sakura hushed his lips. "Don't apologize; you had every right to-"

"No, that's not what I meant." Naruto sighed realizing that this probably would go badly. But it was the right thing to do, and the right thing to do was often the one thing you really didn't want to do, and would sometimes pay most dearly for. "I had no right to turn my back on you for keeping that from me…because there is something I've been keeping a secret from you for years, something important." Sakura just stared at him, then faintly gestured for him to continue. "You remember when we graduated, back then? After Iruka-sensei acknowledged us as genin?"

Sakura nodded. "Oh man. I remember...I was so thrilled to be on the same team as Sasuke…" Sakura looked away, embarrassed. "And, kind of embarrassed I was stuck with you."

"What did you do after class?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer.

Sakura hesitated to tell him at first. But, she reasoned that they both knew that back then she had a huge crush on Sasuke, and that it was in the past. "I went to a bench near the academy, just thinking about getting Sasuke's attention. At the time, I didn't think I was particularly attractive, so I was kind of down." Sakura waited for Naruto's approval to continue, and he gave it. "Anyway, Sasuke came by and said-"

"You have a cute and charming forehead. It makes me want to kiss it." Naruto finished for her. _"Here it comes…"_

Sakura looked at him in shock. She was about to ask "You were there?", but then it occurred to her. Her eyes widened, and she suddenly grabbed Naruto and pinned him to the other side of the couch. "That…that was you!" She was visibly upset at this revelation, and it hurt Naruto that he did that to her.

At first, he didn't say anything, just looked at her with regret. After a tense minute, he spoke. "I'm so sorry, Sakura. I never meant to hurt or trick you. I only wanted to get closer to you, at least for a few minutes. I know it was wrong of me to do, but I was too young to know better…and you wouldn't have talked to me otherwise."

Sakura relaxed, and lay down on his chest, stroking his hair. It felt comforting in a way Naruto never felt before. "I said such terrible things about you. You must have been crushed…"

Naruto replied "A little. But I just got the idea of making you hate Sasuke…"

Sakura tensed up once again, and almost shouted. "You mean…that was you too?"

Naruto blinked and said "Huh!"

"After you backed out of kissing me…either you, or Sasuke, came by. I bragged about what an idiot you were, but whoever it was gave me a lecture about how I knew nothing…and said 'You make me sick'."

Naruto eased Sakura off him, and looked her straight in the eye with a stern expression. "Sakura…I know it wasn't too long ago I said something that hurt you terribly. But to say those exact words to you…I could never imagine myself doing that. Not back then, not now."

Sakura just looked into her lap, a sad smile adorning her face. "Yes, of course. Before Sasuke left for sound, he said those exact same words to me." Naruto wrapped his arm around Sakura, just glad that she accepted the truth and simply wanted to live in the present. "Naruto…about what I said…"

"It's okay. You were young, and I didn't exactly leave a good impression on anyone the first time I met them. Looking back, I can't blame you…I was pretty annoying." Naruto's private lessons with Iori were almost like looking into a mirror of the past.

Sakura looked away, and frowned. "The truth is, I only said those things to impress who I thought was Sasuke."

That got Naruto curious. "Oh? Then…what would you have said otherwise?"

Sakura leaned into him and clasped his hand. "There were times when I thought you were annoying. But I also thought you weren't a bad guy, and I always had this sense that you were lonely. I hoped that despite our differences, we could all become friends. I even believed that with our support, you could become the ninja you wanted to be, because no matter how impossible it seemed, I always admired you for chasing your dream. And it would be the most amazing thing…" Naruto just looked at her stunned. Sakura looked up at him, feeling disappointed in herself for falling in with the crowd back then. "I'm so sorry I didn't have the courage to say what I really thought. But if it makes you feel any better, there is one more thing from that incident you should know…"

Naruto almost didn't want to know. It just frightened him so much how much that one incident revealed about themselves. "Before you showed up…I was imagining all the nice things Sasuke could say to me if he approached me. The only thing I could imagine him saying was 'You have a cute and charming forehead.'". Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Even if he was in Sasuke's form at the time, Sakura just confirmed that they were meant to be. "You have always understood me better than anyone else. I wish I could have been nicer and more open to you back then…but know this: I love you now, and while there are things I wished I've done differently in the past, I realize now that they were stepping stones to make me see the real you. There's no one else I'd rather be with!" Naruto hugged her tightly, and gently laid her on her back. Then, he started kissing her passionately, their kisses becoming more intense…

* * *

Iori looked out the window, watching the heavy rain outside, listening to its noise as it made contact with the glass. The occasional lightning bolt was the only thing to break the pattern. Storms like these used to scare Iori; back on her home island, typhoons would come a few times every summer. As a little girl, she would always get scared, and her father would comfort her, watching nature unleash its fury outside their own home, praying they would be spared. Now, in Fire Country, storms were nothing more than a nuisance; in fact, at times like these, it was relaxing.

She was then startled out of her thoughts by a knock on her door. "Coming." Iori walked to the door, thinking maybe it was Naruto. It was fairly late though, and surely he was with Sakura, assuming she was released (she couldn't know due to her house arrest). When she opened the door, she was greeted with a surprise. "Yuji?"

Yuji placed the soaking umbrella in Iori's basket, and hefted a fairly large bag he had been carrying. "Hey. Long time no see."

Iori closed the door as Yuji made his way in. "Yeah."

"Sorry I haven't been stopping by lately. You must have been bored out of your mind for a while now."

Iori smiled at his consideration. "You had to attend the trial. I'm only sorry I couldn't be there; I would if I could." Iori then realized she did not know the outcome. "Speaking of which…"

"Sakura was cleared, but they are still paranoid about what they saw on tape…so she has restrictions." He answered, making himself comfortable on Iori's couch.

Iori took her seat on the couch and replied "I'm glad. Restrictions here are still better than prison." It was then that Iori noticed the bag and its contents. "What are those?"

Yuji proceeded to take a few of the items in question out. "These? These were just a few things I own that I wanted to share with you while I kept you company. I'll even let you borrow them for a while if you want. As I said before, I figured you were bored, so I decided to see if these could keep you entertained."

Videos, manga…he even brought his Saga Resurrection console with him. "Thanks. I usually don't make much time for these sorts of things, so forgive me if I don't sound too enthused."

"No problem. I just wanted to keep you company now that I don't have Sakura-nechan on my mind."

Iori looked back at the door, realizing someone was missing. "Hey…isn't Shiguri coming?"

Yuji sighed sadly. "No. He didn't want to brave this storm, so he's staying at my place. But he says hello."

Iori, realizing Yuji's and Sakura's special relationship, then asked "Shouldn't you go visit Sakura-sensei as well?" Yuji slumped into the couch, sighing in response. "I wanted to. But I have a strong feeling she's going to want to be with Naruto-sensei alone, assuming she's not in his apartment already. Besides…I heard something really bad happened at the Haruno residence."

"What!" Iori shouted.

"I don't know for sure what happened, it's only things I overheard from some of the villagers on my way over here. I asked a few people I recognized from the police department, and they said Sakura-nechan's father went crazy. He assured me she was alright though…physically anyway."

Iori looked away from Yuji in deep thought. "Sakura-sensei has been through so much…" Yuji nodded silently, he couldn't agree more. "I wish to be as strong and beautiful as she is." Iori added to Yuji's surprise.

Yuji debated with himself whether or not to make a move. Figuring that it wouldn't be taken as romantic, and that he should do something to comfort her in either case, he placed a hand on Iori's shoulder. "You will." Iori was clearly surprised by his support…but she slowly smiled and took his hand in hers. Yuji was momentarily stunned by the touch of Iori's skin. _"Whoa, she feels really soft…" _

Iori thought _"He's such a good guy. I feel so bad for treating him like dirt before…" _

The two, embarrassed by their innocent yet intimate contact, broke away and looked away in the opposite directions. "So…"Iori asked, breaking the ice. "…what kind of movies did you bring?"

Yuji's eyes lit up, and screamed "I'm glad you asked!"

He dug through the contents of the bag, rambling about the significance of his tapes incoherently. Iori just closed her eyes and forced a grin. _"He's still kind of a dork though…"_

_

* * *

_

Naruto and Sakura finally stopped their kissing session, but Naruto lay on top of Sakura still. It was comforting to both, and they didn't want to completely pull away from each other yet. Then again, family incident or not, Naruto wanted her here for a reason. He finally broke the silence, asking "Sakura-chan?"

"Hmm?" Sakura didn't bother opening her eyes, feeling completely relaxed with Naruto acting as a blanket. A minute longer and she probably would have dozed off.

"What time is it?"

Sakura finally opened her eyes, and tried to get a good look at Naruto's clock. "Ten o clock."

Naruto grunted as he got up, much to Sakura's disappointment. "It's not too late, then." Naruto walked to his room, leaving Sakura clueless. He came back, with a VHS tape in hand. Though Sakura wasn't in the mood for watching a movie, she knew Naruto wouldn't pull something like this unless it was important. Naruto then took a seat next to her, looking away from her nervously. "Sakura…listen, I truly do forgive you and everyone about my father. But I need to know…did you ever know anything about my mother?"

Sakura shook her head, replying "No, Naruto. After I found out who your father was, as well as about Kyuubi, I got scared and closed the folder. I promised myself to never look in there again afterwards. I'm sure Shishou and Jiraya-sama know…"

Naruto answered. "They do." He held up the tape for Sakura to see. "I got this from Ero-senin. He says that it is a memento left over from my mother."

Sakura looked at the tape, probably as curious as Naruto himself was. But there was one thing she knew she lacked; Naruto was afraid of what he would see. He had no reason to be, but at the same time, Sakura couldn't blame him. "You want me to watch it with you?" Sakura clasped his hand and squeezed gently. She smiled when she answered for him "I'll be happy to."

Naruto's eyes watered in gratitude, and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. Naruto walked over to his TV and put the tape in. At first, there was nothing but snow on the screen. Naruto and Sakura held hands as they were about to witness everything they ever wondered about his mother.

Finally, an image came into focus. **"Is this thing on?" **A hand waved in front of the camera, and the voice belonged to a woman. The voice sounded beautifully feminine, but Sakura could hear from the tone of touch of Naruto. The camera spun around what seemed to be a small apartment. **"Well, this is Uzumaki Kushina speaking, and what you are seeing here is the new rave! The video camera!" **

"_Oh yeah, that's definitely Naruto in female form." _Sakura thought, chuckling softly. Naruto only stared at the screen nervously, still not satisfied.

"**And who's our big star tonight? Why, it's little Naruto-chan!" **The camera turned to a baby probably no more than a year old, and Sakura was swooned by how adorable baby Naruto was. He was chubby with round little cheeks, and only a handful of his blond hair. But his blue eyes were large and stunning. His mouth was a mess, explained by the bowl of baby food and juice on his stand. Sakura smirked at the bib, which had a frog in the middle. **"Look, Naruto-chan! You're on TV! Say 'Hi, Mommy!" **Baby Naruto simply looked at the camera as if it was some kind of intruder getting in his face. Suddenly, he hurled his apple juice bottle at the camera, splashing fluid and making a crack in the lens. **"AHHH! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THIS THING COSTS!" **The TV turned to static again.

"Jeez…I guess I was a brat even then…" Naruto thought.

"You were adorable back then, Naruto…" Sakura corrected him.

Naruto just chuckled "I bet that's not what she was thinking at that exact second."

Finally a new image came on the screen. It was pointing towards a sink. **"It's 8'o clock, and you know what time it is?" **Kushina's voice asked in an enthusiastic manner. Judging by the giggling, it seemed Kushina was doing something she knew would be sadistic. She asked **"Care to take a guess?" **A moment passed. **"Here's a hint: When Naruto-chan grows up, he's going to be so mad at me…" **Thought they couldn't see it, judging by the evil laughter she was probably holding her hand to her mouth.

Naruto's eyes twitched, thinking about what it could be, and one thing came to mind. "Wait…she's not…"

"**Still can't figure it out? Okay then…" **she then panned towards the bathtub and its occupant. **"It's Naruto-chan's bath time!" **A naked 2-year old Naruto, oblivious to shame, waved his arm at the camera.

Naruto's face when pale and his mouth hung wide open, while Sakura struggled to keep herself from laughing. "MOM! HOW COULD YOU!"

As the TV showed Naruto lowered into the tub with his toys, Sakura patted Naruto on the back, failing to hold in her giggles. "Oh relax. You're just too cute like that!"

"Of course. You already saw everything."

Sakura's face turned as red as most of her casual attire upon the mention of the "incident", and turned away. "Babies and adults are two different things." She muttered.

They watched as toddler Naruto splashed everything in sight. **"My my, Naruto-chan! You seem to be having a fun time! Well, are you? Tell us!" **Naruto looked at the camera, like it was something to be suspicious of. He lowered his chin into the water. **"Aww, Naruto-chan's a little shy…" **Suddenly, he jumped forward and spat at the camera. **"ACCCKKK! NOT AGAIN!" **

The screen returned to snow. "Gosh…I must've been a real terror back then."

Sakura nodded her head in agreement. "Don't worry…I've seen lots of kids who are worse than you were, even though they have good parents." Sakura then hugged Naruto. "Besides, when I have your kids…I'm prepared for the worse."

Naruto looked at Sakura in amazement. "You mean…."

Sakura immediately gave a look of fright and shouted "NO!" Seeing how frightened…and possibly hurt, Naruto was…she rephrased that. "What I mean is…not now, no. I'm not ready yet. I just figured it would happen eventually, but I think I have a good idea of what our kids will be like…especially if they take after you."

Naruto gave a nervous chuckle. "I don't think it would be that bad…"

Another image showed up on the screen. This time, a young Naruto, perhaps three years old, ran in front of the screen. He wore orange pajamas, and a frog cap. "Hey…didn't you wear that even as a pre-teen when you went to sleep?" Sakura inquired Naruto, teasing him. Naruto turned scarlet red.

"**HI!" **the little Naruto waved at the screen. Then someone else walked into view. At first, all Naruto and Sakura could see were a pair of legs, covered in green pants. The shape told them it was a woman, but for them that was not nearly enough. Until she leaned down to Naruto's height, and that's when Naruto and Sakura stared in awe at Uzumaki Kushina's face. Long, flowing red hair that showed beauty yet fierceness like no other. Her feminine face suggested grace yet the experience of a seasoned kunoichi. But her eyes, her sky-blue eyes, the ones Naruto inherited, projected a strong and unyielding, yet mischievous and kind soul.

"Naruto…your mother…she's beautiful!" Sakura cried in awe. Naruto only nodded in shock. He couldn't believe this was the woman who's personality he took after.

"**It's Naruto-chan's bedtime, but there's a problem, isn't there? Don't you want to go to bed, sweetie?" **

Naruto folded his arms and shook his head, shouting **"NO!" **

"**Pretty please?" **Kushina "begged" him, not at all frustrated with him. In fact, she seemed endeared by his stubbornness.

"**NO!" **little Naruto repeated.

"**How about I sing to you?" **she asked, still amused by his behavior. Naruto looked at her briefly and turned away, thinking about it. Kushina added more to the bribe. **"I'll read a story to you too…" **

Naruto and Sakura could tell she was planning on that anyway. Little Naruto turned to face her. **"Hmmm…OKAY!" **he shouted in a much more jovial tone. Little Naruto got into his bed, which Kushina tucked him into. She then read him a story, something about a young boy in a wolf costume going to an island filled with monsters that made him their king. After she finished, she sung him a lullaby. Naruto, as he watched it, felt himself relax and nod off as he listened to it. It felt…familiar. Finally, little Naruto fell asleep, and Kushina rubbed his tummy lovingly. **"Good night, sweetie." **She kissed the toddler on the forehead, and walked to the camera, turning off the recording.

Naruto clenched his fists. His earliest memories were around three years old. Yet he couldn't recall his mother. Sakura wanted to say something, but what could she say? While she and Naruto had family problems, they couldn't be anymore different. A few seconds later, another image came on the TV.

This time, Kushina was sitting in a chair, facing the camera and fixing her hair. **"Naruto…if you're watching this, it means something has happened to me, and you're probably a grown man by now. I've had a good track record of coming back home thus far, but, you know how it goes; no one's perfect." **Kushina chuckled nervously, realizing she probably just jinxed herself. **"Anyway, I'm recording this for the event of my death, or something of that nature. I'm sure at this point, you know of your true heritage…and the Kyuubi." **

Naruto almost wanted to turn away. He was about to get the biggest questions he ever had answered, but was scared of what he might find out. Naruto waited…but nothing came. He looked at the television, and noticed it was paused. Turning to his side, he saw Sakura holding the remote. Before he could ask, Sakura smiled at him and reached over, holding his hand. Naruto understood, took her hand in his and gave Sakura the go ahead to push play.

The video continued. **"I'm sure you are saddened, likely very angry as well. I cannot blame you. And I'd imagine the first question you have is, 'Why me?'" **Kushina paused for a moment. **"It was the hardest choice one could make. Your father was at his breaking point, and knew if something wasn't done, we would all be killed. I just recovered from labor, and saw that I was evacuated to the shelters along with several other newborns and new mothers. I'd imagine that you believe that your father acted on his own and chose you immediately." **A slight pause. **"That is not quite correct. Naruto…whatever you may be thinking, your father is not to blame…" **Kushina closed her eyes, allowing a single tear to drop. **"…I am."**

Naruto and Sakura listened as Kushina continued with her story…

* * *

"_Is he alright?" a still dazed Kushina asked the nurse, wheeling her into the shelters. _

"_He's fine, m'lady. A very healthy and strong baby…you should be proud. He looks so much like his father…" _

_Kushina smiled as she watched her baby boy being taken into the make-shift nursery. Still, it worried her, of all times for her to give birth; it had to be when the most feared biju attacked. "Don't worry, little one. Daddy's going to make everything alright…" _

_Suddenly, Minato burst into the room. "Hokage-sama!" a nurse shouted. "Is-" _

"_Excuse me…" _

_Kushina looked at Minato in horror. He was covered in cuts and bruises, and his cloak was in taters. He looked around frantically for something, and locked his eyes with Kushina. Kushina could tell that whatever was happening outside, it wasn't going well. Minato turned away from his lover and made a bee-line for the nursery. "Minato?" Kushina weakly asked. She didn't get even a hint of acknowledgement from him. _

_She rose to stand up, but was held down by one of the nurses. "You just finished giving birth an hour ago! You need to rest!" _

"_GET OFF ME!" Kushina shouted, pushing the nurse away. She rose from her wheel chair and stumbled towards where the newborns would be placed during emergencies. She opened the door, and saw the nurse and chunin stationed there knocked unconscious. She found Minato in the middle, noticing how Minato was just staring at Naruto. Naruto was crying loudly, while Minato only continued to stare at him, gently stroking his tummy. Kushina could see so much confusion in him, but could also see the love he had for his newborn son. Then, he turned away, inspecting the other babies. "What is he-?" _

_Finally, he laid his eyes upon one. Kushina did not know who the baby belonged to, but was unable to make any sense of why Minato picking up and holding the strange baby. Then he said "I'm so sorry, little one. What I'm about to do to you is a vile act, one that will condemn you to a life of solitude. The only comfort I can give you…is that it will be for the good of our people…." _

"_Stop right there, NAMIKAZE MINATO!" _

_Minato froze, and turned slowly to face Kushina, who gave him the "look". Often, it was concern for his safety. Other times, she was angry. This was a little of both. "Kushina…I don't want to, but I have to."_

"_What are you going to do with the baby?" Minato struggled with an answer. "What are you doing? Answer me, dammit!" _

_Minato knew that what he was about to do could cost him Kushina's love forever… but if it meant she and Naruto would live, it was a price he was willing to accept. "I tried everything. But the Kyuubi is too powerful…" _

"_What does this have to do with this child!" Kushina yelled. _

_Minato could barely get his voice out now. "The Kyuubi is nothing but a mass of hate; it will never surrender. It is an immortal being; it will never die. However, its true form is a living mass of energy…therefore, it can be contained…with the Shiki Fuujin combined with other fuuinjutsu." He didn't want to tell her, but she would have found out soon enough anyway._

_Kushina's eyes widened in horror as she realized what he meant. She heard of jinchurikis from other countries, and at some point in time, all the Biju were contained except one: the Kyuubi. Several countries have tried before, but the sealing methods used against the other Biju never worked on the Kyuubi. However, none of the previous ninja attempted to do so by sacrificing their life. But to summon the Shinigami…."You…you idiot!" Kushina screamed. "You're going to leave me and Naruto behind! He just came into this world!" Minato said nothing, he only looked away. "Don't you turn-" _

"_Go outside and look Kushina! The Kyuubi isn't hurt, and our people are dying by the second! Ero-senin and the Third are doing everything they can to buy me time!" The child in his arms began to wail, seemingly bringing both adults to a standstill. Tears finally flowed down Minato's face. "Kushina, I love you. I don't want to do this. But everyone's lives are depending on me to act. As Hokage, I am bound to do what I must." _

_Kushina tried to get something out to protest his reasoning. But nothing would come, and soon her own tears joined Minato's. Then Kushina looked at the baby in Minato's arm. She often heard how jinchuriki were often considered to be the very beasts they carry, even if they were the offspring of prestigious individuals. And then she realized that she could not let Minato use that jutsu on that baby, nor any other baby in the nursery. "You can't do that, Minato." Kushina said softly. She lifted the baby from Minato's arms, and placed him back in the empty crib. "Not on this one or anyone else here. There is only one who must contain that burden…" _

_Kushina turned away from him, and walked towards Naruto's crib. "Kushina…" Kushina picked up her own son, and presented him to Minato. "Kushina…no. I CAN'T DO IT! NOT TO HIM!" _

_Surprisingly, Kushina didn't raise her voice. Though her eyes were sad and heavy with regret, she said "You said it yourself. As Hokage, you must put yourself before the people. The same…applies to your family." Minato stared at her, stunned that she was willing to take such a chance and hit with the truth from her words. "Most people don't know the difference between a biju and a jinchuriki. If you pick any random baby, his parents will think you killed him. They'll never accept him; they'll just think he's the same monster that killed their loved ones. He will grow up alone, eventually becoming the monster they believed him to be…" Then, she placed the fussing Naruto in his arms. "Most everyone will despise such a person, despite our best efforts. But I know he can take it. I know he can prove to everyone that he's a child of this village. I know so…because he's OUR son_."

_Minato fell to his knees, clutching his newborn son and sobbing. Kushina kneeled to his level and embraced him, sharing his sadness. "…you're right." Minato answered. "The fact that I'm going to leave you behind and risk a child's future is hard enough as it is. But to do that to just any child…I couldn't. That's absolutely unforgivable. In the end, that would be no better than me sending other children into battle while sheltering my own…" Baby Naruto started wailing again, sucking on Minato's thumb. Despite the situation, both parents smiled. "Kushina…"He chuckled. "I think he's hungry." _

_Kushina smiled, even though she was crying at the same time. Gently, she stroked her son's cheek. "I'm sorry baby…you need to help Daddy now. But when you're done, I'll treat you to something delicious!" Both stood, and looked into each other's eyes. This would be the last time they would see each other. While it was unbearably hard on Kushina, Minato would suffer the most. He was about to sacrifice his dreams of helping her raise their son. He looked forward to watching him grow, getting in trouble at the academy, and eventually growing up to have children of his own. "I'll watch over him, Minato." Kushina choked out. She wanted to go with him, but as a new mother, she knew her place was with her son; he would need her now more than ever. The two shared a melancholy kiss, making his sacrifice even harder for him to accept. With that, he secured Naruto firmly in his arms and ran outside to stop the Kyuubi._

_

* * *

_

Everyone was silent, including Kushina on the TV. She sniffled, letting a single tear drop fall. **"Telling your father to seal the Kyuubi in you was the hardest part of my life. So many nights, I had to resist the urge to scream at myself for suggesting it, asking why I couldn't let Minato choose any child he wanted. Even though everyone who was present during the attack knows of my relation with your father, as well as yours to him, they still refuse to believe that you survived as a human being. Even today…people have tried to kill you. Had I not been here…" **Kushina unraveled her sleeves, showing the scars on her arms.

Naruto clenched his fists in anger. "They took it out on you too!"

Kushina then said **"And looking at these scars, I am reminded that had it been another child, those parents would have been forced to protect their own child from such hatred…assuming they don't become a part of it. That was a burden neither me nor Minato could ever place on another family." **Kushina paused, gathering her thoughts. **"I'm sorry if that's not good enough, but that is all I truly have to say on that matter." **She then stared into the camera with a strong, piercing gaze that stunned both Naruto and Sakura; it was almost as if she was looking straight at them in person. **"But, as a jinchuriki, there is one thing you must know. I'm sure by now, you've heard of, perhaps even met other jinchuriki who had a demon sealed inside for the purpose of becoming a living weapon. I am also certain that some on the council, mainly those with affiliations of Root, believe you should become just that." **Naruto absentmindedly nodded, forgetting that she could not see or hear him. **"But you must know that Minato did not seal the Kyuubi inside of you to become such a weapon. It didn't even cross his mind to view it as a gift, despite the benefits I'm sure you have felt for yourself. No, Naruto, as far your purpose regarding the demon goes, your duty is to contain it in order to protect us all, nothing more. But rest assured, the burden won't be forever. By the time you reach 30, perhaps even your late 20s, your body will have absorbed the fox's chakra and inherit it as your own, and then the Kyuubi will die. Until then…your life, and what you do with the power your father has 'bestowed' upon you…" **Her lips curled up into a smile that melted Naruto's heart. **"…that is all your choice. Who you are is not defined by the fox, nor is it the true source of your power. Watching you grow for as little time as I have, I know that what will be the true source of your strength is your father's spirit; you've certainly got that from him. As strong as he was physically, he would never have accomplished a tenth of the things he did if it wasn't for that spirit; the same spirit I see in you." **

There was a pause as Kushina tried to recover from her emotional monologue, and continued. **"I'm afraid that's all I have to say regarding you, your father, and Kyuubi. I hope Jiraya trained you like he said he would…" **her face then turned slightly sour. **"…and I'm really hoping you did not inherit his perverted tendencies…" **

Naruto just gawked in response. "AW COME ON!"

"**Also, when you have finished watching this tape, go see the Sandaime, or those who were in good company with him; they'll have something for you." **Kushina took a deep breath, and said **"Before I finish this recording, there is one more thing I need to say. I'm sure you've heard every parent say this to their child, but even though I've already told you this countless times, it has to be said. Naruto…" **Her face glowed as she smiled straight into the camera. **"I love you so much. You are my greatest accomplishment…" **Kushina began to tear up as she went on. **"With each passing day, it gets harder for me to cope with Minato's passing. But every morning I wake up here, every time I think of home when I'm on a mission…your smile gives me a purpose in life. You are my reason for living. Everyday, whether it's feeding you, reading to you, taking you to the park…heck, even the few times I got mad at you…you help me forget my pain and realize my life is still important in this world. I can't describe it. When you have children of your own…I'm sure you'll understand. Hopefully, by the time you are watching this, you'll have reached that point, or at least have found someone who may be able to help you with that. If between now and the time of this recording I wasn't there for you…" **Kushina struggled to hold back her tears**…"I'm sorry." **

The last thing the two ninja saw on the TV was Kushina walking up to the camera to turn it off. Sakura couldn't help but feel moved by what she saw. Sakura felt as though they met her in person, only to have her vanish. It broke her heart to see that Naruto had a wonderful mother, whom he probably could not have remembered without the tape. "Naruto…your mother was so strong and beautiful. She was the type of person I wanted to be when I was little…" When Naruto didn't respond, she turned, and saw her boyfriend crying. He was trying hard not to, but it was clearly in vain. "Naruto, I'm so sorry…"

Abruptly, Naruto stood up, and muttered "I need to be alone." With that, he quickly walked into his room, and slammed the door.

* * *

Sakura stared into the bathroom mirror. She felt like she should've been angry at Naruto…but she wasn't. Naruto had no idea about who his parents were; the revelation of both his father set him off before, and that of his mother would do the same of course. Under those circumstances, it was only natural for an individual to isolate himself, if only temporarily. "But…he needs me. I can't let him be alone. He needs someone, someone to share his pain! How do I…?" She thought of one thing...but she dismissed it, only for the thought to come up again. She tried to think of other ways to comfort him, but nothing came, just that one thing. "If I did…would it be for him, or will I just be taking advantage of him?" She finally reasoned with herself that if Naruto didn't want it, he would say so understandingly, and that would be the end of it. With that, the shorts Naruto gave her fell to the floor…

* * *

Naruto stared at his hands for the longest time. His mind was a complete mess at the moment; it felt like his mother was right there, talking to him. But she wasn't, and that made it harder to accept all the new questions he had, ones he may never find the answers to.

"It's been quite a night for both of us, hasn't it?"

Naruto looked up to see Sakura standing in the doorway. The kunoichi could see even in the dark that Naruto had been crying, judging by the red eyes. Naruto hastily said "I'm sorry. I was supposed to comfort you. It was…it was just so much…I should have waited until tomorrow…"

Sakura interjected "And the result would be the same, Naruto. You were not wrong to react the way you did. You just found out that you had a loving mother in the past…and about your father as well."

Naruto walked over to her and clasped her hand. "You had your own issues to deal with as well. In fact, it's supposed to be _my_ job to make you happy."

Sakura hugged him, and he did so in return. "Naruto…we've been through a lot, both together and on our own. During that last battle…for the first time, I really lost hope. Add my court martial to it, and I had doubts that I would get free…" Sakura eased out of the embrace at looked into Naruto's eyes. "Naruto, I love you so much. Even when I've been an absolute bitch to you, you were always there for me, whether it was cheering me on or rescuing me. You were always willing to go to any length for me. I'm sorry I couldn't give back anything in return…"

Naruto grasped her shoulders. "Sakura, that's not true at all! When we were still a three-man squad, you always helped me out with something whenever I needed it, and you always have shown concern for me as well. Whenever I got hurt, you were always the first to come heal me. And, even though I made so many friends here in Konoha, you were the one I really got to know! And whenever I'm around you…I feel like I can be myself, no matter how flawed I may be! If there was anyone I could ever count on, it was always you!"

Tears of joy fell from Sakura's eyes, and she smiled, caressing Naruto's cheek. Without saying a word she walked over to Naruto's bed. "Naruto…we've walked a razor's edge between life and death countless times, and will continue to do so throughout our lives. That's why I don't want to take any chances…and more importantly, after all you've done for me, I at least want to comfort you tonight…"

Before he could ask she was getting at, Sakura untied the sash around her waist, and let the robe fall to the floor, revealing her naked body. Naruto just stared in disbelief, forgetting to breathe. A small voice in the back of his mind said he was dreaming, but he knew that he was facing reality. At the same time, Sakura's heart was beating like crazy, it felt like it would burst from her chest at any minute. She couldn't even fathom how she found the courage to go through with this. She also didn't know whether or not to interpret Naruto's stare as one of awe or shock.

Naruto was starting to forget about his depression as his mouth went dry and his own heart pounded. He was starting to want to kiss her, taste her, and just about everything else, just forget himself in pure ecstasy. But he had to put Sakura first, he reminded himself. She had a habit of going out of her way to do things for him, and he did not want to make her do this if she really didn't want to. Hesitantly, he walked towards her, fearing he would loose control any minute. His eyes couldn't help but inspect her. Her pert breasts had to be slightly larger than his hands, and perfectly round. What surprised him, to be blunt, were her nipples; they were quite large, and their dark brown color contrasted with her pale skin. Her figure was just stunning, and judging by her wide hips, he was very much looking forward to seeing her backside. He nearly lost all self control when he saw the pink hair between her legs, the most inviting sight he ever saw.

Sakura fidgeted slightly, feeling like she was being inspected under a microscope. But she could tell that Naruto liked what he was seeing, a fact that did give her some female pride. Still, she was a bit scared that Naruto would become like a wild-animal with no regard for her. But knowing Naruto, she knew she had nothing to worry about.

After what seemed to be an eternity he finally made it over, and squeezed her hand. "Is this what you really want?" he asked, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper.

Sakura nearly choked on her own breath. "Yes." She replied, her voice much the same as Naruto's. "I've wanted you for so long now."

Naruto gently pushed her down to the mattress, and captured her lips. Kissing was nothing new for either of them, but it was about to lead to something different tonight. Naruto began to realize his pants were beginning to become uncomfortable; the natural reaction to seeing and now touching a nude Sakura.

Meanwhile, Sakura felt her core heat up tremendously in anticipation. She gave a soft moan as Naruto began to suck on her neck. "Naruto…uhh…touch me…touch me please…"

Naruto tried to control himself as he "responded" to her command. He ran his hand down her skin, in awe of how soft she was despite years of highly athletic training. Sakura moaned in response to Naruto's callous skin against her own. The difference brought out so many exquisite feelings. Finally, his hand stopped at the underside of her right breast.

"Ahhh!" Sakura cried out, feeling something wet trickle down her thighs.

Gently, Naruto began to squeeze her breasts, eliciting absolutely delicious moans from her. "Do you like this?" Naruto asked Sakura panted loudly, unable to answer at first.

"Ahh…yes, I love it!" Naruto marveled at how soft her mounds were. Jiraya had shoved pictures of breasts in his face many times before, but it was not as good as the real thing. What fascinated him more than the soft mounds were the hard nipples at the tips. He moved his attention to those points specifically, flicking them with his fingers. "NARUTO!" Sakura cried, gripping the sheets. Sakura was caught unprepared for the sensation her nipples elicited. Next to her nub, they were the most sensitive part of her body, as she learned from doing it herself.

To Naruto, they felt like little stones on her breasts. Aroused and fascinated, he continued to pinch and twist them gently. Each time, Sakura continued to moan uncontrollably. "I wonder how they feel in my mouth…" As if reading his mind, Sakura pulled his head down into her breasts, forcing Naruto to open up and take it in. He loved the feeling of his tongue against the soft flesh of her breast, and how it tasted. His tongue danced around her nipple, surprised to feel it become even harder.

Sakura felt like she was going to loose her mind any second now. It probably had more to do with her being sensitive to this kind of stimulation than Naruto's skill; it was clear from his early hesitance that he was new at this. But it still thrilled her that the man she grown to love was making love to her. "Yes…yes…" Sakura ran her fingers through Naruto's hair, encouraging him to continue.

Naruto lapped his tongue faster as Sakura massaged his scalp; it felt great, more than great in fact. It was driving him mad, and she hadn't touched anything downstairs.

Suddenly, she pushed him away and forced him to sit up. "Sakura-chan, what's-"

Sakura silenced him with her lips, effectively tranquilizing him. "As much as I've enjoyed this, it's not fair. You're still fully dressed." With that, she suddenly pulled Naruto's shirt over him. Naruto felt a little embarrassed, but didn't protest. All he did was observe Sakura's sly smile accompanied by her half-lidded gaze. Her fingers ran along his chest and abs, admiring the subtle but firm muscles underneath his skin. Naruto began to breathe irregularly, each touch from Sakura sending a jolt of pleasure. And this wasn't even the most sensitive part of his body. "Hmm…you are so sexy, Naruto." Before he could respond, Sakura latched her mouth to his nipples, causing Naruto to gasp.

Naruto never know how good being touched by a tongue could feel. Naruto lay on his back, moaning softly as Sakura continued to kiss his stomach. As Naruto was lost in her ministrations, Sakura made her move. She gripped the waistline of Naruto's pants and pulled.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted, shocked by his lover's bold move.

Sakura kissed and sucked on his neck, calming him down. "Oh hush, love. You've had most of your fun; let me have mine." Naruto wanted to give out a feeble protest, but Sakura's gentle touches made him relax, and in a few seconds he didn't care as he felt the last of his clothes removed. Sakura, feeling s took a few seconds to inspect him.

"I was under the impression you didn't like what you saw that one day." Naruto said softly in an attempt to tease her.

Sakura looked at him seductively in response. "I simply wasn't ready at the time. Besides…you surprised me." With that, Sakura latched onto his neck, kissing and sucking, Naruto letting her do whatever she wanted. While Sakura was content with what she was doing, she was curious…and a bit of a pervert. Without warning, she grabbed Naruto's equipment, eliciting a sharp gasp from him. It didn't hurt…it just surprised him how good it felt. Judging by how hard he felt, he was glad Sakura undressed him when she did.

Sakura loved being in control of Naruto like this, making him helpless and loving it. "Do you like this?" she asked.

"Oh yeah…just be careful…" Naruto moaned. While Naruto enjoyed laying back and allowing Sakura to pleasure him, he wasn't going to last much longer and be able make love to her if this kept up. Believing words would do him little good, he decided to take action. He slyly placed his hand on Sakura's back, steadily moving down lower. Sakura moaned as he made a firm grasp on her flesh, causing her to loosen her own hold. Finally, his hand found her womanhood; Sakura lost her balance, gasped, and released Naruto has he caught her. "My, you really are sensitive, Sakura-chan."

Sakura stared back at him, transfixed by the lustful gaze. The sly look in his eyes just made her temperature spike and her heart rate fly off the charts. Before she could say his name, Naruto stroked her wetness, causing her to throw her head back and stifle a scream. She held onto his shoulders, gripping tightly.

Naruto only continued his ministrations, pleased with how Sakura was responding and loving the wet folds against his fingers. His own manhood was aching for the final act badly…but that would have to wait. Though he often questioned him, Jiraya told him that when men copulated for the first time, they often came rather quickly before the women could achieve an orgasm as well. Plus, he heard that the first few times for women hurt, especially if they still had their hymen. Hurting Sakura and letting her down was something he did not want to do, especially after all she had been through. Soon, Sakura pushed against Naruto's fingers and bucked her hips, the ministrations progressively becoming more wild. She was clearly demanding for him to go faster, so he did. To Naruto, there were no words to describe how beautiful Sakura looked to him as his mind seemed to be registering everything in slow motion.

Naruto then took in to the next level, inserting a finger inside. "AHH!...Yes, yes…" Naruto added one more, and then another, Sakura's moans becoming louder and sexier.

Sakura couldn't control herself, feeling a small part of Naruto inside of her. It only made her ache for more. Suddenly, Naruto's thumb found her nub and stroked it, sending lightning bolts of pleasure throughout her body. Sakura couldn't quite remember exactly what she screamed, but it became irrelevant; Sakura just wanted to reach her peak, as the build up was slowly becoming a delicious torture. Soon she was rubbing her breasts to speed the process up.

Naruto felt a bit miffed that Sakura inadvertently hinted his actions were inadequate, though not much. "Here, let me help."

His ministrations became faster…it seemed to take forever, but finally, Sakura screamed "NARUTO!" as the pleasure building up inside her finally spiked and sent her sky-high.

As Sakura lay down, breathing heavily, Naruto just admired the sight of post-orgasm Sakura resting on his bed in the sexiest pose he ever saw.

Sakura finally opened her eyes, and just smiled at him. "That was…amazing…" Naruto hugged Sakura close to him without saying a word. At the moment, they weren't interested in sex; simply the warmth of each other's naked bodies comforted them and made them forget everything that plagued them the past few months.

It seemed an eternity passed, when Sakura slowly began kissing his neck again. "Naruto, sweety…I'm getting horny again…" she teased him.

Naruto's lips curled into a devilish smile, as he rested Sakura against the mattress, this time on top of her. "Sakura…I've wanted you for the longest time. Not because of your looks…" Naruto lowered his head in the valley between Sakura's breasts. "…although they do help…" He placed a wet kiss on the spot, eliciting a giggle from Sakura. "No, it's your soul. Your determination, your kindness, your desire to help others…that's why I fell in love with you."

Sakura stroked her lover's cheek. "Funny…I could say the same about you…and your looks don't exactly hurt things either…"

Naruto's playful face turned into one of concern. "Sakura…listen, I heard the first time hurts…are you sure you want this?"

Sakura nodded yes. She was scared about the potential pain that might come, but it was the same for every girl who did it for the first time. The fact that the one she loved would be her first was more than consolation enough.

Naruto began kissing her all over, getting both of their bodies aroused enough to complete their love-making. Their two sexes brushed against one another, causing them to gasp simultaneously. It amazed them how a simple touch between the two body parts could nearly send them over the edge. The two locked lips, and Naruto whispered "Here it comes." With that, he placed himself inside Sakura. Inside her, it was incredibly warm and soft. It was tight too. He wanted to release at that instant, but not now, not yet. "Sakura, you alright?"

Sakura clenched her teeth, and dug her fingernails into the skin of Naruto's back. Her hymen broke a long time ago, almost no kunoichi even had it when they started to have sex. The stretching of her muscles inside of her wasn't the most painful thing she felt, but still it hurt. "Uh…give me a second." Sakura took a few deep breaths, and after allowing her body to relax the best that it could, the pain became duller. "Move, Naruto. Not too fast."

Naruto did as he was told. Moving inside Sakura, it was heaven! Her soft fleshy walls grinding against him…words could not describe it. The tightness threatened to make him release, but thankfully he was managing to hold on.

While it was still hurting, Sakura could feel great pleasure from each stroke as well. It continued on, Naruto taking his time and holding his seed in, while Sakura tried to let herself relax. Finally, the pain faded to almost nothing. "Naruto! Faster, please!" she suddenly shouted.

Though taken by surprise by Sakura's sudden reversal, Naruto granted her wish, and picked up the pace. Going fast, it felt even better, but at the same time, it brought Naruto within a hair's width of releasing. "No, not now…please, hang in there!". He hoped that her end was approaching soon…it seemed to take forever with fingering her, he had no idea how he was going to pull this off!

To Sakura, the friction and contractions created a delightful feeling she was familiar with through her own ministrations during her teen years, but it was never like this. "Naruto..ah, ah…almost…AHHH! NARUTO!"

Naruto felt Sakura's walls squeeze him tight, forcing him to release. "SAKURA!"

The orgasm the two shared was like nothing either had experienced by themselves before. Though only a second or two passed, the high seemed to last for an eternity. Finally, both lovers felt the effects wear off, and felt a sudden drain in energy, emphasized when Naruto haphazardly fell on top of her. Neither one had felt so tired before; they could perform athletic and superhuman feats for hours, even days if the occasion called for it, but an hour of simple movements made their bodies go limp.

"I love you, Sakura-chan, I always have." Naruto panted out, kissing her cheek.

"I love you, Naruto. Thank you…for being patient with me all these years."

Naruto just smiled, rubbing her skin slowly. He wanted to say…well, what was there left to say? He told her he loved her several times now, and tonight he SHOWED it. He tilted his head, looking straight into her green eyes. She had suffered weeks, if not months when including the entire war that ended; now he couldn't find a trace of anxiety in her. "I'm really tired." Naruto mumbled, feeling himself get spacey. Sakura would have nodded if she had the energy. It seemed like an absurd way to end the night, but what had to be said was said through their bodies.

Without even aware of it happening, the two succumbed to sleep…

* * *

"Morning." Sakura thought.

Other than that, her mind was blank. She had no sense of where she was or what happened before. All she could gather was her breathing and that she felt unusually heavy. Finally, her brain was starting to warm up and work. First, she gathered that this was not her room. Also, she felt someone else breathing next to her. Finally, she realized she was naked. The memories from the night before came back to her, and Sakura snapped up. Or tried to. She realized the heavy blanket was in fact Naruto, still fast asleep. Sakura blushed at first, but calmed down when she realized that she not only enjoyed the event from last night and in fact started it. She didn't regret it at all; it made her feel…well, whole, for lack of a better word. She laid back down, and stroked Naruto's hair. Finally, the blonde stirred and pushed himself up slightly, only half-awake. He stared at Sakura, but did not recognize her in his state of mind. "Morning, sleepy head." Sakura whispered. She kissed him on the lips, and feeling naughty, decided to ravish his mouth a bit.

Naruto's eyes shot wide open as he finally woke and pulled back in shock. "S-Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled warmly at him. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Naruto didn't respond, although she noticed that he was staring at something towards the lower half of her body. "MY EYES ARE UP HERE!"

Naruto's head straightened up accordingly, and stuttered "M-Mah-My bad, Sakura-chan! I-I'm just not used to this! That's all!"

Suddenly, Sakura's scowl turned into a devilish smile as she leaned forward. "Oh, trust me. You will have plenty of time to get used to this…"Sakura then crawled towards Naruto, and went right up to his ear. "I'll give you plenty of incentive to as well…" she whispered, causing Naruto to shudder. She licked his ear lobe, causing Naruto to moan softly. Predicting Naruto to respond, she touched him again. Though Naruto was momentarily helpless in her grasp, he made a play of his own, and each began to mutually pleasure the other.

It intensified to the point where Naruto wanted to go for another love-making section, but Sakura gently restrained him. "I'm sorry, Naruto…but is it okay if we wait?" Sakura began to blush furiously. "I'm really sore from last night." She muttered. Naruto's brief look of disappointment turned into one of male pride, giggling at the thought of what he managed to accomplish. Sakura sat up and folded her arms. "Don't get so full of yourself." She pouted, but Naruto could tell the annoyance was completely faked.

"Well, we should get going with our day anyhow. What time is it…" Naruto then looked at his alarm clock. " ONE THIRTY ! We've been passed out for more than twelve hours!"

Sakura ignored the slight fire that lit up between her thighs, remembering the cause of their exhaustion. "It was quite a night." She muttered. Then, noticing her naked state, she realized there was little to reprimand that. "Naruto, I don't mind being naked as long as it's just you…but I've got to go outside eventually."

Naruto nodded and said "Yeah. Sorry I fell behind on my laundry schedule. You'll just have to do with what you had last night." Sakura sighed, and gathered up the robe on the floor. Then, Naruto thought of something. "Actually…why don't you give Ino a call? I'm sure she'll be able to help you out and let you borrow some of her clothes."

Sakura thought about it. "Naruto…I can't believe I didn't think of that!"

"Afterwards, we should probably buy you some new clothes ourselves, unless we can find a way to retrieve some from your old place."

Sakura nodded. Just as Naruto was about to pick up his own clothes, Sakura walked up behind him and embraced. "Naruto…thank you…"

Naruto turned around to hug her back. "Sakura-chan…if it's not too much trouble, would you like to move in with me? I mean, with what happened with your family and us…I'd love it if you did, but if not I understand…"

Sakura barely moved as she replied "Yes…" Naruto hugged her even tighter, imagining what would become of them in the future…

* * *

"It's clear." an ANBU radioed in. "There have been no traces of Iwa or any other hostiles in the area." This was to be their final sweep of the area, to make sure Konoha was safe in the midst of recovery. "Affirmative. Heading back."

Once he was out of sight, two rocks exploded in a puff of smoke, revealing a young woman and someone else dressed in robes and a kage hat. "Finally. I thought this patrol would never leave." the Mizukage growled in disgust.

Taifuu, ignoring her superior's frustration, thought about her sister and simply said "Now, we wait. Right?"

The Mizukage chuckled. "Actually, I've a feeling we won't have to be doing much waiting. Isn't that right…Gaikai Midoriiro?" The Mizukage looked into the treetops, where a pair of red eyes were staring back.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed the drama, love, and…that. More are planned but I'll try to make each one new (and importantly, tasteful).

Anyway, I've been busy with extra classes, so obviously I could not focus on this story as much. And it seems that in the near future, updates will be even fewer in between, as I'll be getting even busier, and internet access, at least to post chapters, may be a bit iffy. For you see, I will be going to Vet School.

Explains the former, but not the latter, doesn't it? Well, that's the thing. I'll be going to Vet School in….

Trinidad

That's right, Trinidad, as in Trinidad and Tobago. Why there? Well, I was not successful in my application to all the American Schools. So, I've been thinking internationally, with locations like Guadalajara Mexico and India being thrown around. I focused mainly on Ross and St. George in the Caribbean, as they cater to American Students. However, there was application after application problem with those two, and it wasn't looking too good. As I told my college advisor what I was doing, he recommended UWI at the last minute. I applied there…and I was in! Admittedly, I was quite apprehensive, but after getting some information from med and vet students, as well as alumni practicing in the U.S. from the university, figuring another acceptance like this might not come around, I signed up. I will have to jump through a few hurdles to practice back home, but from what I hear as long as I do well in school they shouldn't be that difficult. Of course, there is the worry of me sticking out like a sore thumb, but hopefully I'll make a bunch of new friends that I would have never expected to meet in a thousand years.

That being said, rest assured, I plan on finishing this story, but updates will be slowed down tremendously, whether due to work, ability to take data to computer lab should my room not have internet, or simply have to post when I'm back home for vacation or internships. But this will get done, even if the next 4 years experience slow growth! Until then, take care, and many thanks for all the support you gave me!

Next chapter: Midoriiro faces off against her sister, and Sasuke returns to Konoha!

One more thing, I'll be posting a DeviantArt link on my profile page. I've also been working on my own original comic, and while not all of it is up, I want to hear what you people think if you are DA members! Come check it out!

Naibukujogan-Eye of Internal Destruction

Fuutama-Wind Bullet

Shippu Nodachi-Hurricane Nodachi


	36. Through the Storm

Hello to you all! I am sending you this chapter all the way down South from Trinidad and Tobago! Now, I had most of this written down before I went down here for school, but academic work got in the way, and it took priority. As for how well I did...well, I'll just say it could've gone better. It's been pretty rough, and there's really no time for fun. And to prepare for an evaluation in May, I'm going to have to spend a good portion of my winter break studying everything I got from this semester. On the plus side, I'm pretty much learning what I want to. I can't guarantee getting the next chapter by the end of next semester, simply because I'll just have so much to do. On top of that, I spontaneously started a crossover fic, and am planning to churn out a Code Geass story as well. However, this will continue to be my main project. So, enjoy, and hopefully by next summer at least I can continue to write.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I probably wouldn't bother going to school.

* * *

"And here's the last of them." Ino declared as she set a cardboard box down in Naruto's apartment.

The items in question contained some of Sakura's belongings; it seemed that her mother gathered them all up the previous night, despite her shock that broke the family apart. At least she was nice enough to wait until the storm passed. Naruto had a feeling that despite taking the father's side, she still loved Sakura. Hopefully, she would come around and openly show it. But it was probably best not to bring it up right now. After all, this was the first time in a while where he saw Sakura truly happy. In fact, she seemed downright ecstatic to be moving in with Naruto, whose landlord agreed to let her rent the apartment with him this morning.

"Finally!" Sakura exclaimed as she rummaged through her things. Naruto quickly managed to get Sakura some clothes after getting her measurements, so Ino didn't deduce anything obvious about their activities the previous night.

However, it seemed to be in vain, as she teased Sakura about her current attire, saying "So, he's finally gotten to you, eh?" Her current attire consisted of a pair of orange shorts and a black blouse; at least she didn't see the yellow undergarments he gotten for Sakura (which he used his henge to get up the courage to even go in the store and get them).

Sakura's brow twitched in annoyance, and retorted "So what, Ino-pig? Did it occur to you that I'm wearing them because I think they actually look good on me?" Granted, she probably would not have gone for them yet had she come with Naruto, but that was not possible at the time. However, she was telling the truth; she thought they did look good on her, and not just because she had acknowledged her love for Naruto.

Ino rolled her eyes at the obvious and said "Sure." Before one of their childish fights could escalate, she immediately asked "So, Sakura; really, are you holding up okay?"

Sakura gave her a small smile. "It's been hard…" she suddenly wrapped her arm around Naruto's waist. "But this sly fox always finds a way to cheer me up." Naruto's face turned as red as a cherry; while Sakura did not directly state anything, Ino clearly got the implication.

"Is that right…?" Ino said, her voice trailing off as she was lost in thought. Quickly, she composed herself. "Anyway, I've got to get back to my mom's shop; I promised to help her out today at 3, which is about 10 minutes from now. Sakura, if you need anything else, just let me know."

Sakura gave her a genuine smile. "I will, Ino; thank you."

Ino was about to turn away, but then looked at Naruto, which puzzled the couple. "Naruto…thank you. For looking after Sakura; you're the one that really helped her through this ordeal. And I'm sorry for yelling at you like I did during the war…"

"No, you were right Ino. It took me a while to get it through my head, but I really needed to hear that. Thank you."

Ino nodded, and said "Well, I must be on my way now."

As Ino exited the door, both Naruto and Sakura just looked at each other. Their coupling from the previous night changed things in ways they couldn't imagine. But, at least all of it was positive. Naruto's and Sakura's faces inched closer towards one another for another kiss. But just when they were going to do it…"By the way, Naruto, I almost forgot! Read some of Sakura's romance novels! They'll tell you how she really wants it in bed!'

"INO-PIG!" Sakura angrily screamed. Ino tossed the books into the room, stuck her tongue out, and dashed off. Sakura shook her head, forcing herself to let it go.

Naruto also decided to ignore it for now, although upon seeing the novels Ino referred to, Naruto's face turned read; the author was said to be the female equivalent of Ero-senin!. But…it just might make their new love-life more fun. "Well…I guess that's that then, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Sakura responded. "So, what now?"

Naruto scratched his head. "Well, I guess some dinner…and…" Naruto stopped as he felt something. "Sakura-chan…." Naruto was a bit nervous to ask. "…did you just pinch my butt?"

Sakura giggled in response. "No, Hinata donned an invisible cloak and snuck in here." When Naruto looked around, Sakura sighed execrably. "Of course it was me, baka!"

Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly. "Ah, s-sorry Sakura-chan. This is totally new for me. I just…" Naruto seemed lost. "…I don't know. It just feels so…weird."

Sakura looked at Naruto nervously. "You mean…last night…"

Realizing his mistake, Naruto quickly grabbed her shoulders. "No! Last night was one of the best in my life!" Realizing how he was acting, Naruto let her go and calmed down. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan. I guess I'm just nervous. I've been hoping you would love me for years now, and now that you do…I guess I'm just worried about screwing it up."

Sakura's nervous face lessened and she pulled Naruto in a gentle embrace. "I'm nervous too. But it's best we don't worry about the future. We're here like this now, and I've never felt this way before. Whatever will be, will be."

Something in Naruto's head seemed to click, and he returned the embrace with a smile. "You're right…" They eased their way onto the couch, and stayed that way for a long time.

"What time is it?" Sakura asked, getting stiff from not moving in Naruto's lap.

"About 3:30, why?"

Sakura smiled and said "As much as I would like to cuddle with you, we should probably do other things today. I believe you still have some major laundry to do?" Naruto nodded. "I'll help you with that…as much as I've come to love your quirks, I will NOT have you walk around in dirty clothes." she added sternly.

Naruto nodded, surprised by her tone. "Okay…"

"After that…why don't we go get something to eat?"

"What would you like to have?" the blonde asked, realizing he hadn't even had breakfast.

Sakura smiled and said "Oh nothing much…I think Ichiraku's today is good enough. I'm not in the mood for anything special. Besides…I haven't been there in a while, and I'd like to see how Ayame-chan and Teuchi-san are doing." she added.

Too late to take it back, Naruto answered "Not so good…he had a heart attack, and Ayame-chan is running the restaurant by herself." Sakura's hands clasped over her mouth. "I don't know how he is now…but Ayame-chan would probably appreciate the company." Naruto immediately gave his trademark grin. "Fine! Laundry and Ichiraku it is then!"

Sakura grinned, and captured Naruto's mouth in a passionate kiss, which he returned with gusto. "Let's hurry. The faster we get your clothes in, the faster we can enjoy ourselves."

"Of course."

As Sakura began to walk away, she yelped as she felt something slap her across her own bottom. "Naruto!"

"Payback." he said with a sly grin on his face.

Sakura put on her best poker face, but Naruto could clearly see the lust in her eyes flaring up. "Well, if that's the way you want to play, fine. Later tonight I'll get you back, with interest!"

Naruto suddenly closed in on her and pulled her towards him, kissed her neck and fondled her even more. "I look forward to it."

He then let go, as if nothing happened, frustrating Sakura even further (physically). "Whatever. Let's just get started with this." she said, picking up a pair of dirty shorts.

* * *

Midoriiro leapt from the canopy, staring at her sister and the Mizukage.

"It's been a long-time, Midoriiro-san." the Mizukage asked as if he was greeting a daughter. The young swordswoman didn't respond. "Not in a talkative mood, are we, my dear?"

"I have nothing to say to you…" Midoriiro responded, much colder than her usual demeanor. She cast a glance to her sister, her hand gripping the helm of her weapon in anticipation. _"…and I assume nothing I say will change your mind." _she thought sadly. "If you've come to kill me, you're in for a heap of trouble." she then boldly declared.

"I'm sure you're more than confident that you can beat Taifuu; after all, elder siblings tend to have more experience in perfecting their techniques…but me? Or both of us, for that matter? Even that traitor Kisame would have a hard time taking us on. What chance do you think you have?" the Mizukage asked, eager to hear her answer.

Midoriiro responded without breaking a sweat "I'll figure it out as I go, but that's not the only problem you two have. Konoha just finished a war; even with them cutting down security to peace-time levels, a ruckus between us will attract attention. You two are strong, but a whole squadron of black-ops will wear you down enough for their Hokage to take you both out."

"We've anticipated that my dear. And if you don't cooperate, everyone in the village will die." Midoriiro looked at the Mizukage in horror. "Huhuhu. You always were too soft, my dear."

"Think what you like; it's just you and my sister. What could you possibly have on this village that would allow solely you two to destroy it?" Midoriiro hoped they were bluffing, but Mizu shinobi, from her experience, never bluffed.

"You'll see later tonight; after all, logically that's the best time to strike." the Mizukage said in anticipation

Before she could react, the two vanished from sight. "Shit!" Midoriiro looked back into the village, knowing what lied in stake if she cooperated. "Don't worry; for Sasuke-chan, I'll protect you."

* * *

Sasuke collapsed on his knees. He made it into Fire Country a few days ago, but kept running. Now, he wasn't sure if he should have pushed himself so hard. If he was right, his ability to help Midoriiro would be limited. If he was wrong…well, he came back "home" for nothing, and would likely be killed over it. A part of him wanted that…but not now. Midoriiro needed his help! Sasuke crawled to a nearby stream and took a few sips of water. Truthfully, it wouldn't help much overall, but just a few gulps of water made the exhausted human body feel much better. Finally, he rose up. His brief doubts about Midoriiro's whereabouts were pushed aside as something with even more certainty told him she was here. _"Hang in there. I will…" _he thought back to the times he spent with her. _"…I will…" _He gripped the hilt of his broken sword. "I will save you!" With that, he dashed off, risking death to save his new-found friend.

* * *

Kakashi decided to read Icha Icha and catch up on his reading before he got started with the day. Nothing like a good book before you hit the grinder…no wonder Tsunade was often caught downing sake before she began...

"I should have known not to leave you in charge!" an angry feminine voice shouted.

Kakashi dropped his book as his exposed eye widened in fear. He looked up and sure enough, Tsunade herself was in front of him. "T-t-tsunade-sama! You're back so soon!"

"And I see you've got nothing done! Even Jiraiya is more dependable than you!"

Kakashi raised his hands in an attempt to calm her down. "Forgive me; there were some incidents from last night…" Kakashi then thought of something. "Wait! You're back already! I thought you would be gone for a few days negotiating with the family…they couldn't have changed their minds that easily…"

Tsunade sighed. "That's what I thought to. But, something unexpected happened."

Tsunade stepped aside, and a young man with black hair was behind her. He was quite the pretty boy, although he looked a little feminine and didn't appear to be very athletic at all (the nobles weren't as fit as shinobi, but at a young age they were expected to undergo various training equal to samurai). He also couldn't have been older than 16. The young man then smiled and bowed at Kakashi. "Hello. My name is Heaaatisuto Gyuunyuu. It's an honor to meet you, Kakashi-san. I believe I was supposed to have been Ms. Haruno's fiancé."

Kakashi bowed hesitantly, and said "Forgive me, but I can't approve of the two of you together. Sakura is already in a relationship…" Kakashi inspected him again. "…and to be honest, I don't think she's your type." He didn't want to go into details about exactly why.

Gyuunyuu replied "Yeah, neither do I."

Tsunade interrupted "I initially came to the Heaaatisuto estate, hoping to convince them to call off the engagement. At first, they were adamant about their son getting married. They claimed that he needed to grow up, and because of Mr. Haruno's services to the family patriarch years ago, felt indebted to him." Tsunade's face seemed to crinkle and squirm, as if she was trying to block out a bad memory. "Then…I found out the real reason they've been trying to get this young boy here married."

Kakashi was curious now. "You see…" Gyuunyuu said, scratching his head, "…just as everyone was about to retire for the night, after a heated discussion, Hokage-sama was shown one of the guest bedrooms."

"And…" Kakashi beckoned him.

"And…everyone saw me with Koukou. I honestly didn't think they'd pick that specific room." Kakashi didn't see where this was going; perhaps a significant other? Even so, nobles were notorious for covering up affairs, and didn't see how this would affect his family's wish to have him married. "Okay…so?"

"Koukou was my boyfriend." Kakashi was about to question him again about it, until "boyfriend" got through his head. "Huh?"

"Well, we've technically been broken up for months now, but every now and then we still indulge one another on occasion…" he said sheepishly

Tsunade continued "And we found him on such an occasion. The patriarch nearly killed them both with a katana before I stepped in. Since I'm a respected medic-nin, they knew they couldn't convince me that 'it was a phase' or 'he needs to be conditioned'. Since I felt partially responsible for his exposure, I decided to help him start a new life here."

Kakashi then snapped out of his apparent trance, and regained his composure. "Oh! Of course! That's very generous of you, Tsunade-sama!" Kakashi clasped the young teen's hands. "Welcome to Konoha! I'm sure you will love it here!"

"T-thanks!" Gyuunyuu replied nervously.

"Gyuunyuu, may I ask you to wait in the lobby, please? I need to speak with Kakashi about a few things."

"Of course, Hokage-sama. Thank you for everything."

As he left, Tsunade began to question Kakashi about the events he spoke of. After he explained his story, Tsunade was infuriated, but she managed to keep a calm demeanor. "Well…even though I would have probably reached the same conclusion as you did regarding the matter…I'm not happy you let Sakura's father raise a hand at her."

Kakashi dropped a fearful look as he began his story and now appeared humbled, even shamed maybe. "I was going to…but _he_ convinced me."

Tsunade sighed. That boy was so odd, claiming not to understand emotions yet after a short time was able to understand people and their needs. "I'll deal with you later…but first, where is Mr. Haruno?"

"Cell 8, B-Rank division. Sakura hurt him too badly to consider him any higher, and with many of our resources stretched thin, we felt it wasn't much to worry about."

Tsunade nodded, and faced the door. "See that you take Gyuunyuu to one of the inns; I'll find a permanent place for him later." With that, she walked off.

* * *

Hinata closed the book she was reading, and looked out her bedroom window. She began thinking about everything that had happened, mainly about a certain blond ninja. Yes, she knew she had no future with Naruto, and accepted that. It didn't hurt when he turned her down; and it wasn't hurting now. But having made Naruto a big part of her life, without him even knowing it…it felt like something was missing now that any romantic ties, however one-sided, were gone. "Maybe a walk would do me good." Hinata closed the book and exited her room.

As she walked past the family garden, she noticed their house guest Hane Hero was sitting by the bench, allowing the birds to fly onto his fingers. He still kept the same steely gaze he always had ever since he moved in with them. But somehow, Hinata could also see contentment in his eyes. Not to mention, in that gentle pose, he did look quite handsome…

"Is something the matter?" he asked without turning around to address her.

Hinata almost squeaked in surprise, but managed to only keep it down to her cheeks flashing red for a second. _"Of course he would know I'm here! He's a ninja like everyone else!" _Hinata quickly regained her composure. "My apologies, Hane-san. I was just on my way out, and I saw you there. I take it everything is alright?"

"Everything is fine, Hyuuga-san."

Hinata then bowed. "I'm sorry to disturb you. I'll be on my way out now."

Hinata was about to enter the main gate, when Hero called out to her. "Actually, Hyuuga-san…"

"Please, call me Hinata. There is no need to be formal with me." Hinata responded.

"Very well." Hero answered. "Hinata, if it isn't too much trouble, may I go with you? I'm not very familiar with the area as of yet, and it may be awhile before I head out on my own again. I'd like to be shown around the village a little bit, if that's okay."

Hinata realized maybe this is what she needed. "Why, of course that would be alright, Hane-san…"

"Hero. Call me by my first name; since I'm on a first-name basis with you, it should go both ways." he replied.

"Y-yes. Sorry." Hinata looked away, blushing. _"He doesn't look it, but he is actually quite nice." _No longer content with stuttering, she answered "Anyway, I will happily show you around. Do you need a few minutes to get ready?"

Hero stood up and said "No. I'm ready to now, so long as you are."

"Well, then let's go." Hinata thought "He's probably not going to stick around. But that's no reason why I can't enjoy myself a little bit…"

* * *

Ayame wiped the sweat from her brow before she went back to work. She remembered how when her father first had her work at the shop, and upon her amateurish efforts, how he would chide her and tell stories on how he had to do it all by himself when he first started. She could only imagine how hard it was for him before she worked under him, despite the difficulties she had when she first began. Her cooking intuition suddenly signaled to her that she had two customers waiting, bringing her out of her thoughts. She turned around, and was delighted to see her favorite customer with company. "Naruto-kun! Sakura-chan! What a surprise!"

"Hello Ayame-chan!" Sakura waved. "I heard about your father; I'm so sorry. He always was a nice man."

Ayame sighed. "I know."

"So…" Naruto asked. "…when do you think the old man will be back?" The blonde was eager to tell the old man about everything that happened.

"Naruto…" Sakura told him. "…I'm afraid he won't be coming back."

Naruto asked "Huh? I know what happened to him was serious, but I've seen men in worse shape than him go back to work after a few weeks of rest."

"…the business itself is the reason he had a heart attack, you know." Ayame responded.

Before Naruto could ask, Sakura filled him in on the details. "Running a restaurant is one of the most stressful jobs in the world, Naruto. It can affect the body maliciously faster than many other occupations. Even though Teuchi-san doesn't push himself physically like we do, he still has to put up with a hectic and unpredictable schedule, getting orders right, and withstanding tremendous heat for more than 8 hours everyday. Eventually, for most civilians anyway, there comes a point where they can't take it anymore."

Naruto didn't quite get the exact how and why, but he understood the message. "So…he's never coming back…"

Ayame gave him a sad smile. "I'll miss him too, but he taught me everything he knew. This restaurant supported the both of us ever since I was a baby. And now…now it's mine…" Ayame suddenly came out of her somber mood, clasped her hands and looked at the two of them with a genuine smile. "But enough of that! You two came here to eat, not hear my sob story! What will it be?"

Naruto barked "Pork and Shrimp! Please!"

Sakura smiled slightly while watching Naruto. While it seemed on the surface he was acting like he shoved the story in the back of his mind, she could see Naruto was thinking of doing something. And she had a feeling she figured it out already. Thankfully, it was going to wait until after they ate. Finally, she made her order. "I'll have beef and vegetable, please." She normally didn't eat so much beef or pork, but any diet she had was thrown out of the window as she was trying to get the bad taste of ration pills and prison food out of her mouth. Besides, she could always burn off the calories later…especially now that she had _another_ method of exercise. She smiled slyly at the thought.

"Oh, hey Hinata!" Naruto suddenly shouted.

Sakura was brought out of her thoughts when Naruto yelled that. She looked quickly, and saw that Hinata was walking on the far side on the street with another man. She hated to admit it, but she suddenly felt very protective…no, _possessive _of Naruto. _"Shit, I'm jealous and afraid." _she thought. Luckily, she saw from Hinata's expression that she was genuinely surprised to run into them and planning nothing. Sakura was able to push those feelings to the side; after all, Hinata was a friend, and she knew she would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. Well, except that one time, but she wasn't herself and it was for her own good.

"Oh! Hi, Naruto-k-" She stopped herself. _"No, it's not like that anymore. It can't be, it shouldn't be_." She continued "I'm sorry; I wasn't expecting to run into you. I'm taking it everything's going well?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, everything's going great now that Sakura's out!"

Hinata was about to bid them farewell, not wanting to be a bother, but then she remembered something. It was only a rumor, but still…it would only be courteous to make sure. "Sakura, I'm sorry to pry, but I heard that there were some problems with your family. Is everything alright?" Sakura only turned away, flashing a brief but painful look. "Oh. I'm so sorry!" Hinata cried, embarrassed. "I was just showing Hero around; we should probably get going!"

Before she could say bye, everyone heard a loud growl. Everyone's first instinct was to look at Naruto. "Hey! I'm hungry, but not that hungry!"

The growling was heard again. Everyone turned to look at Sakura, but she only seemed to get mad. It wasn't characteristic of Hinata, which left Hero as the main suspect. He then scratched his head, and contrary to the persona he gave off until now, seemed embarrassed. "I hadn't eaten since this morning. Sorry."

While Hinata did not want to intrude on what seemed to be a casual date for the couple, she figured it would be even ruder to allow Hero to go hungry. "I'm sorry to ask again, but may we join you?" Sakura smiled in understanding, and beckoned for them to have a seat next to her.

* * *

The four chatted away throughout the evening and their meals (well, Hero didn't talk much, but he chimed in every now and then). When everyone had a full stomach, Naruto then declared he would help Ayame the rest of the evening. Sakura joined in, as did Hinata and Hero. And it was just as well too; it seemed the whole village suddenly developed a taste for ramen. Ayame, of course, still cooked. Sakura took the orders. Hinata cleaned up the stand while Hero did dishes. And Naruto…Naruto was the assistant cook for today. Without a doubt, he was pretty good; he cooked the noodles and meat just right, while Ayame did vegetables and sauces. However, this was nothing like cooking at home; he could wait. Customers could not.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. "I need more udon!"

"Coming!" Naruto responded as he got some more noodles ready. He had to do the same thing over and over again, and just as he was getting used to it, someone had to order something completely different. His feet were sore from standing, and he could not afford to take a break. But what was really getting to him was the heat; it was like stepping directly into Sasuke's Gokakyuu…

* * *

Finally, closing time came at 11. Ayame and everyone closed up shop, and prepared to head back to their respective homes. "Thank you all so much for your help!" Ayame said, bowing.

Sakura held up her hands, a little embarrassed by the praise. "It was no problem, Ayame-chan. We're just happy to do something for you after years of serving us good ramen!" Sakura chimed.

Before Ayame said anything else, she took a look at Naruto. He was slumped against the wall of the restaurant, looking completely exhausted and ready to pass out. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked, fearing he might die.

"He'll be fine; I guess he just over did it." Sakura huffed. _"Told you so, baka."_

Hinata called to Sakura "Sakura, we'll be going now! I'm sure father is worried!"

"Take care, Hinata! It was nice meeting you, Hero!" the rosette responded. Hero bowed, while Hinata waved goodbye. As Sakura put Naruto's arm over her shoulder and helped him on his feet, she said to Ayame "Tell your father we said hello, Ayame. Naruto especially is going to miss him."

Ayame smiled and said "I'll let him know. Thanks again." Sakura waved goodbye, as did Naruto, albeit weekly.

"_Quit while you can, Ayame…" _Naruto muttered, half conscious.

Sakura rolled her eyes, thankful Ayame didn't hear that; otherwise she'd have to slap some sense into him. "Come on; let's get you home."

* * *

Naruto rubbed his face as he lay on the couch recovering. Give him a trek across fire-country for a full day anytime, it wasn't as bad as being near all that heat! Sakura came back, handing him a glass of water. "Thank you, Sakura-chan." The blonde downed the water in one gulp, and let out a sigh of relief.

Sakura smiled softly. "That was very sweet of you. And as usual, you wind up paying for it."

Naruto chuckled lightly. "What can I say? It's my nature…" Finally, Naruto managed to sit up straight. "Still, I feel kind of bad, now that I've been in the old man's shoes. I took his ramen and I never thought about how hard it was for him to do that everyday."

Sakura snaked an arm around his shoulder. "Naruto, I could tell he was always happy to see you whenever you brought me over. I think your company always brightened his day. If nothing else, as a kid I could see that he enjoyed hearing about your progress."

Naruto smiled slightly. Then, his face turned serious. "Sakura-chan…I think there's a few things we need to talk about."

Sakura's own cheerful demeanor vanished as well. "Yeah, you're right. Well, there's at least one thing I need to talk to you about as well. But you first." She had a feeling they may wind up talking about the same thing eventually.

Naruto took a deep breath and began. "First Sakura…about last night. I wasn't in my right state of mind…going into it, I mean…I was just so distraught and when you…" Naruto realized that he couldn't embellish it very well. At least Sakura knew that whatever he was saying, he was putting her interests in front of his own, and was calmer than he was listening to himself. "Sakura-chan…is there a chance you'll become pregnant?"

Sakura nearly smacked herself. _"If it wasn't for that, we'd be in trouble!"_ Focusing on Naruto, she replied "Sorry. I should have told you before, but with so much going on, I guess I just didn't care at the time. But no, Naruto. I shouldn't get pregnant. I've had a seal placed on my uterus ever since I became Tsunade's apprentice. It traps sperm until they degrade, much like a diaphragm. It's nearly 100% effective, but if I desire, I can remove it without any cost to my ability to bear children."

Naruto smiled slightly and responded "Good. Just know had you not had it, I would have gladly accepted my responsibility as a father." Naruto kissed her forehead, which would soon become his primary way of reassuring her, a ritual Sakura would learn to love. "Also, there's something I needed to tell you, but couldn't because of all the chaos that was happening." Naruto paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to put it. Finally, he said "Iruka-sensei died during the war."

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked away, tears streaming down her face. "No…"

Naruto explained to her how he saved him and Shiguri, as well as his final moments. Naruto, while managing to keep it together better than Sakura, cried as well.

"I took him for granted…" Sakura said, finally managing to restrain her tears.

"No, I did Sakura-chan. Even when I couldn't see it, Iruka-sensei was always there for me. He was like the dad I never had. But…" Naruto had to take another moment to collect himself. "…in spite that, I shut him out after learning the truth. Just as I did you." he emphasized, cupping Sakura's chin in regret. "I wanted so badly to one day take my kids to the academy and tell them to be nice to Iruka-sensei. Heck, I even thought it would be great if Iruka-sensei would scold me about controlling my kids." He giggled slightly at the thought of what 3 or 4 mini-narutos would do to Iruka-sensei. "And now, that's never going to happen." he said as his small smile dropped back to a frown.

Sakura, after a moment of silence, stroked Naruto's hand and told him something. "I was never close to Iruka-sensei, not like you were. But you know, he did help me out in a way that changed my life forever." Naruto listened intently. "I was 6 years old at the time. I didn't enter the ninja academy yet; but as you know, I had a fairly tough childhood. Not as rough as yours, I guess, but you know, rough. Anyway, I was getting picked on by some bullies. This wasn't normal teasing…they were beating me, they had to have been at least ten years old." Naruto's fists tightened; the thought of older kids doing that… "Then Iruka came and got them off me. He did the usual 'I know where you live mantra' and of course, they didn't believe them, but they left nonetheless. As you can imagine, I was crying like a baby, and Iruka took me into the nursing clinic since the academy was nearby. Like any good teacher, he asked me my name, complimented on how pretty I was. I sobbed that I wasn't because of…well, you know…anyway, he said it was not freakish, and that they only picked on me because of their own insecurities. Not believing him, he then asked me about my father's surname. When I told him, he confirmed that it meant one day I was going to be a shinobi like he was. When I responded that my dad didn't even like me, he gave me this look; I understood now that he was empathizing with my loneliness, although in a different manner. He then told me that he saw a great future for me as a kunoichi; I just had to work hard and walk that path. He said there will be times I want to quit, give up, but if I stay strong, I'll become more than I ever thought I could be. He also added that I'll meet my most important people in doing so." Squeezing his hand, she said "He certainly was right about that last part." Sakura smiled at the thought. "He really was such a great guy."

Naruto held her hand saying "Yeah."

The two hugged each other, in a way sharing memories of their days in the academy, even the bad ones. "There's one more thing." Naruto said. "I'd imagine...I imagine what you must feel right now after Sasuke invaded. Especially after what happened to Shizune."

Sakura pulled away from Naruto, and looked him dead in the eye. She looked like she was almost ready to break down. "Naruto...don't."

"Sakura-chan..."

"Don't you dare think about going after him anymore!" Sakura yelled. She started sobbing softly. "I've accepted the reality of who he really is. He chose revenge over his friends, and now he'll lash out against anything in his way. Deep down, I knew it when we first teamed up with Sai. A part of me hoped you could bring him back, for your sake if not for mine. But as years went by, I realized that if Sasuke had any desire to come back, he would have. Plus, even if you were getting stronger, so was he, and the more I thought about it...the more I realized I couldn't risk losing you, not over him. I won't lie, when I first told you when you became a jonin, I still had hope he would come back. But he could've killed Kakashi-sensei back in Monsoon had I not been there. And now...just because you killed Itachi in order to save Iori...he took out his rage on us all..." Naruto expected something like this, but not to this degree, especially with what she said next. "I'm ashamed that I ever loved him."

Naruto gently brought her into a hug. "Sakura-chan...please, don't think less of yourself because of how you felt about Sasuke and what he became. Even if he acted like he wasn't thrilled to be one of us, back when we were together he protected us and worked with us. We really were a family to him. Sadly, Orochimaru brought his demons to the surface, and he is what he is now."

Sakura didn't look at him when she then said "When he tried to leave, I told him I loved him, I even begged him to take me with him. I can't believe how stupid I was back then..."

"...but you didn't. You're here with me now, and what could have happened is irrelevant. If nothing else, that incident helped you become the amazing kunoichi I love today."

Sakura smiled slightly. "I just wished it hadn't taken his betrayal to motivate me into becoming Shishou's apprentice..."

"You know, I asked Ero-senin and Kakashi-sensei something similar. When I was learning futon techniques, I felt proud of myself that I was able to learn such things in a short amount of time, even if I wasn't a prodigy. But when I thought back to what happened at the Valley of the End, I wondered if the only reason I was getting that strong was because of what happened to Sasuke. I asked Ero-senin, and he said that he personally believed it was not our success, but our own failings and shortcomings that help us become stronger." Sakura rested her head, and giggled a bit. "Hey? What's so funny?"

"I can't believe I'm taking advice from you, and good advice at that." she responded. Sakura then sat up. "You're right. I still cherish the times we had together. But...I can't forgive him for what he has done...not after Shizune..."

Naruto interrupted. "I'm not asking you to. I understand that even if Orochimaru was the one to kill Shizune, it was under Sasuke's orders. I can't defend what he does, not anymore. Even if he wanted to, I know Konoha will never let him come back, and I can't blame them." Naruto paused. "And ever since you released me from my promise, I thought about what Sasuke had done. It made me...angry. Even with the loss of his clan, I couldn't understand why he would go to such lengths to avenge them; it felt like what he had with us meant nothing to him." Naruto went back to looking Sakura in the eye. "I just want you to know that I won't be pursuing Sasuke, not anymore. But please understand, he's like a brother to me, even now and after everything he's done. After all we've been through, I can't bring it in myself to hate him. All I can promise if he attacks again, I will fight, even if it means..." Naruto couldn't say the word, but Sakura understood. "However, I can't bring it in myself to hunt him, whether for apprehension or execution." Naruto then stroked Sakura's cheek. "And, regarding him, there's something I'd like to ask you in return." Sakura nodded, still a bit hesitant what Naruto asked of her. "I don't want you going after him in revenge. I know it hurts to lose someone; I understand the rage. But...I'm worried you'll become like him." Naruto mumbled.

Sakura clasped Naruto's hand. "Thank you. Thank you for understanding. I won't lie, had I still been in ANBU I probably would have been assigned to hunt him down sooner or later, by Shishou's orders no less. I might have even requested, I'll admit it. But I'm not anymore, so it doesn't look like I'll be given any S-rank missions...but do understand this, Naruto. I understand how you feel regarding Sasuke, and I won't begrudge you for it. Just...just don't live in the past anymore."

Naruto embraced Sakura and pulled her in. "I won't...if nothing else, because now you're my present and future."

The two looked into each other's eyes, feeling as though a heavy burden was lifted off their shoulders that they didn't even realize they were carrying. Slowly, their lips closed the gap between them, and the two went from comforting each other to ravaging each other within the span of a minute. Sakura pushed Naruto down on the couch, pushing her tongue deep. "I want you..." she breathed huskily...

* * *

It was finally an hour after midnight. By now, any ninja patrols were being regulated to a few night guards. It was usually enough; these were among the best and most disciplined of ANBU after all. Only S-class ninjas and criminals had a chance of getting by them. Unfortunately, that's exactly what the guards were about to encounter.

One guard heard a twig snap behind him. Quickly, he drew his ninjato in a defensive stance. However, the enemy was out of his sight, and slashed him from behind.

Another was about to strike the intruder he saw, only to be put to sleep. The Mizukage wasted no time in breaking his neck afterwards. "Let's hurry, my dear. Before your sister interferes."

Quickly, Taifuu summoned three mizu bushin. Running all around the borders of Konoha, they carved seals into the trees.

When they were finished, the Mizukage muttered "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Seven large snails from all corners of the outskirts of Konoha appeared. Then, the Mizukage summoned a Mizubushin. The clone went through the hand signs, and yelled " Gousuikyuutai no jutsu!" A huge bubble of water surrounded the entire village; it's transparency would make it visible only to shinobi with exceptional eyesight. Which was where the snails came in. The pushed their faces into the bubble, and expelled a purplish gas within the dome.

"Mizukage-sama..." Taifuu asked "...is this really necessary?"

"Yes. And not just for luring out your sister. With the fall of Kumo and Iwa, Konoha and Suna are on their way to becoming economic powerhouses. Kiri has been the least stable economically speaking, and with one more hidden village out of the way, our income will increase exponentially. That is, of course, assuming your sister does not come and stop us..."

* * *

Sakura woke up, staring at the ceiling again. Then she remembered that it was not her ceiling...or at least, once she stayed here longer it would feel like it. She looked to her side, and smiled. Naruto lay there on his belly, still fast asleep. It was then Sakura became aware of a familiar slight pain. She kissed Naruto lightly enough not to wake him up, and got out of bed. Grabbing a robe...Naruto's own robe, he probably wouldn't mind...she strode into the kitchen.

Taking a look in the fridge, she decided to have the last of the milk. Not bothering to get a glass, she walked over to the couch and sat, drinking from the carton. Despite everything that happened, she was thankful. Thankful to have Naruto beside her. The blonde was quickly becoming her world; if someone told her that as a pre-teen, she probably would've screamed in horror. "Well, seeing what he would turn into would probably help." she thought with a sly grin. Sure, even if she didn't like to admit it, she was a pervert. But if that was the only reason for falling in love with Naruto, she may as well have followed Sasuke or wound up with Sai, the former being difficult and the latter she was beginning to think impossible. Naruto was kind, funny, ambitious...qualities she once hoped she would be able to bring out in Sasuke. Whatever events led her to Naruto, she would always be grateful for.

Then, Sakura felt herself getting sleepy again. Granted, she would have been ready to go back to bed in a few minutes, but it felt like someone administered a sedative into her bloodstream. Some small part of her realized this when her arm went limp and the carton splattered to the floor. Sakura knew whatever was happening to her was caused by an external force. With not much time left, she forced her chakra to burst through her circulatory system. Doing so would cleanse any poison in her blood before it had taken full effect. It worked...but she began to feel the effects again. Her first instinct was to run to Naruto and heal him. But as she used her own chakra to force herself to stay awake, she realized she could pass out while detoxifying his system, or wake him up only to exhaust all her chakra, only for him to pass out again. Something was happening, and Sakura did not have much time before she would pass out again from exhaustion of chakra. Hastily, she dressed in a simple shorts and shirt, and bolted for the door. Her only chance for help was if Tsunade was awake and noticed it. But if not, she was on her own...

* * *

"What's happening, Mizukage-sama?" Taifuu asked.

The Mizukage explained to the young teen "The bubble alone is a poor tool for containment; all one would need is a kunai and it would burst. Think of it's purpose as that of a giant mask, like non-ninja use in surgery. My snails will spray a gas that has anesthetic properties; it can put someone to sleep, but in an open system, that's it. However, it a closed environment, it will accumulate, putting everyone in the village to sleep. And within an hour, it will cause everyone's heart rate to drop to zero."

Taifuu unconsciously gripped her weapon. "Mizukage-sama, is this...necessary?"

The Mizukage took note of the tone of her voice and her body language, noting her clear concern for the villagers. "I guess the two are more alike then I thought." the Kage thought with distaste. "Yes my dear, I'm afraid so. Think about it. Should the village die, then our only major competitor will be Suna. And given our geographic location relative to Suna, the east side of the continent will have no choice but to rely on us! We will all prosper! Even if that weren't the case...this slow mass murder will be enough to lure your sister out of hiding." The Kage's eyes then darted at 5 o'clock. "Aren't I right, my dear?"

As if on cue, Midoriiro leapt out of a puddle behind them with her sword cocked back. The instant she was upon the Mizukage, she struck. However, Taifuu's clothed weapon blocked her attack, saving the Mizukage and forced her to leap away. "It's been a long time, sister." Taifuu removed her mask, and tossed it to the ground. She looked very similar to Midoriiro; a slightly narrower face, amber eyes like Midoriiro's battles ones, and blue hair, which ended in a pony tail. However, one could easily note the subtle feelings of hate in her eyes. She then unwrapped the cloth around her weapon, revealing a Monk's Spade. "For 3 years, I've waited for this." Before continuing, she looked towards the Mizukage. "May I-?"

"You've waited your whole life for this, my dear. Let it all out, and don't hold back."

Taifuu gave the Kage a quick bow, and focused her attention on her sister. She walked towards her, causing Midoriiro to adopt a defensive stance with her sword. "I always feared you would simply commit suicide in front of me, if you actually cared about repentance. I'm grateful you chose to put up a fight." She twirled her weapon slowly, but Midoriiro could see the anger behind the movement. "Now I can unleash all the fury I've been holding inside!" Taifuu charged with a stabbing motion, causing Midoriiro to parry the weapon. She tried a spinning kick, but Taifuu simply took to the trees. Taifuu threw her shuriken, which Midoriiro blocked by spinning her sword in front of her. However, one of the shurikens had an explosive tag, and the explosion sent her flying into a tree. "Don't let it end like this, sister!" Taifuu landed and charged forward, and using the spade portion of her blade, decapitated her sister. Feeling a brief moment of dissatisfaction, the head landed and splashed into a puddle. "A Mizu Bushin!" As the rest of the body dissolved into water, a gold sword emerged from the bushes at lightning speed. Taifuu leapt back, just in time to save her life. She then stroked her cheek, and took note of the fresh blood on her palm.

Clenching her fist, she ran towards Midoriiro. The two swung their weapons repeatedly, the two weapons never connecting with their targets. Since Taifuu's was larger and more powerful, Midoriiro had to use her agility to avoid it, while Taifuu could block her strikes with ease. However, of the two, Midoriiro was the quicker one, and the spade's heavier weight didn't do Taifuu any favors.

"Suiton! Haimen Ame no Jutsu!"

The water in the puddles around them began to boil up, but the bubbles produced a sharp, needle-like shape. Then, they all fired towards Midoriiro.

"Suiton! Mizutamari Tsunami no Jutsu!" The puddles around Midoriiro also rose, but unlike Taifuu's technique, combined to form a wave behind Midoriiro. The wave moved quickly behind her and arched over her form, shielding her from the needles.

"It seems neither blade nor water will do us any good." Taifuu noted. "Perhaps we should move on to what we're really known for in Kiri."

They both began making seals. "Yes!" The Mizukage thought. "Finally they're doing it! Soon, I'll erase them both!"

"Anton! Kuzuryu Danmaku no Jutsu!" Nine spectral dragons, each blacker than midnight, flew towards Midoriiro.

"Hiton! Doryu Unarigoe no Jutsu!" She slammed her sword down on the ground, causing rays of light to burst through, cracking the ground. A deafening roar filled the forest; had Konoha been awake, everyone would have heard it, and noticed the light bright as sun.

As soon as it disappeared, Taifuu was flown against a tree, hitting it hard. As she slumped against the trunk, Midoriiro lowered her sword. Seeing that her sister had been taking it easy on her, Taifuu smiled sinisterly and yelled "Big mistake! Anton! Ryuzan Unshuu no Jutsu!" She performed the hand seals, and Midoriiro prepared to meet the attack head on with her blade. However, the attack did not come from the front, but from her sides. Something as sharp as a shuriken pierced her cheek, causing her to flinch. Then, she was attacked by what felt like a swarm of shurikens, causing her to sink to her knees. Finally, the dark projectiles attacked her back, causing her to scream. Her scream became faint quickly though, as she felt the energy in her body being drained.

"Like it?" Taifuu asked as she strode towards Midoriiro. "The attack doesn't just cut and pierce; it poisons you as well." She kneeled down to her sister's level, and tenderly cupped her chin. "How does it feel?" It sounded like she was concerned, and of course Midoriiro knew better. Taifuu suddenly uppercutted the swordswoman. "To be weak!" She then kicked Midoriiro in the stomach, still not getting a sound out of her. "To be helpless!" She stomped on her head, and pushed it further into the mud. "To feel worthless!" She lifted Midoriiro up, and hit her with an assortment of blows in the stomach. "I do! I know what those all felt like the day you murdered our parents!" Finally, she slammed her sister's head into a tree, finally releasing her as her limp body fell to the ground. "It's not enough. No beating I can give you will ever be enough!" Quickly, Taifuu ran to retrieve her weapon. "If you're not fit to fight, there is only one fate left for you!" With that, Taifuu raised the Monk's Spade and screamed in rage for what Midoriiro thought would be the final time.

"Yes...this is what I deserve, for hurting you, Taifuu-chan." Midoriiro thought. "I don't regret doing it; it was to save you, in the end..." But then, the image of Sasuke popped into her mind. "I can't...I can't die yet!" her mind suddenly screamed.

With a sudden burst of energy, Midoriiro did her helicopter kick and nailed Taifuu in the solar plexus. The mist nin gasped after having the wind knocked out of her, and was tossed back by a leopard's paw strike from Midoriiro. The swordswoman then raced to retrieve her own weapon. "Killing our parents...it was the hardest thing for me to do. I'm sorry I hurt you in the process..." she then pointed her blade at Taifuu. "...but now I realize I can't leave you like this! Even if you kill me, your hatred won't die! So come, sister! Take out all your hatred on me, every last bit of it!" She paused to look at her sister with loving eyes, which only served to infuriate the younger sibling further "...so I can help you let it go..."

Taifuu began to laugh manically. "You don't know, do you, sister? My hatred for you is infinite!"

Midoriiro just looked at her sister with sad eyes. "Taifuu...if you only knew..."

Taifuu did hand seals, as Midoriiro did the same. Much like Kakashi and Zabuza did when they fought, the used numerous hand signs to throw the other off and attack with an unexpected jutsu.

The Mizukage didn't know which jutsu either one would use...but it didn't matter, as the Kage knew what type they each would use and they had both fallen into the trap. "Now's my chance!" The Mizukage began his own set of hand sings; however, the process was halted as the kage had to dodge sword strike aimed for the jugular. "What the-!" As the hat was torn, the Mizukage could see that it was a broken sword at that; a simple hand block would have done.

Both Taifuu and Midoriiro stopped their ninjutsu battle. "Mizukage-sama!" Taifuu shouted in concern, while Midoriiro wanted to know who was interrupting. As the cloth and hat fell away from the Kage's face, the party stood in awe as the Mizukage was revealed, which not even the closest black ops of Kiri knew; a tradition to keep the Mizukage safe from assassins. To everyone's surprise, it was a beautiful woman: red hair, black lips with sultry eyes, and her hair done in a Chinese style. She was probably in her mid-thirties, but looked no older than 25.

"I suppose the current Hokage started the trend?" The assailant asked.

Midoriiro and Taifuu looked at the new arrival, and one of the sisters recognized him immediately. "Sasuke-chan!" Sasuke stepped into the moonlight in response, pressing the broken blade against the Mizukage's throat. "How'd you find me?" Midoriiro asked.

"A lucky guess, really." Sasuke replied, never taking his eyes off the kage. "Although, given the circumstances in which you left me, it was easy to guess that it had something to do with me. Or, to be more precise, where I came from."

Midoriiro blushed, remembering how she knocked out Sasuke. Taifuu rushed at Sasuke, Midoriiro chasing her from behind. "Sister, stop!" Taifuu slashed at Sasuke, who only disappeared in a pile of snakes.

He then reappeared behind the Mizukage, once again placing the blade over her throat. "You're such a fool. You didn't even realize the Mizukage was preparing to kill you both." All three of the Mizu kunoichi did a double take. "I noticed that seals all over the forest here. I'm very familiar with them; they're chakra drainers. This variety is activated only when a specific elemental type is activated. In this case, light and dark chakra."

The two sisters took a look around, and indeed, saw seals on the trees all over. "These needed to be activated twice, with you both performing your attacks at the same time. Had you carried on with your attack, you would have both been drained of chakra...perhaps even killed. You're lucky that Light and Dark are not easily understood as the common elements; had that been the case, this lady would have gladly made traps where it would have only taken one."

Taifuu just looked at the Mizukage in bewilderment. "No...impossible! Ever since my family was murdered, Mizukage-sama raised me, she trained me! There's no way she would..."

Taifuu's defense was then silenced by a chuckle from the Mizukage, which then escalated into maniacal laughter. "Fool! I trained you to be strong enough to fight your sister in the hopes of you two killing each other!"

Taifuu just looked at her in disbelief. Collapsing on her knees she struggled to organize all the questions in her head. "But...why?"

The Mizukage stopped her maniacal laughing at once. "Do you know why the Kekkei Genkai genocide happened? Those with Kekkei Genkais are powerful weapons, and are feared. That much is true. But I ordered the genocide because..." Her red pupils became transparent white, and the nerves around her eye thickened to the point where they were visible under the skin. Making sure he was listening as well, she turned around to give Sasuke a good look.

"Byakugan!" Sasuke asked. Then, the puddles around them turned into ice, the Kekkei Genkai Sasuke encountered in the Land of Waves with Haku.

"Two Kekkei Genkais!" Midoriiro thought. "It's possible, but-!"

The Mizukage laughed again, and pulled what seemed to be a bone from her shoulder. Instead of tearing her flesh, her skin folded back together like a cellular membrane, and twirled the bone as if it was a scimitar. Sasuke heard about this one from Kabuto, and before she could reply, he figured it out. "There is no way someone can be lucky enough to possess so many Kekkei Genkais! Which means...she stole them!"

"I wish to acquire every Kekkei Genkai in the world! Jutsus that not even the Copy Ninja of Konoha can hope to use will be under my command! However...the one you two possess is problematic." The two sisters silently beckoned for her to continue. "You see, the Kekkei Genkais you have are in fact one in the same. Light and Dark. However, one cannot use both nature types. That is determined by the user's own heart. Should it be pure, the user is granted light. Should the user's heart be consumed by hate...well, I think you know."

Taifuu clearly couldn't believe it; the Mizukage was like a surrogate father (or, having learned the truth, surrogate mother). Taifuu never felt more alone in her life. "You...you used me!"

The Mizukage only chuckled. "Took you long enough."

"You've turned us against each other to kill us..." Midoriiro growled, "...all because you couldn't posses our jutsus! You're sick!"

Sasuke found his own gut twisting as well. Orochimaru would have at least kept them under his control, if that could even be called a virtue. "And because of your stupid vanity, you want to make sure no one else can use the jutsus you've acquired..."

"Yes. A difficult task, but rewarding. However, none of them have the bloodline I sought after the most..." She stared at Sasuke sultry, licking her lips.

"Shit." Sasuke thought. "She knows who I am."

Taifuu gripped her weapon, and pointed it at the Mizukage. She raised it and was about to charge, but the Mizukage just said "You plan to kill me? After all I've done to take care of you? And train you personally? True, I used you. But in the very end, it was still your sister, and not I, who killed your parents. Who knows, this may be your only opportunity to avenge them..." She sported an evil grin as she looked down on the teen. "I'm a kage, after all; I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Taifuu began to tremble, as her mind and body struggled in making a decision. "Taifuu..." Midoriiro spoke softly, trying to comfort her sister.

"YAAAARRRR!"

Taifuu attacked Midoriiro, forcing her back on the defensive. "The seals Sasuke-chan spoke about...they must need both our elemental natures to work...that means I can't fight back using my Hiton techniques!" Midoriiro rolled over a broad swing from her sister. "Stop it! She's your enemy...!"

"You both are!" Taifuu interrupted. "But the Mizukage is strong; nothing will kill her anytime soon! You on the other hand...there's no guarantee!" Taifuu swept Midoriiro off her feet, and made a move to impale her.

However, Midoriiro blocked with her gettas, and finally used Ninjutsu; however, it was not the type the Mizukage wanted. "Suiton! Suiryudan!" Using the rain as a source, the droplets formed into a dragon and struck Taifuu down.

"Anton! Shin Fuushagooya!" Dark chakra surrounded Taifuu, much like blades of wind would surround Naruto's rasengan, and expanded, cutting down the trees. Midoriiro retreated beyond its limits.

"She'll never use her Hiton attacks now. You spoke too much." Sasuke informed the Mizukage, pressing his broken blade against her throat.

Even so, the Mizukage chuckled in response. "For only so long; all the normal elements are weak against light and dark chakra. Not even combined elements like that the Senju clan possessed are any match for those. The only way to counter them is with its opposite. Soon, Midoriiro will slip up and rely on instinct. And that...can kill." Suddenly, she swatted away Sasuke's broken blade and struck him with an open palm strike to the sternum. The blow knocked Sasuke flat on his back. "Suiton! Bokugyo Koryuu no jutsu!" The puddles around Sasuke became tentacles and squeezed him so tight that he feared the air would be squeezed out of his lungs.

"You're going to have them killed...all because you won't get everything the bloodline entails!" Sasuke rasped.

The Mizukage just cackled. "Half the power for all the effort is the same as no power at all! If I can't have it all, I'll get rid of it all!" Then, she crouched down so that her face was right next to Sasuke's, as if she was about to kiss him. "However, it seems I will gain something. The one Kekkei Genkai that will truly allow me to have it all..." She opened her mouth, revealing vampire like fangs. "You have no idea how disappointed I was to learn the last Uchiha seemingly disappeared. But you have just made my day..."

"That's how she got all those kekkei genkais! She feeds on their-!" Sasuke immediately activated his sharingan and activated his preferred element. "Chidori Nasagi!" Without his sword, the Nasagi move was uncontrolled, and small bursts of lightning escaped his body. The Mizukage was flown back by a small lighting bolt, and Sasuke managed to free himself. However, without his sword as a conductor, it drained a good portion of his chakra, and the Uchiha was exhausted enough as it was.

"All you managed to do was to move yourself one step away from check."

"Shut up." Sasuke growled. "It's been a pain in the ass following her here. Why don't you just run over here and get it over with!"

* * *

I wanted to leave you all with more, but this will have to do. Don't think I'll need to tell you what happens next chapter.

Heaaatisuto-Hair Stylist

Gyuunyuu-Milk (see if you can guess where the inspiration comes from Hint: San Francisco Politician)

Koukou-Cruise

Gousuikyuutai-Giant Water Globe

Haimen Ame-Reverse Rain

Mizutamari-Puddle

Kuzuryu Danmaku-Nine Headed Dragon Barrage

Doryu Unarigoe-Earth Dragon Roar

Ryuzan Unshuu-Dragon-Nest Swarm

Shin Fuushagooya-Death Windmill

Bokugyo Koryuu-Squid Hold


	37. Battle Every Hour

Hey everyone. Hope everyone had a happy new year.

As you can see, the intro above is less enthused than usual. Well, my first semester of vet school went quite badly. I suppose it was a combination of things, but I still felt like crap at the end of it. Winter break was a much needed period of relaxation and hopefully, things will go my way this semester. That doesn't change the fact that I'm in a rather bad position right now. So, anyway, here's the next chapter.

* * *

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Uchiha Sasuke." the Mizukage hissed. "I've heard a great many things about you." Sasuke didn't move an inch; he didn't dare. Against a Kage, any careless action could mean his death. He was better off just waiting until he had a clear shot...or at least, no alternative but to fight back. The Mizukage walked up to him, and stroked his hair. He didn't flinch, but his heart was beating like crazy. As usual, it had nothing to do with attraction. "You're just as handsome as they say."

Not even then did Sasuke react. "Cut the crap; we both know what you want."

The Mizukage only sneered as she cupped his chin. "Orochimaru was a fool. He had to go through all the trouble of changing bodies, all at specific intervals. Wait for you to grow, only for you to betray him. Had he simply kept his body in shape, he could have taken your lovely eyes for himself."

"Hnn. It seems we both agree on something."

The two only stared at one another, dead silent. "I know what you're thinking; you're afraid of me. Had you had ample time to prepare for me, we would be worthy combatants. But your exhaustion cost you your only chance."

_"I wouldn't put it like that..." _

"And now, you're looking for a way to save Midoriiro" The kage cast a sideways glance to the kunoichi sisters fighting. "I admit, despite her tomboy disposition, she is quite a looker. But you could find any beauty in a brothel. Do you love her? I doubt any pupil of Orochimaru could ever love."

Sasuke had no comeback for that. "Well, you've more or less deduced my motives. And I know yours. So why don't you just get it over with, vampire!" The mizu bushin that Sasuke was talking to collapsed in a puddle. Sasuke tumbled forward, avoiding a kunai slash that was aimed for his head. He took to the treetops, the Mizukage following after him. Sasuke summoned shuriken from his tattoos, but the Mizukage dodged each one of them. "I don't have enough chakra to fight her head on! There's got to be a way to use the environment against her!"

* * *

"Anton! KokkuRyu Hoeru no Jutsu!" Taifuu slammed her weapon into the ground, electing waves of dark chakra.

"Suiton! AoRyu Saya no Jutsu!" Midoriiro surrounded herself in a bubble of water, avoiding using her light chakra, but the dark chakra still managed to penetrate. When the attack dissipated, Midoriiro felt dizzy. As she tried to focus her vision, Midoriiro found it was darker than usual. She remembered it was raining, and realized that she could barely feel the rain when it was pouring earlier.

"Feeling different? A bit woozy? Off? My attack dulls the senses."

Midoriiro spun around with her sword defensively. But she knew that her usual senses would not be enough to protect her. In a matter of seconds, and that was if she was lucky, her sister would finish her off. _"Think, Midoriiro. You must have some senses that are still working." _

"I bet you can't even tell I'm actually shouting at you!" she heard Taifuu say, although it sounded more like a whisper. Taifuu snuck up to her sister until she could practically breathe on the back of her neck. "This is it!" However to Taifuu's surprise, Midoriiro ran away from the slash of her spade. A lucky break, Taifuu figured, so she pursued her. But Midoriiro managed to dodge each strike. "Impossible!"

Midoriiro sprinted away, putting distance between the two. "Sorry, sister!" She shouted really loudly, a sign of her dulled hearing. "But I can still smell and taste you! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find a way to undo what you've done to me!" Midoriiro dropped some flash bombs in front of her, stunning the younger kunoichi.

While Taifuu stumbled, trying to get her vision back, Midoriiro felt her way through the forest, and decided to settle on a spot. _"I'll need to use my light chakra to expel the dark chakra that's infected me! As long as it stays within my body, it shouldn't trigger the seals! This is going to take a while..." _She assumed a meditative stance, and began circulating her natural affinity within her...

* * *

Sakura never struggled to stay awake so much in her life. The anesthetic mist wasn't helping things either. "I...must...get to...Shishou..." She reached the Hokage tower, but it didn't seem like she would be getting up there anytime soon. She had used up almost all of her chakra to clear her system repeatedly, but she could not hold out long enough to get to Tsunade. As it was, she was on the verge of collapsing, even though she was so numb she couldn't feel it. Even so, she began to make her way up the stairs. "I have to wake her. I..." Sakura didn't finish, as her body finally gave in and collapsed on the steps. "Naruto..."

* * *

"Senei Jashu!"

Sasuke ensnared the Mizukage in a death grip of snakes, hoping to keep her at bay; he doubted he would be able to kill her with such a basic technique. However, the Kage simply laughed it off. "Seriously! This is all you have to stop me!" The snakes were then frozen in ice, and broken apart when spiky bones protruded from the woman's body. The Mizukage placed her hand on the ground. "Bakuhatsu! Bakuretsu Mushikera Kisha no Jutsu!"

A series of explosions raced towards Sasuke. He leaped into the air, with the last explosion sending him into a tree. The impact made him see triple, and he could feel the shrapnel digging into his chest. As bad as the outcome was, had he stayed put, he could have lost a leg or two. _"This isn't the worst I've been through." _

Sasuke stood up, but was caught in a chokehold and slammed against the tree by the kage. "I'm rather disappointed. I finally meet an Uchiha, a member of the greatest shinobi clan to ever exist. And all I get is some punk who can't push himself beyond his limits." Her fangs elongated once again. "You almost made me reconsider acquiring your eyes. But, as the saying goes, it's the bearer itself that matters, right?"

Sasuke struggled to break out, but the Mizukage was strong for her petite frame, and he was weakened greatly by that blast. _"Got to break free! If that dobe can do it, there's no I reason I can't do the same!" _

He desperately tried any blows he could against the Mizukage. While they weren't painless to her, like a true shinobi, she simply shrugged it off. "HAHAHA! You're lucky I'm a sucker for watching my prey struggle! It makes watching the feeling of hopelessness all the sweeter! Once I'm done with you, and if they're lucky enough not to fall into my trap, I'll test your Sharingan on those two girls!"

Sasuke's mind suddenly bombarded him with memories of the time he spent with Midoriiro as she mentioned her. Despite how crazy she was, Sasuke realized that when he was with her, he was truly happy! And the thought of losing her made Sasuke's body surge with something he never felt before. "NOOO!" Sasuke used both arms to break her grip, and quickly followed with a sharp kick to the groin and smashed her head with an elbow. He followed through with a series of punches to her stomach, and finished the combo with a spinning kick, sending her flying to the bushes. Sasuke himself was momentarily stunned at what he was able to pull off.

Sasuke's first instinct was to go to Midoriiro. But then his head turned back to the bubble the Mizukage created. "They've been under for too long! Everyone will die!" But then Sasuke remembered he was a wanted man. _"By my own choice." _Even if he saved them, there was no way they would welcome him back, not after what he did. Then, flashes of his dark self clouded his mind, and the events that occurred in his nightmare when he nearly drowned. _"I said I would redeem myself. That doesn't mean I'd be rewarded with acceptance." _He glanced at the two kunoichi, finding only Taifuu. He momentarily panicked, but then noticed Taifuu was searching for something. "Midoriiro can handle this." Feeling the village had a more pressing need, and that Midoriiro could handle herself for now, he made a beeline for the bubble dome that surrounded Konoha. "Hold on!" Memories of his childhood assaulted him once more, and three people came to mind. _"Naruto! Sakura! Kakashi-sensei! I'm coming!" _He was nearly upon it, and took his broken sword. "The blade should still be sharp enough to pierce it!" He leapt into the air, and cocked his arms back in a stabbing motion.

However, the Mizukage suddenly flew in his face and kicked him down. Sasuke, his body still littered with shrapnel, clutched his chest in pain, not even noticing the bruises he got from the impact. "You had the right idea, although I doubt that stub of yours could have got the job done." Sasuke tried to stand, but the Mizukage placed her foot on his chest "No more fooling around. I'm taking what I want most." The Mizukage suddenly lifted him up in the air, and prepared to suck his blood.

However, two objects came flying towards her. One was a kunai, which streaked her cheek but otherwise flew harmlessly by. The other was a rock, which, with amazing aim, passed by Sasuke and nailed her in the right eye. "AHHH!"

She dropped Sasuke, but more importantly, the kunai that whizzed by her did not miss; rather, it was right on target. Sasuke saw the bubble pop, and the toxic mist building up in the village went with the wind. "Who-?" Sasuke looked around, and saw no one; typical for shinobi of course.

"Look what you've done to my face!" Sasuke turned around, and saw the Mizukage remove her hand from her eye. It was a grotesque shade of blue and purple, and swollen. There was no way she would be able to use that eye right now; in fact, she probably never would, ever again. But for a mere stone to do that, it would need to have tremendous force to do that much damage!

It was then Sasuke realized who saved him. _"Hn. It seems Orochimaru and the two of you have more in common than you would ever admit." _Sasuke turned his attention back on the Mizukage. "Fool. The one who did this is out here, and is a much stronger opponent than I am now."

The Mizukage retorted "You're bluffing, coward!"

Sasuke only sneered. "Am I, now?"

The Mizukage seemed to turn pale just then, as she was good at deciphering when someone was lying. And this did not seem to be one of those cases.

"Don't worry though; that said person's not going to help me. Or you, obviously." Sasuke assured her.

"What?"

"Orochimaru told me about some of the battles he and his former teammates shared whenever I was doing mental training. It's a tactic that the Sanin used to weaken enemies that were fighting each other. They would wear both sides down, wait for one to be finished by the other, and then, the last one standing would be helpless. Of course, the downside to that, for me at least, is that you still might be the one to take me down first." Sasuke twirled his broken sword. "So, I'll just have to deal with that when the time comes."

The Mizukage assumed a fighting stance. "Well, I'll just have to take your blood piece by piece."

Sasuke than noticed the rain stopped, although it was still cloudy. _"Perhaps...no, it's too wet. But I've got to try it..." _

Sasuke finally activated his Sharingan. The Mizukage's mouth almost seemed to water at the sight of it. "Well, if you want these so bad..." he emphasized, pointing at his eyes."...come and get them."

* * *

Taifuu calmed herself after getting frustrated from her failure to find her sister. She was going to have to stay calm that way if she had any hope of finding her now. "Come out, come out wherever you are, sis..." Something hissed in the bushes, and Taifuu threw her kunai into it. However, turning her back was just what her opponent needed. Midoriiro raced towards her from behind, with her sword pointed. Taifuu brought the spade portion of her weapon to meet her. Both sisters were at a stand still, their blades missing by mere inches, but at the slightest provocation, one could turn their blade for a fatal slash.

"Has this fight brought you the relief you sought? Has hurting me made you feel any better?" Midoriiro asked as if she was scolding a five-year old. Taifuu did not answer. But with Midoriiro's restored senses, she could see that her sister was crying. "Back when I killed Mom and Dad, I was so ashamed of what I did. I thought...I believed that allowing you to kill me one day was the only way for me to repent, if only for hurting you. But allowing you to become an avenger has also made you into the Mizukage's puppet. It's my fault that you're like this." Midoriiro lowered her sword, and embraced her sister in a hug. Taifuu was shocked by this, but couldn't fight it. "I'm not asking you to forgive me. But please, let go of the past. Live life, make yourself a future. Start a family of your own. Killing me won't bring you what you really want. If you still truly wish for revenge on me...than you would never allow me to destroy whatever happiness you have left, ever again. Please, Taifuu. I love you."

The two sisters did not move, as if nothing could bother them. Taifuu began to cry harder. Just when Midoriiro thought she finally reached her, the younger sibling hissed "No weakling like you could ever be a shinobi." She gripped her weapon and plunged it into Midoriiro's chest. Midoriiro dropped her sword, and tried to call her sister's name, but only chokes came out. Taifuu turned, and stared at her for the longest time as she fell. "You're wrong. I hate you, I will always hate you. Not even death can change that." She continued to watch as Midoriiro finally collapsed on the ground. _"Then...why am I not smiling?" _

When Midoriiro finally stopped convulsing, Taifuu slowly made her way towards her. With a trembling hand, she touched her cheek. Whatever she was feeling went out the window when she realized that was not skin she was touching. The Mizu Bushin exploded, albeit without deadly force, and sent her staggering.

"Enough." Taifuu looked up to see the real Midoriiro in front of her, unharmed and sword at the ready. "I could see the remorse in you. You have to stop, or else you will never be free." As if taunting her, she sheathed her sword.

Taifuu clenched the mud and screamed. "WHY DO YOU CARE! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, AND YET YOU'RE STAYING BY ME! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Taifuu leapt towards Midoriiro and tried taijutsu against her, her rage making her forget her weapon. While her basic taijutsu was top notch, Midoriiro dodged each strike...almost playfully...and returned her punches with swift kicks. After a spinning kick caught her in the chin, Taifuu flipped and fell face first. Midoriiro was worried she went too far, but Taifuu managed to get back up. "For so many years, I trained, allowing myself no pleasures and made you my enemy. If you still love me, and never meant to hurt me..." Taifuu looked at her, absolutely distraught. "...do you have any idea how that makes ME feel!"

Midoriiro didn't answer, but instead sobbed slightly for her. _"Oh, Taifuu. I should have taken you with me from the start." _Taifuu then began her hand sign sequence. "Stop. You know she'll kill us both if we use those jutsus."

"Fine by me. After all, there will be nothing left for me in this world once you're gone." That statement shook Midoriiro to her core, but also strengthened it.. "Anton! Aroshi Rakurai no Jutsu!" A whirling ray of dark energy swirled towards Midoriiro, but the swordswoman dodged it, though just barely.

"Sorry, but I can't fight back! At least...not the way you want me to!" Midoriiro threw her own shuriken, which Taifuu was forced to block with her staff weapon. Taifuu was prepared for a second attack, but not what Midoriiro threw at her next. "Suiton! Kyokan Uzumaki no Jutsu!" The puddles coalesced to form a giant wave behind her, and then launched itself at Taifuu. The kunoichi felt herself unable to breathe, while the water spun her around like a shirt in a washing machine. Finally, she was slammed against a tree, able to breathe again. However, the attack left her exhausted and disoriented.

She had to have been lying there for a few minutes, more than enough time for her to be finished off. Her vision focused and confirmed that Midoriiro was in front of her, probably the whole time, only staring passively at her. "Just kill me! Do it now! Otherwise..." Her hand, after some fumbling, found her weapon. "...I'll just keep coming after you, as long as we live!"

Midoriiro, instead of assuming a defensive position, sat down cross-legged. "...Is that so?" Midoriiro looked towards where the Mizukage and Sasuke were fighting. Sasuke seemed to be able to at least hold his own against the kage. However, some unknown assailant was throwing shuriken at both shinobi, and with such precision that they would cut muscle without getting in a fatal scratch. _"Someone wants them both dead, and is conserving his or her energy." _

She turned her attention back to her sister, who was pointing her weapon at her, but not attacking. "Very well then. I assume you have enough chakra for at least one big attack?"

Taifuu hesitated to answer, but slowly nodded. "I'm down to my last bit to. So, I have a proposition for you. I'd imagine now that the village is safe, Sasuke is trying to scratch out as many of the seals as he can. If he succeeds, we'll both be free once again to use our most powerful jutsus. When that happens, I want you to come at me with your best jutsu. And I shall do the same."

Taifuu snarled "What makes you so sure your ultimate attack can beat mine?"

"Truthfully, I'm not sure at all. However, I once met an old man saying that all martial arts, including ninjutsu, are the expression of one's soul. Perhaps...if we clash, for one more time without holding anything back, we can understand one another." She smiled genuinely at the last part, and Taifuu thought back to the days when they were a family. It unnerved her how much she missed her older sister's smile.

Taifuu just stared at her for the longest time, her lips quivering. Finally, she relented, and leaned against the tree. "Fine. If nothing else, I could use the time out. But, remember this: I've got my eye on you."

Midoriiro smiled, and nodded. She then yelled into the forest "SASUKE-CHAN! KICK HER BUTT! REMEMBER, FROM WHAT I HEAR, SHE'S RATHER HOT-HEADED!"

Taifuu groaned. "You always were an idiot."

* * *

"Ugh!" Sasuke winced as he felt another shuriken graze his ankle this time, nearly tearing the tendon clean through. His agility was cut down in almost in half. While his theory about the assailant weakening the both of them was correct, he noticed that the attacker seemed to be more biased towards hurting him. _"I suppose it is with good reason, though."_ he hated to admit.

At least the Mizukage was no worse for wear, as she pulled a kunai out of her shoulder. That arm probably lost half its strength as well. "Preposterous! I won't let whoever is doing this take my prize away from me!" She began another sequence of hand signs. "Hariton! Kongu Ouhi Kotetsu no Jutsu!" Earth came towards her like metal to a magnet, and fused to her skin. Then, it hardened into a shiny substance. "Diamonds are one of the thickest substances around! I'd like to see your 'ally' penetrate this with mere shuriken!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth. _"This is taking too long! Midoriiro needs me to clear the seals, and I haven't even destroyed one! Neither one is going to give me enough time!" _Then he remembered what Midoriiro just shouted to him. _"Come to think of it...I believe there are quite a few Kekkei Genkais that rival Katon jutsus..." _

He then began to laugh; it was forced, but the Mizukage was already so enraged that she couldn't tell. "What's so funny!"

"You said your armor can't be penetrated, and you are right! But I don't need to punch a hole through that jewelry to defeat you! Just a little bit of heat, and you'll be down in no time! My katon jutsus are second to none, and none of your worthless kekkei genkais can top them!" That was more boasting than Sasuke normally did. But it seemed to work, judging by the way she was clenching her fists.

"Fool!" The Mizukage roared. "You dare challenge me! Very well! We'll see how hot you really are!"

Sasuke smirked. If there was one problem with ego manic perfectionists that he learned from living with Orochimaru, it was that if you claimed one area of your expertise was better than theirs, they would fight you with that one specialty and nothing else, just to prove how wrong you were. _"I don't have much chakra, though. I better put everything I have to good use." _Sasuke shouted "Katon! Goukakkyu no jutsu!" Sasuke fired his trademark fire attack at the Mizukage, but her armor held. Still, even though he was bluffing, Sasuke was right: The heat and the armor were taking a toll on the Mizukage. However, she was still resilient enough to stand.

"Is that all you got? Yoton! Maguma Tama no Jutsu!"

Balls of what seemed to be a tar like substance were launched straight at him. He managed to dodge every one of them, but he felt the heat as they passed by; it felt like he walked straight into a bonfire instead of dodging anything. If they so much as glanced him, it would be fatal. However, the balls made contact with the forest, and the trees immediately caught fire. _"Yes! This won't take long, but I've got to keep it under control!" _If he let it go, the fire would consume the entire forest, and eventually Konoha. "Lava! That's the dumbest element I ever heard of! You might as well use plain old fire, you old hag!"

The Mizukage was seething with rage now. "You dirty man-whore! I'll show you something even better! Shakunetsu! Shizenhakka no Jutsu!" The debris near Sasuke seemed to almost explode like radium in water, giving off a heat worse than fire. "The only reason I didn't target you is because human flesh is harder to ignite, and besides, your blood won't do me much good if it's dried out!"

Sasuke ran for it as he tried to avoid further burning from the igniting wood and plants. However, the Mizukage blocked his path with various yoton jutsus. While everything was going according to Sasuke's plans, she WAS making it difficult for him. _"Can't quit now! Just keep running in a circle, and stay on this trajectory!" _The Mizukage was able to predict his trajectory, and sent several heat based attacks ahead of him. Luckily for him, Sasuke was able to clear every obstacle, but he realized he was going to need help for one more thing. As he ran, he saw the two sisters just sitting on the ground looking at each other. He didn't know what caused the ceasefire, but that just made things easier him. "Girls! Listen, I'm going to need your help! Use some Suiton jutsus to keep the fire at bay! A spring runs along the border, so you should have enough water and be able to preserve enough of your chakra for your duel. But make sure you don't put the fire out! I'm going to need it, and I'll take care of it later!"

* * *

Midoriiro immediately stood, intending to fulfill Sasuke's request. "What's your boyfriend doing?" Taifuu asked, seemingly uninterested.

Midoriiro turned away and blushed slightly. _"I wish." _She straightened up and said "Truthfully, I'm not sure. But he needs this fire. I only gave him that hint so he could take care of the seals quickly, and afterwards I was planning on putting out the flames myself. However, he seems to have something else in mind as well. Even of this magnitude, I can put out such a fire myself..." She then turned to Taifuu. "...but to simply hold it back, I can't do this alone. I need your help. Whether we can still do it tonight or wait a year, I promise, we'll finish this. But now, we need to work together again." Midoriiro took a deep breath, and added "As family."

The way she looked at Taifuu stirred something inside of her. No matter how much Taifuu wanted to believe otherwise, the way she looked at her was truthful and pleading. This was the sister she once loved, and now she was doubting she ever left.

"Konoha is not your enemy. But the Mizukage is." Midoriiro emphasized. "You yourself questioned her when she pulled her stunt there."

Taifuu finally relented. "Fine. You haven't cheated me yet...so, I suppose trusting you this one time won't hurt."

Midoriiro gave her a grateful smile. "I'll take this side. You take the other side of the village before Sasuke gets there. And as soon as we're out of here, and recovered..." Midoriiro's smile faded, and her voice became more subdued. "...we'll finish this." Midoriiro turned away before her sister could see her tears. With that, Taifuu took off. Midoriiro pushed away her regret, and began her jutsu. "Suiton! Suikyokan Heki no Jutsu!"

A giant wall of water, semi-circular, protected the border between Konoha and the forest. As the fire spread to the other side, another was raised, surrounding Konoha in a complete circle.

* * *

Had the Mizukage been hell bent on destroying Konoha, chances were she could easily destroy the water wall. Thankfully, the village wasn't what she was setting her sites on at the moment.

"Hold still!" the Mizukage roared as she fired more lava balls at him.

"Now, would you do the same if we switched positions?" Sasuke asked as he cart wheeled away from a lava ball, antagonizing her further. _"Everything's set. I just need to buy a few more minutes while the atmosphere changes..." _

Just then, an Earth Wall formed in front of him. Upon further inspection, he noticed that it was some kind of mineral. "End of the line, Uchiha. That wall will conduct the heat in this area; you'll get burned if you try to scale it. Now, give in..."

Sasuke quickly reacted and prepared one final attack, as well as the final phase of his plan. _"This should do it; if it can punch through concrete, it might be able to go through diamonds. Hopefully, I won't have to use that jutsu. Because if that fails...I'm toast." _"Katon! Gouryuuka no Jutsu!"

Lion-shaped fireballs raced towards the Mizukage, who, not knowing their destructive power, attempted to block it. As she did, however, she felt her body being pushed back, and her armor cracking. "What!"

Sasuke was smiling as the flame began to envelope her, but all hopes were dashed when she appeared right in front of him. Before he could react, he was pinned against the wall, his back searing in pain. He didn't have the leverage needed to break free this time. "How do you like a taste of your own medicine!"

Sasuke grunted, not answering the question. "How! Genjutsu?"

"Not quite. A unique property of the Diamond armor is that I can break off a shard, throw it into another location, and teleport there. It uses a good portion of my chakra, and my Hariton jutsus will be locked away for 24 hours. But I can tell you're almost completely spent now; I can either leave you here until your hair sets on fire..." Sasuke thought he smelled something cooking. "...or, better yet, I think I'll break your back..." Sasuke then noticed a stick to his side, miraculously unharmed by the fire. He could use that! "And take your eyes!"

Sasuke had just enough chakra to summon one more snake. _"REACH!" _The snake shot forth from his summoning tattoos, and wrapped around the stick. It retracted, placing it in Sasuke's hand. With a good whack across the temple, Sasuke managed to break her hold on him. Despite how much pain his back was in, he stood and put what bojutsu skills he learned to good use. Before the Mizukage could get her bearings, Sasuke pounded her with the stick, forcing her back each time before she knew what hit her. _"Come on, where's the rain!" _Sasuke thought frantically. This stick wouldn't be enough to hold her off for long.

The Mizukage lunged for him, but the young adult reacted quickly and with a circular motion, swept her off her feet. The Mizukage braced her self as she prepared to be burned alive. She screamed as she felt the lava begin to burn her...but then, it slowly receded. "What?..." She then felt water splash across her face. She opened her eyes, and saw that it was raining once again, and hard enough to cool the lava.

"Damn." Sasuke said. "I was actually hoping it would hold off for a few seconds before it started. That would've saved me a lot of trouble." Sasuke then ran back towards the wall. Now that the rain cooled it off, there was no danger in touching it. "Time to end this, Mizukage. I admit, back then when I first learned about the bloodline massacre, I quite frankly didn't give a damn. But that doesn't change the fact you committed a horrible act, all so you could gain power. I was no different from you, not so long ago. But, at least I never slaughtered entire clans to obtain the jutsus I wanted. Unlike you, I earned my abilities. Now, you are going to die from my favorite attack"

The Mizukage just stared at him, then laughed. "Give it up! I know you're completely out of chakra!" She activated her Byakugan. "I can see it clear as day! No jutsu in the world can help you now!"

"That's where you're wrong." Sasuke added. "This move requires no chakra...as the power will come from above."

It was then that the Mizukage noticed the clouds. Lighting crackled across them...

* * *

Midoriiro looked up into the sky, noticing it was raining as hard as a tropical monsoon. Upon seeing the fire being put out by the rain, she released her jutsu. Across the village, her sister did the same. Upon further observation, she noticed how stormy the weather had become. "Is this...Sasuke-chan's attack!"

* * *

Sakura's eyes fluttered open. Slowly, the haze from her mind cleared just enough to remember everything. "Shishou..." Though her mind was starting to form coherent thoughts, her body was still paralyzed. A small amount of sensation returned, allowing her to feel the rain. "Great." she mumbled. She was thankful to be out of danger, whatever it was, but now it seemed she would catch a bad cold. But even so, she had to find out what was happening...

* * *

"Behold: KIRIN!" Sasuke threw his hand down, confident of his victory.

However, the Mizukage had a trump card, one that could allow her to dodge lightning. _"Kekkei Genkais aren't my only skills! I've constructed a crude variant of the Yellow Flash's infamous technique!" _She formed the sign of the rabbit. _"This will nearly drain me, but I will have enough strength to finish you and take those beautiful rubies in your eyes..." _However, a giant shuriken shot towards her and severed both hands. "AHHHH!" Before she could gauge exactly what happened, the next thing she saw, when she looked up was a white creature approaching her. It seemed to come slowly, but that was the result of her mind slowing down time. And she had no chance to dodge...

Sasuke saw the lightning bolt come down on its intended target with tremendous force. He was nearly thrown off the wall by the force of the impact. _"Nothing can possibly survive that!" _So he hoped, anyway. Once the pressure died down, the light faded and the deafening noise was gone. With what little strength he had left, he climbed up. Once he reached the top, he was rewarded with the Mizukage's body dead and burned. For once, however, Sasuke treated this victory with caution, and chucked a rock at it making sure touching it wouldn't cause a reaction.

"Don't worry, she's dead. I made sure of it."

Sasuke looked around, frantic. The voice was close, but in which direction, he couldn't be sure. That could mean only one thing. _"Shit!" _

"However, don't take my help as an alliance."

Sasuke then felt something kick him in the side, by far the hardest he ever felt. "GAUGHH!" Sasuke was sent flying across the forest, and fell on his back like a rag doll. He was lucky his spine didn't snap in two; the kick precisely aimed for his thorax, and shattered all the ribs on his left side. He managed to turn his head to his right, and confirmed the assailant. "I was right..." Sasuke winced in pain, as his new injury made even breathing a battle. "...it IS you..."

Tsunade finally stepped out of hiding and revealed herself, giving him a cold gaze that would have sent shivers down his spine had his body been in decent condition. While she wanted to kill him more than anything, some form of closure was needed, and decided to talk to him. "It was pure luck that I decided to go out for a walk, near the edge of the forest, before the Mizukage tried to euthanize the entire village. I was about to act, until you came along." Sasuke said nothing in response to that. "Had I acted a few minutes earlier, I would have been in the fight of my life against her; I'm certain I could have taken her in a one-on-one fight, but I couldn't take the chance with those two kunoichis. Seeing that you were in fact fighting against her, I decided to take advantage of the situation, and if nothing else, use you as bait to distract her. From there, I set the both of you up to potentially take one another out...and leave the other open for the kill. I'm glad that it's you I get to finish off; it won't make you pay for the harm you've done to the village, but at least I can let you know you will be punished for your crimes in their honor." Sasuke nodded slightly, although she probably didn't notice. "Why did you come back, Uchiha? That woman was clearly not your ally; I don't know what to make of the two young girls."

Sasuke wheezed "It's...complicated. Please, let them go. They're no threat to you, especially Midoriiro."

"You haven't answered my question." she responded sternly, uninterested in their friend or foe status at the moment.

Sasuke's first instinct was to say that it was protect Konoha, but that was not true; he wound up doing it and was glad he did, but that was not why he came back in the first place. "To protect Midoriiro, the one with the sword." There was no way out of this, and for once, Sasuke wanted to be honest.

Neither spoke a word after that at first. It seemed the Hokage was conflicted, but Sasuke doubted that would waver her resolve to execute him. "She's not from the village, is she?"

"No. From Kiri, but she wasn't with the Mizukage."

"Then why was she here?"

"To protect you...for me. The how and why is a long story." Sasuke wheezed and coughed blood.

Tsunade clenched her fists. She knew Sasuke would eventually come back to Konoha, but not like this. She couldn't deny he wound up trying to protect the village, but that could never erase his crimes, especially the one that affected her most. "My student is dead because of you." she hissed, barely containing her rage.

Sasuke's eyes widened upon hearing that, but he was thinking of someone else when Tsunade said that. "S-Sakura! No, it can't be...!" A single tear dropped from his eye.

That reaction piqued Tsunade's interest. She figured he became just like Orochimaru, but it appeared that was not the case; her former comrade would have never given a damn about anyone he hurt. Deciding not to torture him for too long, and remembering that Sasuke never really knew Shizune, she told him "Relax. Sakura's fine. She was the one who killed Orochimaru in fact, and without any help to boot."

Sasuke's eyes widened again, but this time, it was in amazement. "She did, did she?" A genuine smile spread across his lips. _"Sakura, you really have grown up. I shouldn't have told you all those things..."_

Tsunade's hands trembled in anger. She wanted to see the same Sasuke that she read in the reports: cold, sinister, uncaring...this Sasuke was nothing like that. Why did he have to change now! "The one I'm referring to is the one who was killed by Orochimaru; he then impersonated her."

Sasuke turned his head away slightly, the smile gone. "I see..." It seemed Kakashi was right; revenge did not bring him happiness, and it harmed more than he could have imagined.

Tsunade felt a pang of guilt for what she was about to do. It seemed Sasuke was truly sorry for what he did. But Sasuke had put himself in this hole, and whatever trust she or any of the other leaf ninja (minus maybe one) had for him flew out the window. It was hard enough to make the council agree to take him back alive years ago; she convinced them only on the grounds that Orochimaru was not to be allowed to possess the Sharingan. But now, it was different. Sasuke was a real threat, and now, as Hokage, Tsunade had to take responsibility. What was about to happen was ultimately his fault.

"This is where it ends, isn't it?" the Uchiha asked, expecting her to have finished him off much sooner.

Tsunade replied. "I'm afraid so."

Sasuke looked into the sky, and said "I was kind of hoping that I'd have more time. But after what happened, I can't complain about what's coming to me. I do, after all, deserve it, don't I?"

Tsunade did not answer; she simply formed a chakra scalpel in her hand. "Any last words?"

Sasuke took a moment to answer. "Just tell Naruto...thanks for everything, even though I didn't deserve it."

"Is that all?"

Sasuke looked at her again, this time with a slight hint of defiance. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, it's all I can trust you with. Anything more, I want THEM to hear." Sasuke grasped the ground as he struggled to breathe. "I suppose, that's impossible now. They must hate me, especially Kakashi and Sakura. I doubt they'd want to see me now, after what I've done to hurt them all." Sasuke coughed and spat blood. He would die slowly if left untreated, and he clearly wasn't going to get it. "Just get it over with: I'm prepared to die. Have been ever since I realized my mistake." Sasuke looked at her again. "Besides...I can tell, you're not the type that enjoys to let people suffer; in my case, it's just a waste of your time."

Tsunade felt some hesitation, but forced it into the back of her mind. "This will be quick and painless. A far better fate than many in your shoes deserve." She walked toward him, intending to finish off a mistake she let go for too long. Sasuke would die for sure this time, and no idealism, whether it would be from her or a certain other individual, would get in her way.

However, she stopped when a sword was placed near her neck. "I must ask you to back away from Sasuke-chan, please." Tsunade looked to her side to see Midoriiro, staring her down with cautious but fearless eyes.

Tsunade thought hard for a moment, and recognized her. "You're the Bloody Flash of the Mist, correct? Gaikai Midoriiro, I believe." Midoriiro nodded her head slightly, not surprised she knew her. This woman was, after all, the Hokage. "All of the remaining seven swordsmen were under Uchiha's command...except you." she noted with interest.

"I haven't exactly stayed in touch with my former comrades, if you could even call them that. I'm not exactly the ideal assassin." Midoriiro replied.

Tsunade looked at her long and hard, knowing Sasuke wasn't going anywhere. "Yes, I can see that." Had she been like the others, Tsunade wouldn't have made note of it and killed them both. But, it seemed she needed to hear the whole story before acting.

"Midoriiro." Sasuke wheezed. "This doesn't concern you; get out of here."

Midoriiro retracted her blade from Tsunade's throat, but instead of backing off, she walked towards Sasuke. Then, she picked up the stick he used as a bo, and whacked him on the head, knocking him unconscious. Tsunade gave the kunoichi a most flabbergasted expression. "We would have wound up arguing for a while, and I would have beat him senseless in the end anyway, so I thought it was just best to get it over with." She laughed slightly at the last point before assuming a defensive stance with her weapon.

Tsunade only gave her a slight nod in shock. "You ARE a weird one." Tsunade then retracted her chakra scalpel and regained her composure. "I still require an explanation as to why you and Uchiha Sasuke are here. He attacked with Mist Swordsmen before, and the situation as I understand it does not bode well for either of you."

Midoriiro, thankful she was willing to listen, replied "It's a long story, Hokage-sama. To give you the abridged version, my sister and the Mizukage had a grudge against me, and wanted to settle it. Because I was traveling with Sasuke-chan, they figured out he was from here, and threatened to harm your village if I did not come to meet them. The anesthesia bubble the Mizukage pulled was mainly to draw me out of hiding and attack...in order to ensure I would fight my sister. I didn't tell Sasuke-chan anything about the plot, but he figured it out since I left him suddenly. The rest, I believe, you saw for yourself."

Tsunade and Midoriiro only stared at one another for the longest time; they both had an understanding, but both would do whatever it would take to protect the people they held dear. Tsunade, being at full health however, could easily take on Midoriiro in her present state. Still, she knew evil intent when she saw it, and Midoriiro clearly had none. "How did you wind up joining Uchiha?"

Midoriiro, still holding her sword in guard position, replied "I found him drowning in a river. I resuscitated him and let him recuperate where I was staying at the time. I had a rather shady past that I'm not proud of either, so I sympathized with him, seeing that he had a troubled past as well. We traveled together for a while, and..." Midoriiro seemed to blush before she could finish her sentence. "To be fair, he's rather withdrawn, even though I have an idea why. He also seemed lost, like a certain way of life didn't work out the way he thought it did."

Tsunade looked at her long and hard. "Did you sense any...resentment from him?"

Midoriiro didn't seem surprised, but rather saddened. "No. Frustration, anger, sorrow...but not hatred. And even if it was there, it was more directed at himself then anyone around him."

Tsunade, noting the fierce look in her eyes, then asked "You're not going to let me near him, are you?" She had to admire her courage.

"I know my odds of defeating you are slim...and even if they weren't, I wouldn't want to harm you...but I can't let you kill Sasuke-chan. No matter what horrible things he's done...he's my only friend. Trust me, this is coming from someone who's killed her own parents. I know what it feels like to do a terrible wrong." Midoriiro's eyes began to look more pleading. "And I believe if a person feels truly sorry in their heart, they should have a chance for redemption. I know it's not an easy road...it may even be impossible...but we both have to try!"

Just then, Midoriiro felt another blade pressed to the back of her neck. "Forgotten your promise so soon?" her younger sister growled, poised to behead her depending on what she said.

Midoriiro trembled, not out of fear, but anger. Anger at herself. "Taifuu...I know you're upset about the present situation, but NOW IS NOT THE TIME!" For the first time in years, the started to behave like normal siblings.

"YOU PROMISE ME ONE DUEL, AND YOU BAIL OUT! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU'D PULL SOMETHING LIKE THIS!"

"WELL, DO YOU HAVE A WAY TO RESOLVE THIS! I'D LOVE TO HEAR IT IF YOU DO! PLEASE, ENLIGHTEN ME OH DEAR SISTER!"

Taifuu grunted. _"This is the first time in years that I've been..." _She looked for the right words. _"Mocked. As if I were being talked down to like a child." _She should have been furious, but the little argument made her...happy. Putting it in the back of her mind, she focused on the present and looked at the Hokage. "As a matter of fact..."

She raised her blade, but Tsunade attacked first and placed her palm on the kunoichi's chest. Taifuu yelped, and fell to the ground. She tried to get back up, but her limbs weren't responding correctly. Midoriiro grabbed her attention, and looked her in the eye. "Taifuu...after all we've been through, I don't want to treat you like this..." Midoriiro suddenly kicked her across the head, also knocking her unconscious. "BUT THAT WAS THE MOST IDIOTIC, PEA-BRAINED, RETARDED MOVE I HAVE EVER SEEN A SHINOBI DO!" Midoriiro allowed a tear to flow down her cheek. _"You're lucky that she chose to incapacitate you when she had every right to stop your heart."_

Midoriiro took a deep breath, and suddenly bowed to the Hokage. "Forgive my sister; she's always been quite rash."

Tsunade only stared at her impassively, no longer considering her a dire threat, if not an off character. She didn't want to arrest her, or worse. However, considering all that happened, she couldn't let her go just like that. "Since you have no ties to Kiri now, what is it you want most?"

The question surprised Midoriiro, and she had to think about that for a moment. "I...I just want to live a happy life, like any normal person. I don't want to bring harm to anyone, let alone your village, Hokage-sama."

"What about her?" Tsunade asked, pointing to Taifuu.

Midoriiro looked to Taifuu. "She was compliant with the Mizukage's plan, I won't deny that. However, she personally bears no grudge against Konoha, and with the Mizukage intending to kill her, I doubt she will readily join with anyone who wishes otherwise. I could tell she did not like the plan, and only went along with it out of loyalty. We still have a score to settle, but I will end it...one way or another."

Tsunade then asked the million ryo question. "And what is your opinion of Uchiha Sasuke?" Tsunade then reactivated her chakra scalpel. "Choose your answer carefully, or I will cut both you both down." Midoriiro simply looked to the sky, staring at it for a good minute. Tsunade was getting anxious...more to kill Sasuke then her answer. "I won't put up with any more shenanigans tonight. If you have any words that can save the bastard's life, I highly recommend you say them now."

Midoriiro finally looked at her, this time with a resolved and determined face. Suddenly, she tossed her sword away, and kneeled. "Make me your watchdog."

Tsunade's brow arched, and she deactivated her chakra scalpel. "Explain."

"I can watch over Sasuke no problem. In the best case scenario, he has learned to trust me...albeit grudgingly...and came here of his own free will with the sole intention to help me. If it's the worst case scenario, he won't get away from me." She then gave Tsunade a mischievous grin. "Believe me, he's tried. And failed, miserably."

Tsunade folded her arms, and circled the swordswoman. "Your answer is a bit too convenient. You couldn't have gotten to know Uchiha for that long, and I doubt he would open up to anyone; he never did with any of his 'friends' back at home."

Midoriiro didn't falter in the slightest. "Believe me, I'm not a bad judge of character. I've fought crime lords, assassins, even those that some might call super-villains by most standards. They all had something in common, something that made them cold and unremorseful. He may have had that in the past...but the Sasuke-chan I met had no trace of that. All I saw was a young man who was lost and confused."

Tsunade looked at Sasuke, and thought back to what he just said. No fear, no rage...it was almost as if he wanted to die. "While you do seem like the trustworthy type, for me to trust you so easily would be foolish. Even if you severed all ties with Kiri, you're still a mist swordsmen, and on top of that, you are protecting one of our most dangerous enemies. How can I ensure my village's safety under those circumstances?"

Midoriiro thought for a minute, and then threw her sword to the ground. Bowing, she said "My life is yours to keep. If for any reason you suspect betrayal, you may take my life...and Sasuke-chan's." Tsunade was truly surprised now. "We can also act as the shinobi you can trust when you can't trust others. Even if he can never come home, I will prove to you that Sasuke is no threat, and neither am I. Should I be proven wrong...I'll finish your job."

Tsunade thought carefully about this. All of the negatives she could think of were related to what Sasuke did. As a shinobi, she had to put her emotions in the back of her mind. However, she realized there were some positives to this as well. With Danzo as a political enemy, she would need an ace up her sleeve. And from what she heard, he was recruiting successors. And if for any reason her official shinobi were unable to fight or spy, THEY would be able to. Then, she thought of Naruto during his younger years. When even Sakura's faith in Sasuke withered, Naruto still had no doubt that there was good in Sasuke. Perhaps now he could prove himself. Although she still felt very uncertain about this, she decided this was worth the chance. "Very well then." She canceled out her scalpel and extended her hand to Midoriiro. "Give me your hand."

Midoriiro did so, and Tsunade summoned a slug on her wrist. "EWWW!" Midoriiro gawked.

"Silence!" Tsunade hissed, covering up her shock on how a Mist Swordsman had a fear of slugs.

The gastropod crawled up Midoriiro's arm, who was beginning to look a little green. "OhkamiIhateslugs, ohkamiIhateslugs..."she kept whispering to herself.

_"Yup, I've a good feeling you're trustworthy." _Tsunade thought. No bloodthirsty killer would ever act squeamish in front of anyone.

The slug then finished it's journey right over Midoriiro's heart, and disappeared. "The slug has laid eggs of a parasite into your system." Tsunade explained. "On it's own, it won't affect you; it only requires a small amount of nutrients to survive, and it can't reproduce. It will live only as long as I do. However, whenever I want, if I feel you're not doing your job, I can kill you in an instant. With the help of the slugs, I created this parasite; it is immune to nearly all toxins and antibiotics, and it cannot be detected by normal doctors. For another medic ninja to detect it, they would have to carve out your heart and study it...which would make removing it moot, no?"

Midoriiro, still looking rather pale, nodded her head. "And Sasuke?"

Tsunade walked past her and towards the battered Uchiha. "The same as you..." She placed a similar slug on Sasuke's chest. "If I give the signal for you to be killed, he will die as well." Midoriiro looked a little disturbed. "I am sorry, but I cannot allow you...Sasuke anyway...to just go away free. I will not endanger my people like I did before."

Midoriiro then said "I have something to take care of, something I might not come back alive from. Should I die, I don't think it's fair for Sasuke to die with me. Is there anyway for him to get out of this should that happen?"

Tsunade then gave her a scroll. "This is a sub-summoning contract. It allows you to summon small messenger slugs, nothing else, and it won't conflict with any other contracts you may have signed. Seal it with your blood, as well as him. I want you to report back to me at this weekend. Whatever you summoned is not easily manipulated by genjutsu and its unique physiology make it nearly impossible to threaten. So long as I hear from you every week, you will be safe. However, if you miss one..." Tsunade crossed her finger across her throat. Midoriiro gulped quite audibly, but did not object. Tsunade's stern expression then changed. "When will this...obligation of yours be fulfilled?"

"A week, at most." Midoriiro replied. "My sister and I just need time to recover."

Tsunade then looked to the kunoichi on the ground, still unconscious. Somehow, she just knew this was similar to what Itachi went through. "I see. It's that kind of thing?"

Midoriiro nodded. "I have a complicated past."

Tsunade then announced "Everyone will have recovered by now. I suggest you take these two, and get going. I can throw the ANBU off and claim the Mizukage's slaying was my doing."

Midoriiro picked up both her sister and Sasuke, and, with a bit of difficulty, bowed. "Thank you so much, Hokage-sama! I promise, I won't let you down!" Using her teeth, she picked up the sword by its scabbard. "Sowy. Ah've mai ands fu."

Tsunade said nothing, except to beckon for her to leave. Midoriiro, despite her exhaustion, took off running. Tsunade then looked toward the village, thinking of all the questions she would be asked...and how to make her arrangement secret. "Ugh. I'm going to have a tough time explaining this one to the council...but I know someone will be happy about this..." Despite the situation of it all, she smiled to herself, and she didn't know why.

* * *

Later that day, after extra patrols were put around the perimeter, Tsunade paid Sakura and Naruto a visit. Sakura was aware of what was happening in the village that night, and a little embarrassed for not being able to help Tsunade solve the problem despite her struggle. _"I wouldn't have been able to make it were I in your shoes." _Tsunade told her. _"I got lucky; so don't beat yourself up about it. Besides...I think you've been through enough." _

Before elaborating any further, Tsunade gave them a warning. "What I'm about to tell you two must NEVER leave this room, got it? This is unofficially S-class information. It's unofficial because thus far, I've told no one in the council nor ANBU."

Naruto then asked "If it's top secret, than why are you telling us?"

Tsunade looked at him, struggling for an answer. "Because...it's something I feel the both of you have a right to know. Besides...I don't want to keep anymore secrets from you than I have to, Naruto. Besides, this concerns you...and Sakura as well...for better or for worse."

She then explained what really occurred that night, and how she spared Sasuke on the condition that he could place a parasitic bomb inside of him should anything go wrong. The two of them were just stunned silent. "Well?" Tsunade asked, impatiently. She had expected much more extreme reactions; Sakura being furious, given what happened to Shizune, and for Naruto to be ecstatic, at least about Sasuke being alive. "Do you believe I'm mistaken in giving Sasuke another chance?" Tsunade explicitly asked.

Naruto then spoke. "To be honest...I don't know." Naruto got up, and walked to the window. "I know that I've been the first to claim I could get Sasuke back, but neither Sakura-chan or I could live in the past anymore. I'll even go so far as to admit that you had every right to kill him..." Naruto turned around and stared to face her. "...but even I will admit that I myself would have spared him, although I wouldn't have let him go free. Well, technically you didn't, but still..."

Sakura then gave her opinion. "Shishou...I'm sure you must feel as I do about Shizune-sempai's death, right?" She tried to make it sound as unaccussing as possible, but the slight hiss gave it away.

Tsunade nodded sadly. "Believe me, I was so tempted to. But I wasn't looking at a killer that night. Sasuke had clearly tried to save the village that night, and while at first I chose to ignore that on grounds of his previous crimes...I felt he deserved some form of mercy. Not to mention Gaikai-san's input had quite an affect on me..." Tsunade was afraid to press further, but at this point there was no turning back. If Sakura was going to cut her out from her life...she deserved to know the whole truth at the very least. "And as Hokage, I simply cannot follow my most base emotions. That's the kind of thinking that Danzo would want to enforce. I simply did what I felt was necessary for the village, and nothing more, while upholding justice as well. I don't plan on having Sasuke return a hero anytime soon; he will be paying a hefty price after all. His life is literally in my hands now, and if I choose to make him work, he's doing it for free. My slugs will inform me if Sasuke is up to no good again, and if they don't...well, then I will take care of him myself." Tsunade got up and said. "Thank you for hearing me out." She was too afraid to look either one in the eye now. "I understand if this...changes things between us. All I ask is that you both think about this, and feel free if to speak to me if you still have any concerns. Should anything go wrong, I'll take full responsibility."

Tsunade was almost to the door when Sakura spoke up. "Shishou." Tsunade didn't turn, but she stopped, indicating she was listening. "I wouldn't have done what you did. I don't think I can ever forgive Sasuke." She then looked to Naruto. They both replayed the conversation they had the other night. "But, I have learned to move on. No matter what Sasuke has done, I will not let it get in they way of my life." Sakura then turned back to Tsunade. "And most all, Shishou, I trust you. You have never led us astray before, and neither Naruto nor I will ever give up on you."

Tsunade turned around, and smiled. "I'm glad to hear that Sakura."

When she left, Naruto and Sakura only stared at each other. Then, Naruto smiled and embraced her. Sakura kissed him, and returned the embrace. Nothing more had to be said about Sasuke; Tsunade would take it from there. All that mattered was their village, and each other. "Sakura...let's get something to eat."

"Ichiraku's?" Sakura's question was playful and teasing, not the displeased tone he expected.

"Actually, I thought something different would be nice for a change." Naruto clasped her hand and led her out the door. "I heard of a place that's been getting quite a bit of praise. I figured we could try it out while we have the time."

Sakura hugged his arm, and leaned into his shoulder. "I'd love to." The two let their worries slip by, simply happy to be in one another's company.

* * *

4 days later, Sasuke hobbled along the stick Midoriiro took with her, the same one Sasuke used against the Mizukage, to witness the duel about to take place.

"_It saved your life." _she explained. _"I figured you should use it as a good luck charm." _

Sasuke believed that for once, what she said was reasonable enough. But that didn't impact him as much as the news Midoriiro told him about Tsunade's decision regarding his punishment. _"I can't believe she let me live_._ I really was prepared to die that night." _Sasuke still didn't think he earned that right. He knew, even if he personally would be forgiven, he would still get jail-time, and he would be forced to do all his work for free, for who knows how long. _"Regardless, I may have a chance to make all my mistakes worth something. If Tsunade wishes to use me, then I will serve her from the shadows to my utmost ability." _

Finally, he came across the two kunoichi in a clearing. They held their weapons at the ready, but neither one made a move yet. _"They're going to give it all they got. It will all come down to one attack." _Sasuke didn't like it. Looking it Taifuu, it reminded him of himself. He didn't entirely buy what Naruto told him about his brother; but after their fight, he realized that he could never hate his brother the way he thought he should. It was best that Taifuu understood that now. "Taifuu." he called out.

Midoriiro didn't move from her spot nor take her eyes off her opponent, but she still said "Sasuke-chan, this does not..."

"Actually, it does." Sasuke finished for her. Midoriiro, realizing he had something important to tell her sister, butted out. He turned his attention back to Taifuu. "I'm not going to stop you from fighting this duel, if this is what you truly wish. However, I want you to hear me out." Taifuu did not respond, but he had no doubt in his mind she was listening; after all, if she couldn't hear him then her shinobi career would have ended before it began. "I was in the same position you are in now. My own brother, whom I once looked up to, destroyed my clan a long time ago. I know the feeling. The loss, the despair, and all the questions that come with it. I felt alone. I wanted revenge. And in pursuing revenge, I betrayed everyone else who loved me."

Taifuu at first did not respond. Fearing that he did not get through to her, Sasuke turned to leave. "Was it everything you hoped for? Your revenge?" she asked.

Sasuke turned around. "I never had a chance to find that out. One of the people I left behind already killed him...in self-defense I assume...and once again, I felt like I was left with nothing. I turned my revenge on him. However, I found out that I hurt people I didn't intend or want to, and that my so called 'just cause' was no different than a wild animal's instincts. It just felt like a black hole in my chest afterwards. And, then I realized..." Sasuke looked up to the sky, hoping to conceal his tears. "...all I really wanted was everyone back, including my brother, back to the way he once was. And now, I wish to be with the friends who supported me when I felt I didn't want them. Take it from someone with experience, Taifuu: Revenge is an insatiable desire once you hold onto it. It won't bring you happiness nor closure. Even if you win this duel, all the hate you have will still be with you, and it won't make the pain go away. At best, you'll just blame someone else for your problems and find that as your reason for living."

Taifuu trembled slightly, then gripped her weapon tighter. "You failed both times you tried to take revenge."

"Revenge leads to nothing but failure, whether you take out your target or not." Sasuke replied matter-of-factly.

Taifuu then responded "Whatever. If it makes you feel better, I'll offer you my life after I kill her."

"I refuse." Sasuke replied stoically, although he had to admit he probably would be boiling over if anything happened to Midoriiro. "I've had enough of being an avenger. No matter how I'll feel afterwards, killing you won't bring Midoriiro back...assuming you will even win."

"I'll bet you'll change your mind quickly once I take her head." Taifuu shot back.

"We'll have to see if you can even accomplish the later." Sasuke then took his seat by a large rock, wincing. Midoriiro did a much better job of bandaging him up than she did her CPR, but he still believed he should see a doctor soon. He then looked to Midoriiro. _"She would never kill her sister. She might use a more defensive technique...no. She promised her to unleash her ultimate attack. Whoever wins, it will all come down to power. That means, in order to keep Taifuu alive, she's counting on Taifuu's attack to be strong enough to deflect enough power of the other while still taking a hit from it, and live!" _Sasuke looked to Midoriiro. She was sweating, clearly nervous. But not from losing. This was more than a mere duel to either one of them, and even with her skills, Midoriiro was going to need all the help she could get. _"Good luck, Midoriiro"_ Sasuke thought.

Minutes passed, with the two opponents doing nothing but preparing for an attack and reading a counter attack. Some like Naruto would have gotten bored and yelled at them to do something, but Sasuke knew better. Suddenly, a squirrel leaped from the tall grass, and the two kunoichi charged. Both yelled a battle cry as if they were hated enemies, although that was true for only one.

"Anton! Azura Kokkuzuo no Jutsu!" Taifuu spun her monk's spade above her at rapid speed, speed that should have been impossible even for shinobi. All life behind her was sucked dry; the grass crumpled, the leaves in the trees shed, and it seemed most of the animals didn't fare too well. Their energy came to the center of the stick, gathering up in a sphere. The chakra's light color became black, and it was released in the form of a demon with red, fiery eyes.

Midoriiro made her move a split-second later. "Hiton! Buddha Dokikure no Jutsu!" The sun seemed to concentrate its rays in the sky, and then they were absorbed into Midoriiro's sword. Her golden Tsurugi glowed blindingly, as if the sun had come down to the level of earth. Taifuu swung her weapon, propelling the demon at Midoriiro. Midoriiro did the same, and a wave of chakra energy cracked the earth and surged towards her.

They could both tell that their techniques would be in a stalemate temporarily, but one of them would come out on top eventually. Indeed, upon impact, the two jutsus were at a standstill. However, Taifuu's had one edge that Midoriiro's did not: Her jutsu only required the chakra to be gathered and released; it would not dissipate until she willed it. Midoriiro, however, had to keep inputting her own chakra. Soon, Midoriiro was beginning to lose ground, as the force of Taifuu's attack was causing her to move backwards centimeter by centimeter. Then, just when she was about to lose her balance, memories bombarded Taifuu's mind. All the times they played, how Midoriiro took care of her when mom and dad weren't there. Most of all...she remembered the love she once had for her sister. And that's when she felt it returning. "NOOOOOO!"

Taifuu redirected her technique just inches away from Midoriiro and let the spectral chakra demon disappear. However, Midoriiro couldn't stop her attack when she realized that Taifuu forfeited the duel, and the energy wave propelled forward. "TAIFUU!"

Taifuu dropped her weapon, and simply stood her ground. Time seemed to slow down for her mind, if not for real, as she witnessed the wave of light surging towards her. _"Sister..." _Taifuu only smiled, and opened her arms as if waiting to embrace her. _"I denied everything I felt these years. You were always my most important person; I locked that away, feeling I had to avenge our parents. But I knew...I knew that you would have never done such a thing unless you had to._ _I just want us to be together again. That's impossible now, and it's my fault. But please..." _The slow-motion she was experiencing seemed to have come to an end, causing her to shout "...LIVE!" She experienced a brief moment of pain, and then, her world went dark.

* * *

Taifuu's eyes squinted, and she felt a terrible ache racing through her head. _"Ohh...did someone get the number on that cart that hit me?" _She managed to open her eyes, only to close them again to shield them from the sunlight. _"Huh...It feels nice. I'd figure I'd be in Hell instead of Heaven_..." In fact, by all means, she should! She bolted upright, and winced as she felt pain shoot through her body. That could only mean one thing. "I'm alive..."

"Taifuu!" A familiar set of hands gently but firmly gripped her shoulders. Taifuu looked to see Midoriiro's amber eyes meet her red ones. Midoriiro tried to compose herself, but the tears were building up rapidly. "You're awake..." Taifuu stared at her, but this time, there was no hatred. Finally, Midoriiro could not contain herself anymore, and embraced her sister, weeping onto her shoulder. "Oh, Taifuu! I'm so sorry for everything!"

"Sister..."

"There were so many things I could have done to stop this!"

"Sister..."

"I promise! I'll do my job right for once, and take care of you! You don't have to love me in return, I just want you to be safe!"

"SISTER!" Taifuu shouted, stopping Midoriiro's ranting. "...you're hurting me."

Midoriiro took note of Taifuu's bandaged state, and with an "eep!" she let her go. "Sorry! I was just...relieved."

Taifuu sighed, and gave Midoriiro the smile she hadn't seen in years. One of love and admiration "Me too, sister." She clasped Midoriiro's wrist with her bandaged hand. "If anything, I'm the one who should apologize for everything. I should have heard you out from the start. I let my grief get to me..."

Midoriiro wiped a tear from her eye and smiled. "It seems none of us are going to get anywhere with our apologies. I'm just glad you're still here."

Taifuu nodded and said "Same here. I just wished I realized I didn't truly hate you sooner..." Taifuu winced as another thing of pain went through her body. "Nee-san...speaking of which, how am I still here? That attack should have been enough to kill me..."

The two kunoichi turned their heads towards the direction of another groan. The two sisters turned to see Sasuke lying in an adjacent bed, bandaged up so much that he even looked like a mummy. "He shielded you at the last second using some sort of Raiton shield." Midoriiro explained. "You both still took a lot of damage, but had he not done that, you two would have been dead for sure. "

"Of course..." Sasuke groaned, addressing Taifuu "...had you did everything according to your sister's plan and gave it all you had, you'd have come out alive with half the injuries you have now." Sasuke winced. "And I wouldn't have had to jump in."

Midoriiro gave Sasuke a smile he never seen on her before. Sure, he could see gratitude and relief like he expected. But there was something else, something he couldn't quite place. Suddenly, Midoriiro walked over to him, and placed a kiss on his lips. Sasuke temporarily tensed...but soon found himself relaxing. It actually felt kind of nice, and he found himself kissing back. Midoriiro backed out of the kiss and said "I'll let the doctor know you're both conscious, and see if there's anything you need."

"That explains the better than usual medical treatment." Sasuke muttered, although he meant it as a joke. Still, an actual was always better than an amateur who was forced to dress her own wounds for years.

Midoriiro pouted "Hey! I'm getting better!" With that, she exited the room.

An uncomfortable silence followed between Sasuke and Taifuu. "I think my sister likes you." the kunoichi stated.

"Yeah, that was pretty obvious." Sasuke confirmed. To his surprise, he didn't mind; that fact itself was much like the kiss.

"And I feel sorry for you." Sasuke hated to admit it, but Midoriiro did have quite a few quirks he had yet to get used to.

* * *

And there it is!

Next chapter will simply tie up some loose ends, and afterwards, I plan for a time skip. Until next time!

KokkuRyu Hoeru-Black Dragon's Cry

AoRyu Saya-Blue Dragon Scabbard

Bakuretsu Mushikera Kisha-Exploding Worm Train

Aroshi Rakurai-Storm Thunderbolt

Kyokan Uzumaki-Giant Whirlpool (you should have known part of it!)

Kongu Ouhi Kotetsu-Diamond Queen Armor

Maguma Tama-Magma Ball

Shizenhakka-Spontaneous Combustion

Suikyokon Heki-Giant Water Wall

Azura Kokkuzuo-Azura's Black Hatred

Buddha Dokikure-Buddha's Hidden Wrath


	38. Live Life

Hello everyone! I know, it's been too long! I never thought I would go a full year between chapters! I apologize profusely for pulling a rip-van winkle on you all. I haven't had as much free-time as before, and I've had a lot of personal issues going on. While I can't say I've overcome them, I think I've learned how to deal with them a lot better.

So anyway, this next chapter is just a long thing of issues I wanted to wrap up before the time-skip I plan on doing. I know, this isn't much to offer after so long (story-wise anyway), but this is a necessary stepping stone for the next arc. Also, there's another lemon here, and sadly, I'm still not really qualified to write them but I went ahead and did anyway. So, if anything just sounds too trashy (I tried my best not to make it seem that way, but I guess our opinions differ on those), please just let me know and I'll do my best to change it. So, I hope you'll enjoy, and I'll do my best not to try your patience. Again, thanks for all the support and reviews all these years!

* * *

"And it seems Iwagakure is in shambles. We've infiltrated the village with the greatest of ease and faced no opposition. We have reason to believe that the Iwa have relocated; however, given their history, I doubt they are organized enough to reform anytime soon." The two masked ANBU ninja finished their reports, and awaited further questions from their Hokage.

Tsunade simply turned around in her seat, facing the panoramic view of the village in deep thought. After a moment, she said "One day, they'll be back. But this is good news; two opposing nations temporarily out of commission, a neutral third out of the game…I've a good feeling about the future." She turned around to face her two subordinates, smiling. "Take a break you two; I'll send some more scouts into the region later." The two ANBU disappeared, while Tsunade looked out the window. "Finally. For once, everything is going right." Tsunade tried to temper her optimism with realism, but even so, the path to the future remained the same. She couldn't help but feel happy despite everything that happened recently. "Shizune, Sarutobi-sensei, Dan, Nawaki…if only you were all here to see me." She walked over to her desk and observed an old photo. Herself, her sensei, and her teammates.

Hiruzen was one of the best senseis one could ask for; although Orochimaru was his prize pupil, he made sure that she and Jirayia grew into splendid ninja as well. Although things were tense between them after her brother's death, Sarutobi always tried to accommodate her wishes for a medic on each team the best he could, and, viewing Dan and Nawaki's deaths as his responsibility, tried his best to comfort her during those dark days. Orochimaru, to her surprise, she felt a great deal of pity for more than she would have liked to admit. Despite what he had ultimately become, she knew Orochimaru grieved dearly for the loss of his own parents as a child, and back then despite their differences was a true friend. She sometimes wondered if he should have been given another chance like Sasuke had…but that didn't matter now. His actions ultimately led to his demise, and that was no one's fault but his own. Still, she hoped his spirit found some sort of piece. And Jirayia…Tsunade remembered what she wrote to Naruto during the war. That the bonds of a teammate are not to be severed so easily. Nothing really happened between her and Jirayia…she simply had her own personal issues as did he and they went their separate ways. But now, he was one of her most trusted spies. No reason to keep it just business between them. "Maybe I should take him out for a drink…"

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he took in the fresh air. His wounds from protecting Taifuu and Midoriiro were healed for the most part, and it was nice to have the aches and pains go away. However, what was more important now was that Midoriiro's own painful journey had finally ended…

And Taifuu was ready to begin a new one. He watched from afar as the two sisters conversed. As he predicted, Midoriiro looked quite sad despite everything that happened recently. "Taifuu, are you sure this is what you want?" the swordswoman asked. "I was hoping we could spend more time together…"

Taifuu smiled sadly and looked away. "A part of me would like that too, sister. But it's not that simple. You see, I've done many terrible things to prepare for our encounter. I've…I've hurt a lot of people in order to get to you." She then looked in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke wasn't sure if she was looking directly at him, but he nodded nonetheless; he understood. Revenge turns you into the thing you want to destroy, causing you to not think about the pain you'll bring others. "I have to see what I can do to repent for my sins." Taifuu said, turning her attention back to Midoriiro. "I know there's a chance I could be sent to prison…or worse. But as long as I'm free, I promise to see you as often as I can."

Midoriiro smiled, despite her disappointment. "Sasuke-chan and I are going to be moving around a lot. We really don't know where we're headed."

"Go wherever you need to; I'll find you." Taifuu frowned in shame as she said "I think you know by experience I'm a pretty good tracker."

Midoriiro then pulled her into a hug. Taifuu, stunned, hugged back. After so many years of hating, it felt so foreign, to be loved again. But it was one she would cherish. "You take care of yourself." Midoriiro whispered into her ear. "I'm just glad, even across the country…we're family once again."

"Me too, sis…" Taifuu whispered "…me too." The two sisters pulled back, and looked at each other. Taifuu backed away slowly, and finally, seemingly vanished into thin air.

Midoriiro chocked back a tear as she watched her sister leave her sight. Then, a strong hand clasped her shoulder. "She'll be fine." Sasuke said. "I've a good feeling about that."

Midoriiro, reassured, simply smiled. "Yes."

"And we'll have our own duties to attend to." Sasuke reminded her.

"You forgot the part that we're doing them for free." Midoriiro added, although she really didn't care about that part.

Sasuke just smiled. "Well, we wouldn't be looking for redemption if we asked for a fee, now, would we? Now that you mention it though, we should find jobs. Since we're going to be traveling a lot, maybe bounty hunters would be the best thing for us in our spare time. It'll be a great use of our skills after all." Noticing Midoriiro looking at him unsure, he shot his hand in front of them. "Hey, if we get out of this, you and I could have a show done on us. Think about it: Snake the Bounty Hunter…"

Midoriiro just stared blankly back at Sasuke. "Did you just…crack a joke?"

Sasuke blinked and looked at her in disbelief. "What? I did?" Sasuke's shoulders went slack as his mind processed it. "I did…something…funny!" he nearly shouted.

Midoriiro just chuckled. "My, Sasuke-chan. Not even I thought you had it in you. To be honest, that joke kind of sucked. But with my training, you might become the next C. Iwane!" Her chuckles soon became full-blown laughter.

Sasuke still couldn't believe he made a joke, not a sarcastic and cruel remark, but one that was intended for everyone to laugh at. And…it felt good. For just a moment, he forgot all his personal pain, and to see someone else smile didn't fill him with the same rage it used to. _"Perhaps…I can get used to this."_ He thought. He looked intently at Midoriiro, who was talking up a storm again. He wasn't listening to the words though; he was simply observing her smile. _"She's really pretty when she smiles…wait, what did I…!" _The fact that Sasuke could say something positive, or appreciate something was once more a complete shock to his system.

"Well, let's not waste another minute! Let's begin our journey!" Midoriiro grabbed Sasuke's hand before he could protest, and the two ran at top speed, just for the heck of it. "Sasuke-chan…you're still carrying that stick." Midoriiro observed, surprised that he took one of her suggestions so seriously.

Sasuke looked at his right hand, holding on to the piece of wood. "Hey, for good luck. Your saying. So far, I've no reason not to trust you on that. It needs a bit of fine carving though…" Midoriiro giggled again, and Sasuke swore it was the cutest thing he ever heard. _"Even if I will never return home…I've got a good feeling about this."_

* * *

Sakura continued her research in the library. Even if her duties were restricted, she was still a medical ninja. Besides, she wasn't doing this just for the sake of her job; she had a promise to keep, one Naruto asked of her. After all he had done for her all these years, how could she refuse?

Speaking of which, ever since that night…so little had changed, and yet so much. They still knew each other so well and enjoyed each other's company like always. Other than knowing they loved one another now, hardly anything was different. But ever since they became more intimate, their relationship just felt so much different. She couldn't explain it; she supposed maybe the sex had changed more than she thought it would…not that she was complaining. But, she noticed, that was changing too. Before, they were both fairly shy with each other. Naruto was especially cautious, always the gentlemen. Then, Sakura became more flirtatious with him. It began with small teases to simply let him know it was okay, and before she knew it she found herself doing stripteases for him. After a few rounds of that, his approaches changed rather drastically, especially when she was gone for a while. He was much more aggressive now, often smashing his lips against hers at any random moment, then proceeding to strip her naked and take her. And to her surprise, she loved it. _"Kami, I have to stop."_ It seemed neither could get enough of the other, but for her, now was not the time. She had to study; pleasure would always come later.

Focusing on the book, she began to read. It was a long shot, but she believed she may have found a way to help…"Sakura."

That wasn't what she was thinking; in fact, she heard that physically. She turned around in shock. "Naruto!" she exclaimed as low as she could, trying to contain her excitement in the library.

Naruto was right there, with a cup of hot tea in his hand. "You've been so busy lately, even though you haven't had a mission in a while. I figured it was important, and thought I'd just stop by and say hello." He said with a soft smile.

He took a seat next to her as she took the cup. "Thank you. That's very sweet of you." She replied, before taking a sip. Nothing like Honey Leaf to clear the mind.

"So, whatcha doing?" the jinchuriki asked, taking note of the humongous textbook.

Sakura initially didn't want to tell Naruto just yet, as she was not 100% sure of what she found. But, Naruto trusted her, and would understand if things didn't work out. "You remember what happened to Neji, don't you? The first time you took your genin team on a real mission?"

Naruto then remembered what he asked of Sakura in the hospital. Truthfully, so much had been happening that he forgot about it. "You mean…you're going to…"

Sakura nodded. "I was skeptical about whether or not it could even be done. But when I began reading about the relationship between axons, myelination and chakra, I believe I may be on to something…"

Now that caught Naruto's attention. "Oh…"

Sakura smiled as she began to explain."You see, the role chakra plays in developing the myelin sheath and axons…"

At this point, Naruto was completely lost on all the technical terms. But he knew whatever Sakura was talking about, she was well on the way to getting Neji back out on the field, even if she believed she still had a long ways to go.

"…the real issue is getting the chakra control to the finest microscopic detail, or else we'll do more damage to his nerves than the previous shocks already did." Sakura concluded.

"Uh-huh…" Naruto said, pretending he followed.

Sakura then seemed to inspect him, like she was looking for something on his face. "You didn't understand a word of what I just said, did you?" she asked with an annoyed face.

Naruto began sweating nervously, realizing he'd been caught. "Ah…hahaha…" Naruto tried to find a way to talk himself out of this, but he knew it was futile. Finally, he grimaced "No."

A vein popped in Sakura's forehead, and Naruto prepared for the worse as he closed his eyes and looked away. Instead of the usual punch across the face, however, Sakura smacked him upside the head; he barely even felt it in fact. "Baka." She whispered harshly. "You could have told me to slow down for you."

Naruto, still surprised by the relatively mild response, laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, Sakura-chan, it's just…I'm amazed at how much you know about these things." That part certainly wasn't a lie.

Sakura blushed, but turned around, away from facing him. "You should really learn at least the basics, Naruto. There's more to ninjutsu than just fighting, you know."

Naruto then asked "But what's important is that you're onto something, right?"

Sakura's shoulders slacked. Naruto could tell she was unsure of herself. It pained him to see such an amazing woman think so little of herself. "Theoretically, anyway. But…as I understand it now, the slightest mistake could kill him."

Naruto nodded solemnly. "So…?"

"I still need to do a lot of calculations." Sakura replied, leaning back into the book.

Naruto got up and behind Sakura, embracing her. "Remember, no matter what…I'm here for you." Sakura practically melted in his arms. It meant the world to her that someone like Naruto would always be there for her, years after trying to get others to accept her. "And don't stay up too late…" he added. "…you know I miss you when you're gone."

At that moment, Naruto snaked a hand up her thigh, and past her skirt, lifting it just enough to gain access. Sakura began to see spots, but then her inner self kicked in. _**"Whoa, whoa! Not here, damn it!"**_

Sakura grabbed Naruto's arm, causing him to wince. "Baka!" Sakura tried to keep quiet as not to draw attention to herself, but that was proving to be difficult. "This is a library!"

Naruto gripped his arm, but to Sakura's surprise, he was only giving her a sly grin. "See you tonight." He said, the smirk only growing.

Sakura realized what he had tried to do…and it worked. _"Oh kami, just focus, Sakura!" _With that, she put her nose to the books once again. For the most part, it worked. However, even though she was able to retain the information she absorbed, she constantly fidgeted in her studies. Around 9'o clock, she had enough and practically dashed to their apartment. Naruto certainly got his that night, and was glad for it.

* * *

"Dismissed!" Tsunade announced as she smacked down the gavel. Iori had gotten through with her court martial pretty quickly and with little difficulty. Unlike Sakura's, no one was actually out to get her. Plus, there was physical evidence to back up her innocence. It also helped that no one was killed on her rampage. Overall, it was not too much trouble to prove her innocence. Having Shikamaru come to her defense helped as well.

Iori ran to hug her teammates; they returned the hug, although Yuji in particular was surprised. "Good to have you out of that bind." Yuji said.

"Me too." Iori replied. She practically ripped her ankle seal off, glad to be rid of the thing.

Naruto and Sakura, who attended the trial regularly, walked up to her. "See?" Naruto told his prize student. "You had nothing to worry about."

"Easy for you to say!" Iori replied. "For a good while, I thought they were going to get tough on me because of…" Iori then looked at her two teammates. There was no way she could tell them! "…well, you know." Iori plastered on the cheesiest grin she could. Naruto sighed, disappointed that Iori still didn't trust her teammates about her history, but understood due to her harsh life experience. As much as he wanted to spill the beans, he knew that it was best for her to tell them herself. Only she could know when she was ready.

"Because of…what?" Yuji asked perplexed.

"Oh, it's nothing." Iori forced an even harder grin than before.

That did nothing to appease Yuji's curiosity."No. Tell me. If there's a problem…"

That earned him a good whack across the head by his crimson teammate. "I SAID DROP IT ALREADY!" she shouted.

Yuji rubbed his head. "Ow, ow. Okay, if that's the way you want it." Yuji said, looking a little dejected.

Shiguri did his best to pretend he didn't care anyway, but a fool could see his concern for his friend was showing bright as day. "Well…if you ever feel like letting us know, we'll hear you out, okay?"

Iori nodded, and was starting to head out, when she stopped. "You know…" She turned around to look at her team. "I can't stand going back to that apartment right now. Hell, I think I'll be camping out for a good while before I'm ready to go back in." She then gave both of them a smile, which caused Yuji's heart to skip a beat. "You guys want to go get something to eat?"

Yuji thought about it for a second, and said "You know, I heard Jaa's Dad just opened up a place. Wanna go give that a try?"

"Sounds good." Shiguri replied.

"Sure, anything but rice and ramen!" Iori added as the three made their way out of the courthouse together.

"I'm really happy for you, Naruto." Sakura said as she watched them leave. "They're such a great team, and such good friends with each other."

Naruto nodded with true pride. "Yeah. They really look out for one another. Iori is so much like me; I'm glad that she was able to make a lot of friends in the end. Yuji was a challenge, but he pulled through. In fact, I think I have you to thank for where he is now." He gave Sakura an appreciative and affectionate look.

Sakura smiled. "He really has come a long way; I think I now know how Shishou felt taking on an apprentice too. It's frustrating when they start out from nothing, but as long as you never give up on them…well, they blossom." Both chuckled at a cliché only Sakura could use. "I don't think I'm finished with him though; he has great potential as a medi-nin. Either way…" a tear formed in her eye. "… his father would be so proud of him. I think I finally understand a little why Ryu gave his life for me."

Naruto nodded. "Too bad his mother won't see it that way." He still didn't understand how Yuji could live with such an overbearing woman.

"In the meantime, he has us." Sakura said. "What about Shiguri?"

"I think I finally got through to him." Naruto said, smiling. "He just never had a real family, and his grandfather's teachings are all he ever knew, even if he didn't buy into them. But, he still needed someone to love him and see him for who he really is." Naruto continued "I just hope I can be to him as Iruka-sensei was to me."

Sakura hugged him in close. "You're already a great sensei. They all look up to you. I…I'm very proud of you, Naruto."

Naruto turned and kissed Sakura. " As I am of you. I'm glad at least you had the pleasure of training Yuji. If nothing else…" Naruto's face suddenly looked ashamed. "…I hope it took your mind off of what I put you through."

Sakura hugged him closer and buried her face in his chest. "Naruto…we've already been through this. You were hurt and confused, and I wasn't the only one you took your anger out on. I would have reacted similarly. If only I told you the instant I knew…"

Naruto hushed her with a kiss on the lips. "It's done. I understand why they did it; for the same reason I wasn't supposed to know what I had inside of me." Naruto rubbed his stomach. Suddenly, his sad look did a 180 and turned into his usual goofy grin. "I've had enough of this angsting. Let's have another nice dinner together."

Sakura kissed him on the cheek and led him out of the courthouse. "Sounds like a plan to me."

* * *

A week later, Yuji rushed to the hospital. He asked the nurses to notify him on a certain patient immediately. He didn't bother going to the waiting room; he remembered where her room was and decided to go there directly. Trying what he learned while scouting in Earth Country, he swung from the rooftops of the village, quickly reaching the hospital. With one arc, he launched himself onto the building, and used his chakra control to stick to the wall. He was only off by one floor; he walked up, opened the window, and let himself in. "Hyouike! You're-"

Indeed, she was awake, but it seemed Yuji came at a bad time. Apparently, she was getting out of bed. With her back facing the window Yuji was in right now. In her hospital gown. Needless to say, Yuji's skin color was starting to match Iori's hair. "AIIIEEE!" Hyouike screamed as she realized the presence behind her. Quickly, she pulled the covers around her while Yuji backed away and out of sight from the window. "Yuji, you perv! Did it ever occur to you to knock! Or check in at the waiting room!" As she got no response, she quickly settled back in bed, making sure her essentials were covered. "There, it's safe!"

Yuji climbed in, sighing. _"Why is it I always piss women off?"_ Letting go of that, he smiled. "I'm glad you're okay."

Hyouike smiled. "Me too." Then, she looked away, sad. "And…I'm sorry."

Yuji blinked, confused. "What for?"

Hyouike, in disbelief, nearly screamed "Don't you remember! I threw myself in front of that creep to save you! And…" Hyouikes' voice became more subdued as she gripped the covers tighter. "…I nearly got myself killed in the process. I nearly made all of your own suffering for nothing." At least, she figured that was what Yuji wanted to hear. Military, in her experience, told civilians to stay out of dangerous situations, for both their own safety and that of the military.

Yuji just smiled and replied "Oh, don't worry about it."

Hyouike looked at him, surprised once again by his response. "Huh? Did I not hear that right?"

Yuji assured her "Really, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You were just trying to help out a friend, right? I would have done the same, ninja or not." He gave her a thumbs up and smiled.

Hyouike looked away, blushing. "Yeah, I guess anyone would." She then said "The nurses say I will be discharged soon. And… if it's not too much trouble, I was hoping that we could take care of something. Something else you promised me."

Yuji remembered back when he shared a cave with her, Hyouike's stunning revelation between her people and Konoha. "Ah, right! I'll let Hokage-sama know as soon as I can! This may take a while, so please be patient!"

"Okay. Take your time; I think I need to meet up with my family again and make sure we can get back on our feet again. When I'm ready, I'll let you know." Yuji was about to climb out the window, when Hyouike shouted "Yuji!"

Yuji stopped, and turned around. "Yeah? What's the matter?"

For some reason, Hyouike was blushing, and gripped her covers closer to her. "Thank you…for everything. Not just what you've done for my people; but for me as well."

Yuji simply smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Of course. What kind of ninja would I be if I didn't least help the people right in front of me?" With that, he dove out, and prepared to swing again. Hyouike lay down, sighing and snuggled the covers close.

* * *

"Well, this is very much unlike you." Jiraiya noted as he took in his surroundings inside the bar.

"What?" Tsunade asked slyly, hands propped on the table. "You know I've always been quite the drinker."

She took a sip of her sake and Jiraiya proceeded to do the same. "No, that part is very much on par with you. But…you've never invited me before."

Tsunade just gave him a look as if she screwed up. "I'm busy most of the time…"

"_Looking for excuses now, are we?"_ the hermit thought. "…and I know you come to this bar every night…" Jiraiya countered.

"You're away most of the time." Tsunade shot back.

"You send me on those missions."

"And you spend about half of that time spying on women." That one clearly had an annoyed tone.

Well, Jiraiya certainly had no comeback for that one. "Sorry." he muttered, as he poured himself more sake.

"It's okay." Tsunade replied after she took a sip of hers. "It's just…I know that things have been strained between us, even when I returned to become Hokage."

Jiraiya was perplexed now; Tsunade wasn't the type to talk about things like that. "Uh…go on."

"And after seeing what Team 7, our own apprentices, had to go through…I realized that we should have fixed things between ourselves a long time ago."

Jiraiya just eyed her suspiciously; this wasn't like Tsunade at all. Then, he put his hands together and said "Kai!" Jiraiya found that Tsunade was still there, and looking a little annoyed. "Well, if it's not genjutsu…then an imposter!"

"What!" Tsunade yelled in disbelief. "Have you gone mad!"

Jiraiya immediately began poking and pinching her all over, trying to find anything off about her; he didn't find anything unusual. Wanting to get on a fresh start with Jiraiya, she breathed deeply and chanted _"Be patient with him, be patient with him…"_

Jiraiya seemed to have finally called it quits, but he wasn't satisfied. He rubbed his chin and said "Well, I'm terribly sorry…But I'm afraid this will have to get a bit more personal."

Tsunade always knew he was a pervert. But even he had some boundaries in terms of how to approach a woman. And she had never known him to be suicidal, particularly when it came to her. So it naturally came as a surprise to her when he started groping one of her embarrassingly noticeable characteristics. "WHA-! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" she screamed. The other patrons immediately ducked for cover; a couple of them got wasted and tried to hook up with her; and boy, did they PAY. They knew what was coming next.

Though she couldn't see it from behind, Jiraiya's face was turning red. _"Wow, those ARE real."_ Before Jiraiya could reach a conclusion, he was suddenly sent flying across the hall and into a wall; it was a miracle it didn't break and leave a hole in the shape of his body. "Ow. Only the real Tsunade could hit like that."

When he realized what he had just done, he rose and observed Tsunade beginning to walk out of the bar. "Wait!" Jiraiya rushed forward to stop her.

Feeling her wrist pulled, Tsunade then tried to back hand him, but this time he was ready. Using Jiujutsu like moves, he went with the flow and pinned her against the wall. "Let me go!" the sanin kunoichi shouted.

"Tsunade-hime, I apologize!" She wasn't calming down. "You're normally not so…open to others, and my spy training kicked in. I'm sorry; would it be okay if we started this get together over, like nothing happened?" Jiraiya then did as he was told, and released her.

Tsunade looked at him long and hard, and the hermit was certain she would say no. However, she finally sighed, and patted him on the shoulder. "Idiot." Then, she led him to another table and ordered more sake, apologizing for the previous incident.

As Jiraiya settled in, he said "Well, why don't we continue where we left off?"

Tsunade sighed as she poured herself another helping. "Anyway, I've been thinking about the way I behaved over the years. You know, when Nawaki died, I remembered that you tried to be there for me; asked me how I was, if there was anything I needed that you could get me. All those things were really sweet of you. I guess, at the time, I didn't care about how much you cared. I got so caught up in my work and pushing for a medic on each team, that I just didn't pay as much attention to my teammates. Then Dan passed…and I just lost it."

Jiraiya nodded. "It's not your fault. No one could handle what you went through well; there's no way those things could be handled well." Jiraiya took a swig. "I also had my own issues to deal with. Minato was like a son to me. And when the Kyuubi attacked…I felt like I lost everything. When Orochimaru turned on us, it made things worse for me. I…I felt like I had nobody. I guess I left much for the same reasons you did."

Both were silent for a bit. "I noticed that when Dan and I were together, you stopped talking to me altogether outside of missions." Tsunade suddenly said.

"I figured you wouldn't want a pervert like me around at the time. Besides, remember when you beat me to near death at the women's bath?" Jiraiya chuckled at the memory. At the time it was horrific, but in hindsight it was actually pretty funny. "I figured that was a side of you Dan didn't need to see. There weren't many men who could handle you."

Tsunade growled, and crushed her cup. "Don't remind me."

"Sorry. I was just saying."

Tsunade decided to let that go. "But that wasn't the main reason you virtually cut ties with me. Why?"

Jiraiya seemed to fumble, looking around for an answer…or an escape. It looked as though he was about to take off, but Tsunade placed her hand on Jiraiya's. Looking at them, Jiraiya finally seemed to cave. "Fine." He sighed throwing his arms up. "You caught me."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "You mean…all this time…"

Jiraiya's face turned red again. "Yeah."

Tsunade was speechless. She always considered Jiraiya a dear friend when the three sanin were at their prime. But this… "Why didn't you say anything?"

Jiraiya fumbled with his cup. "I don't know. I guess, I'm just lousy at confessing things."

Tsunade added "It didn't help that you called me names…one in particular that I bet you're regretting now…"

Jiraiya knew what she was referring to, and even he had to chuckle at the irony of it all. "Yeah. Whoda thunk? You know, I said those things…but in all honesty, I didn't care about that…not when it came to you…" Tsunade silently beckoned him to continue. "You were everything that my perverted mind did not want. And yet, I could not get you out of my head. Your blond hair, your brown eyes…it was one of the prettiest sights a boy could lay eyes on. The part I've just denied and took it out on you."

Tsunade smirked. "Well, to be fair, I'd say I filled out quite nicely."

"Yeah, no kidding…"

"Before this." Tsunade clarified; she had an unexplainable growth spurt well after puberty, which led people to think she was like this throughout her youth.

Jiraiya than thought back to when they were well in their teens. As long as the hair and eyes were the same, his opinion about her looks wouldn't change. And even then she still had a nice pair. "Yeah, even then you were quite a knockout."

"And you still called me flat-chested." Tsunade noted, irritated.

"Oh, lighten up. Besides, at that point I was just teasing you." He thought even more. "You know, around that time, I felt you were starting to warm up to me. But then…"

Before he could finish, Tsunade interrupted. "Dan. He happened. Do you hate him for that? Be honest, I can take it."

Jiraiya thought carefully about what he would say next, but no matter what it would be the truth. "I was jealous, I won't deny that. But if I hated anyone, it was myself. He was able to do all the things I wanted to do for you, and he got to you in a way that I couldn't. I used to try to figure out ways to convince you he was no good for you, but in the end even a fool could see what a great guy Dan was. You know what they say; if you love someone, let her go. When he died, at first I thought I should take his place, only for your sake. But, when I saw how broken you were, I thought better of it. Nothing could ever replace him in your heart, and I thought I would be the least qualified to try. If I was wrong, or if there was some other way I could have been there for you, I didn't see it. And for that, I'm sorry." Both Jiraiya and Tsunade were silent once more. Jiraiya was sure that he ruined the friendship that took decades to repair in that moment. But, Tsunade wanted the truth; he could never deny her that.

"When Nawaki died, I really did appreciate what you did for me." Tsunade added. "I really did consider you a good friend; I guess I was blinded by my sense of responsibility to see that you wanted more."

Jiraiya scoffed. "Don't be sorry about that. You were simply trying to protect the people around you. You were doing…" Jiraiya stopped, feeling he said too much. He put his cup down. "I'm sorry. I'll let you be now. I…I have to go."

He got up to leave, but Tsunade grabbed his wrist. Jiraiya half-expected her to ask him to complete the sentence. But Tsunade already knew what he was going say. "It's not too late, you know." she suddenly said out of the blue.

Jiraiya looked at her skeptically. "We're not exactly in our prime like our pupils are."

"I know." Tsunade confirmed. "It's not ideal. So much happened between us, and we couldn't have a family if we tried. But, it's never too late to care about someone. I don't know where we'll go from here…it may not even work out in the end." Tsunade then caressed Jiraiya's hand, really shocking him. "But back then, I cared about you more than anyone. Before I met Dan anyway. And ever since I came back…I felt that way about you again. Jiraiya, it's because of you I am where I am today. And when things get tough, you were always a breath of fresh air. Granted, your antics pissed me off often; but at the same time, they distracted me, help me deal with grave matters without forgetting about them. And, on a more professional level, you always took dangerous missions for me when you didn't have to. And each time…you smiled." Jiraiya was just stunned beyond belief. "Well!" Tsunade shouted.

"Ah! Well what!"

"You're supposed to say something in return!" Tsunade yelled.

Jiraiya rubbed his long hair. "Well…I've already told you everything that I've admired about you."

Tsunade suddenly looked disappointed. "I see."

Jiraiya, not knowing what he did wrong, asked "What?"

Tsunade sighed. "You said there was a lot about me that you admired."

"How could there not be, with a woman like you?" Jiraiya smiled.

"But I haven't really been there for you, have I?" Tsunade asked. "Like you have been for me."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "I understand…but I don't agree with what you just said." Tsunade turned to look at him. "It was rough being your teammate at first…my fault, really…but as time went on, you and I had a lot in common. Protecting those we cared about, trying to perfect our respective ninjutsu, and starting trouble wherever we went." Tsunade was in fact quite the mischief maker, and was the ideal person to turn to for getting away with anything. Being the grandchild of a kage at the time had its benefits; probably why Sarutobi-sensei made sure to be strict with Konohamaru.

Tsunade gave a nostalgic smile. "Yeah. Those were the days."

"And you saved my life more times than I could count." Jiraiya finished. "Don't ever sell yourself short on being there for me. "

Tsunade finally gave a genuine smile, and Jiraiya thought she never looked better. "Thank you. Now that we have that out of the way…what do you say?"

Jiraiya thought about it for a bit, and smiled. "Why not? In fact, I think we should celebrate!" Tsunade suddenly leaned over, and kissed him on the cheek. Jiraiya was shocked for the umpteenth time today but he quickly got over it this time around. Now, he was ready for whatever Tsunade threw at him.

She shouted to the bartender "Hey! A few more jugs of sake here, please!"

* * *

Naruto and Sakura walked down the street, giggling. Both of them decided to act more like adults, and went out drinking. They didn't have too much; if anything were to happen tonight (very likely), they would remember it perfectly. For the most part, their judgment was sound, but both felt the loss of inhibitions caused by alcohol. Naruto was dressed semi-casually, with an open button-up shirt, his t-shirt showing. He also wore black jeans, which to Sakura made him look really sexy, though not at all provocative. If she only knew how wild she drove Naruto in his tipsy state. Sakura was wearing green lipstick, the same color as her eyes. Her black strapless dress perfectly hugged her curves, and her pink jacket went well with her, causing Naruto's eyes to wander to two particular places on her body. Her red heels nearly drove him up the wall, but in a good way. None of it was sultry at all; had it been a more formal occasion, she would have been dressed appropriately. But all Naruto could think about was ripping that black dress off when they got back to his apartment. He'd probably leave the heels on; they looked too good to discard.

Suddenly, Sakura kissed him deeply, which Naruto gladly returned. It was past midnight, so there were not a lot of people out to witness the display. Good thing, as out of nowhere Sakura suddenly fondled him. "Sakura-!"

He smashed against her lips, practically pushing her into an alley. They were both aware that this wasn't the smartest idea, but they wanted each other so badly. As dirty as the alley they chose was, they didn't care; neither were planning to lie down on the ground. It was actually sexier to do this standing up.

Both continued making out, as both touched each other everywhere, not yet undressing. "I wonder…" Naruto breathed huskily between kisses. "…what you're wearing underneath that skirt." Naruto rubbed his hand across the back of Sakura's thigh, eliciting a sensual moan from her. "I'm thinking…nothing at all…"

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped as he sucked on her neck. "What kind of a girl do you take me for!" She seemed like she was angry again, but her face quickly changed and Sakura suddenly gave him a scorching kiss. "You're close though." She whispered.

Naruto began to lift her skirt, eager to find his prize beneath…

"These are the best I ever felt, Tsunade!" someone shouted.

"Touch me, Jiraiya! Touch me please!" a woman responded.

Both Naruto and Sakura stopped cold, and felt themselves sobering up really quickly. "Sakura, did I have too much to drink, or did I just hear Ero-senin and Ba-chan making out?"

"You're a really good kisser!..."That sure sounded like Tsunade.

"Wait 'till you see what else I'm good at!" and that was the pervy sage himself.

"The later, unfortunately." Sakura replied, equally stunned.

Both could see what was happening from their shadows against the wall. It was matching their sessions in intensity…and it was quite gross. "I think we should leave." Naruto said.

"Yeah. Good idea." Both Naruto and Sakura straightened up, and walked out of the alley.

"_Talk about a mood killer."_ Naruto thought.

* * *

Jiraiya was almost convinced he died and went to heaven; he never imagined in his lifetime that he would win Tsunade's heart, not at this point in time anyway. And he barely even tried tonight! He supposed that maybe Tsunade had feelings for him all along, but both were too afraid to take that step…until tonight. He almost wished they were teenagers again; but this was going just fine, so he wasn't complaining. They continued kissing and feeling each other up…both were anxious to take this somewhere more private.

Suddenly, Tsunade's eyes shot open. She pushed Jiraiya out of the way, and puked onto the street. "Are you alright, hime?" he asked, concerned.

Tsunade took note of the affectionate name he gave her. Which made her all the more sad. "I had too much to drink. I think…I'm going to be here for a while." Tsunade heaved again. Jiraiya kneeled and held her shoulder. "Lousy way to end a first date, huh?"

"I've had worse." Jiraiya replied. "Besides, we can always try again." Tsunade, despite looking like a mess, smiled. He stayed with her until she finished, and carried her home.

* * *

"It's decent." Shiguri said, as he looked around the one bedroom apartment. "It's small, but then again, I can't complain." Shiguri had recently made the decision to move out of his grandfather's mansion. Danzo didn't seem to mind; in fact he seemed quite glad of it. And Shiguri decided to stay in the same complex as Naruto and Iori.

Naruto nodded as he made his own observations; it was similar to his own. It needed work, but he had a good feeling Shiguri could fix it up however he wanted. In fact, he was looking forward to having two of his students live in the same complex as him. Iori was already a resident, and now Shiguri was joining them. Yuji wanted to room with him too, but Naruto told him to wait; his mother would still like to have him around at this age. Besides, for all her faults, she was only trying to protect him. What's more, for most shinobi his age having one parent, let alone a family or a clan to support you was a good deal. Still, Naruto couldn't help but feel he was starting a family, something he nor Sakura had officially talked about just yet. "It's going to be hard to pay for this without a roommate." Naruto noted.

"Gramps gave me enough for the first few months and the deposit." Shiguri replied. Looking at Naruto's shocked expression, he explained. "Don't the wrong idea. That was his way of saying good riddance, and don't come back." He growled. "Also, I had a talk with the Hokage. She said due to my experience during the war, I should be promoted soon."

Naruto smiled and touched his shoulder. "You earned it. You changed a lot ever since the exams. Shiguri, you reminded me of a friend of mine…"

"Uchiha." Shiguri finished for him. When Naruto gave him a look, Shiguri defended himself. "Hey, he told stories about you. I just confirmed them. Some of it, anyway."

Naruto winced. "Yeah." He continued "You were angry at everything; I knew from experience that would only lead you to self-destruction. I understood, though; I could only imagine what your grandpa put you through. But ever since we became a team, I've seen you improve, drastically. If I could do it over again, I would have made sure our team never separated in the first place. But if anything good came out of it, it was you. You were a great help in keeping us alive and in helping me come to my senses. And, I'm proud of you for realizing the importance of comrades." He firmly gripped the young teen's shoulder to prove it.

Shiguri smiled. "Ever since I was put on the team with you guys…even back when I had my doubts…I've never been so happy…" Shiguri was struggling to stop himself from crying.

Naruto took him to a corner where no one could see them should they walk in. He saw this coming, and knew how to handle it. "It's okay; I understand. Go ahead, cry; it's okay to do so when you're happy." He smiled. Shiguri finally let it go, and tears flowed freely. It made Naruto hate Danzo even more, if that was possible. He almost asked himself how he could make his own grandson feel this way. Then again, that was very much on par with his character.

"I'm sorry." Shiguri said.

"What for?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"For my grandfather. He's done a lot to hurt you. Sending a spy to take out your friend, conspiring with the enemy, trying to get to you through Sakura-sensei…"

"Shiguri." Naruto firmly replied. "That's him. It's not you. Never was, and never will be."

"But, I-"

"Enough!" Naruto commanded. "If I got a problem with him…and I do…it ends with him. Not you. You are not responsible for his actions, and there was nothing you could have done to change him. Whatever made him the way he is was something beyond our control. If he is to ever change, that's up to him. You made your choice for yourself, and for that you are stronger than he ever will be. Understood?"

Shiguri gave him a look of acceptance, and nodded.

"Good. Now, let's-"

"Shiguri? You here?" It seemed Yuji was paying his friend a visit.

Shiguri quickly dried his tears; Naruto figured Shiguri wasn't ready to display emotions to others. That was fine; it was best to let him open up at his own pace. Naruto looked out and said "Yuji? Is that you?"

"Naruto-sensei!" he called, confirming his identity.

Yuji walked into the room just as Shiguri came out of hiding. "Yuji. What's up?" he asked.

"I was just looking for you. I was wondering if you were still considering a two-bedroom apartment; thought we could room together."

Shiguri and Naruto were a bit perplexed. The jonin replied "Yuji, I completely understand why you want to do this. But I strongly urge you to stick with your mom for another couple of years. You can save a lot of money that way, and it would make her happy that you always come home."

"Actually, I had a talk with her." Yuji told him, then looked at his friend. "I told her about your situation…and she agreed to let me stay with you, if that's what you want." Both Naruto and Shiguri were stunned, which the spectacled ninja picked up on. "Yeah, so was I. She explained that I'm a chunin now, and that there was no need to treat me as a child anymore. Plus, she thought that since Shiguri was going through something of a tough time, he probably needed a friend more than ever." Yuji then said "She gave me enough money for the first few months of rent. After that…well, she says I've practically grown up."

Both Naruto and Shiguri smiled. The still-genin shinobi replied "There was another, a two-bedroom. It looked pretty nice, and with your help, I think we can afford it."

Yuji pumped his fist and said "Yes!" He composed himself, and then asked "By the way, where's Sakura-sensei?"

"She had an appointment to attend to." Naruto answered. "Why?"

* * *

Sakura knocked on the door to the Hyuuga compound. She was dressed in casual clothes, but was still worried about being unpresentable in the eyes of the clan. She was here now, so she had to hope for the best. Then, the door opened, revealing Hinata. "Sakura-san! What a pleasant surprise!" she smiled.

"It's good to see you too, Hinata." Sakura replied. "Is Neji available? There's something I need to speak with him about."

"Oh, yes! Please, come in!" As the two walked through the large compound, Hinata asked "How have things been? I've been hearing the townspeople spreading terrible rumors…"

Sakura sighed. "Well, thankfully they haven't amounted to much. But my work has been restricted, and that has caused financial problems for me. I've only been on a couple of missions, and only my most loyal patients have been willing to see me again. But, if I hadn't…well, you'll see soon enough. By the way, Hiashi-sama may want to listen to what I have to tell him to. Anyone in the compound is welcome to listen, in fact."

Hinata nodded, and said "I'll tell everyone when Neji is ready to listen to what you have to say."

"Good."

Finally, they reached Neji's room. Neji looked up from his calligraphy. "Haruno-san! What a pleasant surprise!"

As he bowed, Sakura observed him. He seemed to have gained weight; not too much, but enough to suggest lack of exercise. "It's been a long time, Neji, and no need to be formal." She bowed in return anyway. "How have your seizures been?"

"Hard to say." he replied, less cheerfully. "In fact, I think they're becoming more numerous."

"Well, what I have to say is related to your condition. If you want, we can talk about it alone, or we could invite some family members with you."

Neji's eyes widened, getting an idea of what he might be told. "We'll talk about this in the living room. Hiashi-sama is more than welcome to join us, and anyone he deems fit to listen."

After twenty minutes, Sakura and Neji, Hiashi, Hinata, Hanabi and, to her surprise, Hero, were gathered in the living room along with members of the branch family. She heard that some of the elders were disgusted that Hinata even let her in, but Hiashi reminded them (harshly, from what she heard) that had she truly been a traitor, he would have seen to it that she would be in jail, if not worse. "Knowing your expertise, I assume you have discovered something that could help Neji with his current condition."

Sakura replied "If it works, even better; he may make a full recovery." Sakura almost regretted saying that last part; too often patients would expect the absolute best possible outcomes, even when they were far from the most probable.

Everyone's eyes lit up. "How is that possible?" Hero asked. "I was taught that once nerves are damaged, there is no hope for recovery…"

"Normally, that would be true." Sakura answered. "But, the key to helping Neji is to begin a process similar in embryonic development. The simple explanation is that we will use our chakra to stimulate the growth of new neurons and nerves, thereby stabilizing the bioelectricity in Neji's body, which is now unstable."

Neji eyes went wide at the possibilities this procedure implied. _"If they can do that, then…!" _

Before he could say anything, Hiashi spoke in his place. "But, there's a catch, correct? You are a talented medic, Haruno-san, one equal to Hokage-sama. But such a process carries great risk."

Sakura nodded solemnly. "Yes. If anything goes wrong, Neji's nervous system could be destroyed completely. If that happens…well, I'm sure you already know." The Hyuugas and Hero looked at her with concern. "Plus, the procedure has a low chance of success. I couldn't get it any higher than 30%, even with a team of medics." The Hyuugas took this all in the best they could. "I know what I have proposed is risky. But please understand, I would have never told you if I felt that this wasn't in Neji's best interests. So please, think it over. When you have reached a decision, please notify me. If you all decide against it, I understand. If you choose to have him go through with it, I promise I will do my best to restore Neji to the great ninja he once was. We'll also need one of you to oversee the operation; the Byuakugan will be essential to detect any problems." Sakura placed a folder on the table. "This is a summary of the procedure. If you have any concerns, please see Tsunade-shishou; she reviewed the process herself and can answer any questions you may have." She stood up and bowed. "Thank you all for your time. I understand this is much to take in…"

Hiashi then rose and bowed. "And thank you for informing us of your research; we deeply appreciate you offering us this opportunity. Neji will let you know his decision." Neji hastily got up and bowed as well, and the other members followed their example.

* * *

After escorting Sakura outside, Hinata went straight to Hero. "You're scared for your cousin?" he asked, observing Hinata's forlorn face.

Hinata nodded. "I know Sakura wouldn't have come if she didn't believe there was any way to help him…but the risk…"

"For him, it may be worth it." Hero finished for her. "I understand what he's going through. He studied to be a shinobi all his life. Without that, he feels that he's nothing. I would probably react the same way he did if something like that happened to me."

Hinata just looked at him sadly, and took a seat next to him on the landing. "None of us can be shinobi forever. With the lifestyle we lead, your strength and power can be taken away in an instant. Injury, old age… You can't rely on solely that to determine your identity."

"Some of us never had the choice." Hero replied, looking away. His tone was slightly angry.

Hinata looked at him stunned, realizing becoming a shinobi was forced on him. Suddenly, she clasped his hand. Hero gave her a surprised look. "If you'd like…I can help you find a way to be something more than just a shinobi."

Hero looked at her still in disbelief, but then gave her a slight smile, something out of character for him. "I'd like that." Their faces leaned closer together…and kissed.

* * *

Sakura walked into her shared apartment with Naruto, who was there to greet her. "Sakura-chan! How'd it go?" Naruto embraced her in a hug and gave her a deep kiss.

"I think it went well." Sakura answered as they took a seat on the small sofa. Naruto let her lie on his lap. "It was a lot to take in for them; they may wind up not doing it."

"They will." Naruto said, trying to be reassuring. "Ninjutsu is everything to Neji. He will take the chance, no matter the risk."

"In a way, that worries me." Sakura replied, the smile on her face quickly disappearing.

Naruto cupped her chin and looked into her eyes; it was beginning to become a habit. "No matter what the statistics say, as long as you're there, you will succeed."

Sakura smiled and snuggled into him. "How do you do it?"

"Trade secret." Naruto replied, giving her a goofy smile.

"No fair!"

"Well, I might be able to tell you…after I see you in the new lingerie you bought the other night."

Sakura's skin once again matched the color of her hair. She went shopping for sexier clothes recently, and intended to surprise Naruto on a special occasion. "Y-you were supposed to be taking a nap!"

"I pretended to be." Naruto embraced her again and touched her more intimately. "You put it on, and I'll spill the beans. Deal?"

Sakura pretended to the best of her ability that his charms had no effect on her. "Naruto…you know if I do that we won't be talking. And even if I could manage, you're not going to listen." She gave him a kiss across the cheek. "But you'll see my new collection soon enough, okay?"

"Sure." Naruto gave her body one quick rubdown, causing her to moan and then deeply kissing her again. He still couldn't get over how so many places on her body once formerly taboo were now his to touch unless otherwise told by her. "By the way, you've been invited for tea tomorrow." Naruto suddenly told her.

Sakura, surprised, asked "Really? By whom?"

Naruto smiled. "Yuji's mother."

* * *

The next day Sakura knocked on the door of the Miyamoto residence. On cue, Yuji's mother opened the door. Yuji was nowhere to be seen; probably with the rest of his team. All for the best, perhaps; she didn't know exactly how this all was going to go down, and if it wasn't going to be good, she didn't want the young chunin here to see it. "Miyamoto-dono? I'm Haruno Sakura; I was told you invited me over?"

Miyamoto immediately smiled and said "Yes, yes! Please, do come in."

Sakura took a brief look around the house. It was a modest house, but it had all the basics. However, Sakura's mind was elsewhere, wondering what she should say to the woman. She was with her husband on what was his final mission, and trained her son. Bringing up the later was easy enough, but the former? "Have a seat. This won't take long." The woman told her as she strode into the kitchen. Sakura took a seat on the sofa as she was told, and tried to get her thoughts together. Before she was ready, Mrs. Miyamoto returned with their tea. "I hope standard green tea is fine."

Sakura put on her most cheerful face. "It will do nicely. Thank you for having me." She replied as she took the cup.

"Yes." Miyamoto answered as she sat on the opposite sofa. "Yuji speaks very highly of you…although, I suppose anyone would of the Hokage's apprentice. He said he learned that technique he pulled at the tournament from you. " She finished her tea, and seemed to be in deep thought. "It's pretty amazing that you are tied to my family, seemingly by destiny itself. Or, to be more correct, to the two most important men in my life."

Straight to the point, it seemed. "Uh, yeah…"

Mrs. Miyamoto was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "I know, this must be awkward for you. My fault, really." It seemed that she to, had trouble forming the words. "I received your letter all those years ago. I read it, and…and…I'm so sorry!" Sakura was surprised by the old woman's sudden burst of tears. "I couldn't handle it. Everyone warned me this would happen, even Ryu." Sakura rushed over to her, trying to comfort her. "I thought I was ready to accept my husband's way of living…I was wrong…" She seemed to get enough of her bearings to finally face Sakura again. " After he died, I was so afraid for Yuji. I wanted him out of the school, but the council wouldn't allow it because of his clan's bloodline. The Hokage made a deal with me that I could see how Yuji performs as a genin, and if I thought it was too dangerous for him…" She stopped herself, and wiped a tear. "I thought I was protecting him. But all I was really doing was keeping him from growing up."

Sakura eased her back into the couch. "Miyamoto-dono…none of us are perfect. You were only doing what you thought was right for your son. Any mother would. You probably should have been more decisive from the beginning about his future…but that's in the past now. What matters now is that you know what Yuji is capable of, and what you want Yuji's future to be."

Miyamoto thought about it before replying. "I want to see him achieve his dream. I was afraid before, but now I can see how strong he has become. Now, as much as it hurts…I must let him go." Despite the pain Sakura could feel in her voice, she smiled nonetheless.

Sakura smiled as well, and stroked her hand. "Don't worry. Yuji has become an incredible ninja; he's catching up with Ryu-sensei, and fast. He can take care of himself now. But, should he ever need help, he will always have Naruto and me."

"I owe him an apology as much as you." Mrs. Miyamoto said at the mention of his name. "He really is the Yodaime's son. I was just as blind as everyone else…" She then looked Sakura in the eye. "…but he's not here at the moment. You're the one I need to ask for forgiveness now." She stood, and bowed. "Haruno Sakura…please understand that all these years, I was not angry at you. I allowed my grief to consume me, and distance myself from all shinobi. But in the end, I was only hurting myself even more. I nearly kept Yuji from his dream, and I can only hope he'll forgive me with time. And you. I cannot imagine the guilt I have caused you by not confronting or replying to you all these years. Shinobi or not, no teenage girl deserved that. So please, whatever you may felt about losing Ryu…understand it was not your fault. He died serving Konoha, his people, and I know he was proud to exchange his life for yours. It's a harsh way of living, and a fate I hope Yuji never has to suffer, but now it is out of my hands. All I can do now…is believe in him, his team… and his two senseis."

Sakura suddenly felt like a great weight was lifted from her shoulders. She bowed as well. "Miyamoto-dono…I promise. I will protect Yuji as long as he needs me."

Mrs. Miyamoto smiled, and rose. "That's all I could ever ask of you. Thank you…Haruno-dono."

* * *

Time passed, and Neji had finally made his decision. Anyone who knew of his situation would find the answer obvious, as Neji's closest relatives and teammates were accompanying him to the hospital. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Hiashi asked, one more time. While he was happy that Neji was taking a chance to regain his ninjitsu, he was worried.

"I have, Hiashi-sama. This is what I want." Neji said solemnly. He was also frightened, but he had it with being useless. If he died during the procedure, so be it. The life he was living right now was one he did not want to endure if he had a choice.

Hinata gave her cousin a hug. "Don't worry, Neji-nisan. Everything will be alright. As long as Sakura-san is in charge, you're in good hands."

Hanabi also gave her cousin a hug. "Stay strong."

"I will." Neji replied.

"Ohhh!" Gai cried. "It's just like when my dear Lee was sent to the hospital after his fight with Garaa! Had Hokage-sama not come when we needed her, Lee's dreams would have been crushed!"

"He's right!" Lee cried in sync. "Being told I could never be a ninja again was the worst day of my life!"

He suddenly embraced Neji and cried into his shoulder. "H-Hey!" the Hyuuga yelped. "Let go!"

"Don't worry, my friend!" Lee continued to cry. "With Sakura's medical ninjutsu, anything is possible!"

With that, he released him, and the two taijutsu beasts cried in each other's arms. "T-Thanks. I guess." Neji replied flabbergasted. Grateful, but flabbergasted.

"Neji." The Hyuuga turned to Tenten. She seemed to be staring at the ground, mumbling incoherently.

"What is it, Tenten?"

Tenten, seemed to fumble with her words, then twiddled her fingers. Suddenly, she grunted and launched herself at Neji. She pulled him into a hug, and kissed him.

"Yes!" Gai cried. "You see that Neji! The springtime of youth is still strong in you!"

Lee, for once, was not matching his master's attitude. "Not again!" he yelled, crying a river.

Tenten and Neji's faces were blushing red, but looked at each other in a way that they never did before. "Promise." Tenten whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "Promise me you'll make it through this."

Neji embraced her this time. "Yes. I promise. Thank you…"

The two separated, leaving all those in attendance stunned. Except for Lee, all were smiling. Even Hero, who managed a small smile and walked up to pat Neji on the shoulder. "Good luck." he said.

Hesitantly, Hiashi came to him. "Neji…I know things haven't always been well between us. But…in case something were to happen to you…" He clasped Neji's hands, and squeezed them firmly. "…I want you to know, you've been like a son to me. My only regret… is failing to protect your real father."

Too stunned to say anything, Neji simply nodded. Hiashi understood the impact his confession had on him, and didn't press any further.

With that, they all entered the hospital.

* * *

"I'm not ready for this, I'm not ready for this…" Sakura kept repeating to herself. So many things could go wrong!

"Yes, you are." Naruto said sternly as he massaged her shoulders. "You want to help Neji, not just because of your promise to me, but for his own sake, right?"

"Yes! Of course!" She replied defensively.

Naruto simply gave her the smile that she had grown to love before she even knew it as she turned around. "Then just think about him, and you'll both be fine." Naruto replied. He then embraced her. "And remember, no matter what happens, I'm here for you."

Sakura cupped Naruto's cheek, kissing him. "I needed that."

"You're welcome." Naruto said. "Now get going; Neji's nerves aren't going to repair themselves."

"That's the point of this operation, Naruto!" Sakura said as she gave him a playful smile, temporarily forgetting the seriousness of the situation.

* * *

"Are we all set?" Sakura and other medic nins, including Tsunade, gathered in a circle around Neji, who was put under anesthesia. Normally, Tsunade would be in charge of the operation, but because Sakura was the one who discovered this experimental therapy, she would be in charge. Still, Tsunade wouldn't have allowed her to take charge unless she saw Sakura's research for herself. She had to say, she couldn't have done a better job herself.

Also among the group was Hinata. She was going to monitor the progress of Neji's nerves with her Byakuugan, and alert the team of any problems.

"Ready, Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." She nodded. The Hyuuga heiress activated her byakugan.

"Administer stem cells now." Sakura commanded the team. Stem cells were then injected into Neji's body, in the nerves that took the most damage. "Gather around and begin phase 2." Sakura, Tsunade, and the other medics pressed their palms against the injection sites. "Begin." The medics poured their chakra into Neji's body. However, unlike most medical techniques, which affected the host's cells, their chakra was fueling only the newly injected stem cells. Stem cells required energy and other signals to conform to the tissue, and in a living sample often did not complete their growth. The medics were using their own chakra to speed along the process.

"Inoue-san, ease up a bit." Hinata said as she observed the progress. "Naka-san, put a little bit more into it. It's not growing fast enough." Too little chakra would mean that the stem cells couldn't grow, and would die. Too much, and they could become cancerous. Each site required the exact amount.

"Stop!" Hinata suddenly shouted to a medic operating along Neji's arms. "They're mutating!"

Sakura, who was working along Neji's cranial nerves, immediately rushed forward to the troubled spot. "Move!" She took over, and quickly used her chakra to destroy the cells before they could reproduce. "Bring me a new batch of stem cells, quickly!" The medic brought her another syringe, which she quickly administered. She brought his hand forward to feel hers as she poured the chakra in. "Make sure you keep it at this level." She told him sternly.

"Got it. Sorry." The medic replied sheepishly.

The operation continued on. ..

* * *

Naruto twiddled his thumbs in the waiting room, as Hiashi and Hanabi settled themselves in the seiza position. All three were anxious for Neji's recovery, though only the blonde in the room clearly showed it. Naruto was certain Sakura could pull it off. But even he knew statistics didn't lie, and usually weren't off by a long shot. He knew that no matter what, Sakura would give it her all to make sure the operation was a success, or at least ended safely. But what of Neji's family? If Sakura failed, would they be able to forgive her?

"Whatever happens, it is nobody's fault." Naruto turned his head up to Hiashi, who was giving him an understanding smile. "Haruno-dono explained the risks to us; Neji knew what he was getting into." Hiashi's fist tightened; while Naruto had little doubt Hiashi spoke the truth, he could see the Hyuuga patriarch was as nervous as he was. "Should anything happen…and I don't want to think that way…" Hiashi took a deep breath. "…I will thank Haruno-dono for doing her very best."

Naruto was stunned; he heard about how his match with Neji melted the ice around Hiashi's heart, but he never knew just how much. "She can do it." He told him. "She's the most amazing kunoichi I've ever met."

Hiashi nodded in understanding; that wasn't just his personal feelings for her talking, he could tell that much.

Suddenly, the doors to the operation room burst open. Sakura and Hinata came walking out, and judging by their smiles, it had to be good news. "The operation was a success!" an exhausted Sakura exclaimed proudly. "The stem cells we gave Neji have conformed to the nerve tissue, and have stabilized. We'll still have to monitor him for a month, just in case…but if nothing changes, I can safely conclude that Neji will make a full recovery!" She took a deep breath. "Your nephew…will be back on the field soon."

The Hyuugas just looked at her shocked, and quickly bowed to her, including Hinata. "P-please Hiashi-sama! There's no need to be so formal!..."

"You are wrong, Haruno-dono." Hiashi interrupted. "Not only will you have improved Neji's life, but you saved him from himself. You don't know how much this means to me." Both Naruto and Sakura saw that Hiashi was crying out of happiness. "If for any reason Uzumaki-san does not become Hokage…you will take your mentor's place splendidly." Sakura was stunned beyond belief of the praise. "You have my support, should you ever consider that." Hiashi added, letting her know that was no exaggeration.

Sakura bowed back abruptly. "Neji is in room 3. He's still asleep, and he'll be out of it for a while, but if you wish, you can go see him now."

"Thank you." The 3 Hyuugas said softly at once. They proceeded down the hallway, as Sakura looked on.

Sakura was never in it for the glory. She already received praise from her closest people, and that was enough. But still, to be complimented like that. _"If only father…"_ No. She could not think like that. All her father cared about was the Kekkei Genkai he failed to pass on. He did not deserve her love anymore. So she kept telling herself…

Suddenly, Sakura was twirled around and pinned to the wall by Naruto. "Naruto! What has gotten into…" Before she could finish, Naruto placed a deep, DEEP kiss on her lips. Sakura was too shocked to return it, but damn did it feel good!

"I'm so proud of you Sakura." Naruto said, releasing her. "You've done something that no one thought could be done, not even Ba-chan…" Naruto hugged her tightly, causing Sakura to blush. "Sakura…I know that life hasn't been easy for you. But I've watched you grow alongside of me. I've seen you work hard. I've seen you push yourself above and beyond. Just remember, there is no limit to what you can do…or endure. And no matter what happens…"

Sakura shushed his lips. "Naruto. The reason I am as strong and wise as I am now is because of you. You were the bottom of the class, and no one, not even me, expected you to become something great. But you never gave up, and overtime, you proved everyone wrong. You have a mysterious power, Naruto. You change people. You bring out the best in them, give them the courage to do what they thought was impossible, and bring out the good in even the darkest of hearts. It's because of that power that Neji will return to field duty." Sakura smiled, and hugged him. "I'm so glad you were always a presence in my life."

* * *

"Is everyone ready?" Sakura asked as she adjusted the camera.

"Whenever you are, Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled.

"Wasn't the last photo we took together good enough?" Sai asked. "Besides, I've no attachment to your students. There's really no reason for me to be here." Sai had finally came out of hiding. It seemed that Danzo and Root were laying low, and Sai felt no fear in walking out in the open again. If they did try to kill him again, they would be the prime suspects, no matter how well they covered their tracks. He knew that Danzo wouldn't risk it, not now. Still, he had to stay on his toes; when angered, Danzo was one who never forgot.

"Sai. Just do as you're told."Naruto sighed heavily.

Sai snapped back to the present and smiled. "Yes, yes. Sorry."

"They really outta find a way to make cameras work faster…" Yuji complained as he stood still in the pose he chose. "I'm getting cramps!"

"Yeah, she might as well try to paint the picture instead of taking it." Shiguri added sarcastically.

Iori suddenly sent a fist across her two teammates' heads. "Knock it off! Just stop acting like a bunch of goofballs and let us get this done and over with!" Iori looked away, trying her best not to look irritated. "Besides…you should treasure your memories with a photograph. You never know; one day, it could burn away into ashes."

Yuji could tell by her voice that Iori was on the verge of tears. "Hey, don't think like that." He placed a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "No matter what happens, we'll always have the memories to look back on and smile. I promise."

Iori turned around to look at him, and smiled. "I'll hold you to it."

"All right everyone! Timer's set! Get into your positions!" Sakura called.

Sakura ran to join the group before the camera went off. Sakura stood behind Yuji, both flexing their right arms. Naruto was behind Iori, both smiling and showing the hand sign for the Kage Bushin. Sai was behind Shiguri, kneeling to his level. Naruto and Sakura felt that Sai should be with them in another photograph again, as even if it was only part time, they still considered him a team member. Plus, they came to know that Shiguri hated to be the odd man left out. He needed the company, and figured that Sai could be a good teacher to him if he chose to accept that role.

Finally, the camera flashed; a new memory was created for both the original Team 7 and now Team 12.

* * *

Tsunade stamped the last bit of paperwork for approval. She was usually a procrastinator, but today she was being quite efficient. She had to be; she had an appointment coming soon, and it would probably take a while. She believed it was best to get it all out of the way. Besides, she found she actually had more free time if she worked like this. The knock she had been anticipating finally resounded in her ears. "Enter."

Yuji entered, and Hyouike, now fully recovered, followed from behind. The Ainu girl seemed nervous; Tsunade expected this. When Yuji told her of the situation, she knew exactly what she was talking about. This was a few decades too late, in her opinion, but even if he wasn't alive to see it, Uncle Tobimara deserved some closure.

"Miyamoto. I take it everything is alright?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Yuji replied quickly, too nervous to engage her in casual conversation.

Tsunade then said "Before we begin, I wanted to let you know that you show exceptional promise as a medical ninja. Since Sakura still needs a full-time job, I decided that she will oversee your training. We just need your mother's permission, and from what Sakura told me, we're likely to get it. Since you've mastered the chakra-enhanced strength technique, you should have no trouble melding your chakra into a tool for healing as well." Yuji was, needless to say, speechless. Even Hyouike had to feel happy for him. "Congratulations, Miyamoto." Tsunade smiled. "Your father would be very proud of you."

Yuji blushed and scratched his head. "Uh, thank you, Hokage-sama. But…we're not here for me."

"Yes, of course." Tsunade's face turned serious. "I believe you said that this girl had something to say about our village's past, specifically regarding my great uncle, Senju Tobimara."

Yuji nodded, and allowed Hyouike to speak. She told Tsunade about how her people wandered the continent, always trying to get away from prejudice. But, how according to some Konoha ninja, it was the 2nd Hokage who actively persecuted them during their time in Fire Country. To her credit, Hyouike kept her tale as non-malicious as she could, understanding that whoever was responsible in the past was now dead and gone. At the end of it all, both teens were afraid of Tsunade's reaction.

Instead of vehemently denying it, however, Tsunade sighed heavily. "I was afraid your people would think that, Hyouike-san." She then signaled for the two to follow her. "Hyouike-san. I cannot deny anything that happened to your people, and our village is partially to blame. But not in the way you think." Tsunade pulled out a book partway, and the entire shelf moved, revealing a large space for them to walk through.

"A hidden passageway!" Yuji exclaimed. "I know shinobi are supposed to be secretive and sneaky…but!..."

"It's not that secret." Tsunade replied. "It's actually quite well known with the higher-ups, but you need my permission explicitly to have access. It's merely a vault of the previous Hokages belongings. My predecessors would place things that belonged to them they didn't want the public to access, just for personal reasons. After a hundred years or so, they will be released to the public unless other information is deemed too sensitive. You two should consider yourselves lucky; not even many high-ranking jonin like Kakashi have had a chance to look inside."

Tsunade began to descend down the stairs, while the two kids looked on nervously. Tsunade glanced behind her, annoyed. "What are you doing? Get down here; it's the only way the two of you will know the truth."

Yuji and Hyouike eeped, and ran downstairs after her. When they reached the bottom floor, the two stared in wonder. While it was mostly books and scrolls, Yuji could tell they all had valuable knowledge inside. He wasn't much of a history buff, but he would have very much liked to learn about the leaders' of his village; it was the closest thing to meeting them.

Tsunade rummaged through the material as she said "Most of these are journals of the Hokages lives, the parts that they are either not proud of or simply do not wish to be seen."

"And, the attack on my people?" Hyouike asked. She tried to be polite, but she did not want to beat around the bush any longer.

"Before we get to that, I suggest you two have a look at this portrait." Tsunade said as she passed a large picture to them. Yuji and Hyouike took a look. It was clearly the Nidaime. Instead of his battle armor, however, he was wearing a formal yukata. Next to him was a woman with tan skin and silver-blue hair.

"An Ainu?" Hyouike asked in surprise. _"But, if the Nidaime loved an Ainu woman, than why…?"_

"Her name was Eikyuutoudo." Tsunade began to explain. "My uncle had lost his first wife in one of the shinobi wars years before your people came to our lands, and out of goodwill, rescued her caravan from being attacked one day. It was love at first sight for both of them, and he offered all of them sanctuary. However…no one place is free of racism." Tsunade noted sadly. The two adolescents were almost afraid to ask what happened next. Tsunade continued "It wasn't a particularly strong organization. But they were there. Most were just a few civilians who didn't know better. Others, however, were council members. They didn't want Ainu 'polluting our land', as they put it. Tobimara, of course, ignored their claims and had enough political power to make sure that the Ainu were given basic rights. But, when such men of prejudice and power are backed into a corner…" Tsunade seemed to have trouble forming the words.

"It was Danzo, wasn't it?" Yuji asked, gritting his teeth. "Every problem Konoha had, he was behind. Shiguri has enough stories about him to confirm that."

"No." Tsunade replied. "Danzo wasn't seasoned enough to gain such political power at that time; he would have only been in his early twenties. Besides, Sarutobi-sensei often teased him about being crazy for Ainu girls back then." Hyouike's face nearly turned red at the statement. "Naming those responsible is pointless at this point; they're all dead now." The Hokage noted sadly.

Yuji noticed that a single tear dropped from Tsunade's face. Whatever happened back then, it must have affected her too. "Right before their wedding, the Ainu caravan Eikyuutoudo was from was attacked by some of our own shinobi. Many were captured, tortured…" Tsunade choked on her words. "…the damage was done by the time my uncle found out. The caravan left, and believing that Tobimara was responsible, she left with them as well, and rejected his love. Tobimara was devastated, but he remained strong and disciplined in his position as Hokage, to the disappointment of some."

"It was a plot to destroy the Nidaime…from within." Yuji said in realization. "What about the people who were responsible? Were they found out?"

"Eventually." Tsunade replied. "By that time, they were already old men; Sarutobi-sensei was Hokage by the time they were convicted. They were sent to prison, but it wasn't long before they died of old age."

"And the Nidaime?" Yuji asked, hoping to hear a happy ending to all this. He sincerely doubted it, though.

"He never stopped looking for her, to beg for her forgiveness." Tsunade replied, doing her best to stay strong. She remembered how hard it was on her uncle. Every day, he would put up a brave face. But when he was alone in his room, he would drink enough sake to make even her puke and called to her in his sleep.

A long moment of silence engulfed everyone. "Eikyuutoudo was my great aunt." Hyouike said softly. "My grandfather was her little brother. He was one of the lucky few who escaped, and I learned the version of the story I was told from him." Tsunade then looked straight at her, silently telling her to go on. "My grandfather told me that while she ultimately sided with her people, she never did stop loving him, hoping to believe that Senju Tobimara was innocent." Hyouike then began to cry. "And now…she's gone. I'm the one who had to find out in her place. It isn't fair." Hyouike then bowed at Tsunade suddenly. "Hokage-sama, my whole life I believed your uncle had wronged my people. But, I see the truth now. I only wish for both of us that someone found out back then. I am so sorry that we ever doubted the village."

Tsunade bowed back. "Not all of us were responsible like you thought, and certainly not my uncle. But that does not change the fact that a select few chose to commit atrocious acts; the village must still share responsibility for those crimes."

Tsunade then beckoned the two teens to follow her up the stairs. "Things are different now; in fact, I'd say your absence from these lands has somewhat benefited you. Most anti-ainu feelings are gone. In fact, I'd say a good portion of the village never even heard of your clan." Yuji blushed slightly, embarrassed that he was one of those ignorant people just a couple of months ago that Tsunade was speaking of. "I think with the current council…we can begin to set things right again." Tsunade proclaimed softly as she guided the two teens up the stairs.

"Whatever the village done in the past, it was nothing compared to the cruelty of Iwa." Yuji said. "Even if we forced them there, that doesn't excuse what THEY did. We should have intervened sooner."

Tsunade looked back at him and said "And if you were in my shoes, would you risk your own shinobi dying? For a people they may not know or understand? Even may hate? And only further aggravate the enemy into attacking us? Miyamoto, people go to war for their own preservation, not for those of others. At least, that's how most people view it. And such people become very powerful in their lives."

Yuji clenched his fists. "War may not be the answer. But I just can't stand by and do nothing! There has to be another way…and I will find it."

Tsunade then smiled slightly. "Then, I wish you luck. But for now, we have to take care of Hyouike-san's needs." The two stared at the Ainu girl, who was wondering what the big deal was. "You've got a long road ahead of you as ambassador of your people. Come."

That certainly stunned Hyouike. Though she was unprepared, she promised herself at that moment to do her best to represent her people. As they walked towards the council, Hyouike whispered "Yuji?"

"Yeah?"

Suddenly, Hyouike embraced him from behind, and nuzzled her head against his back. "Thank you. I'll never forget this."

Yuji turned red at the close contact. "Y-you're welcome." Yuji said nothing more as Hyouike released him; though he doubted it would happen, he didn't want Iori to walk in on them and get mad.

* * *

"Naruto, I'm home!" Sakura called as she entered their apartment. She had to do some administrative work earlier in the morning, but Sakura was always an efficient worker; it was only about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. "Naruto?" Usually Naruto would be bursting with joy for her return, even if she was only gone for a few hours.

She looked around, and found Naruto sulking in the bedroom. Naruto seemed to be looking at a picture, but he then looked up when he sensed her approach before she could ask. "Oh. Hi, Sakura-chan." He said in a depressed tone.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Sakura asked concerned as she took a seat next to Naruto, and noticed he was looking at a picture of him and Iruka-sensei. A twinge of sadness touched her as well. "Oh…"

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan." Naruto began to explain. "I…I just miss him so much…"

Sakura hugged Naruto close. "Naruto, it's okay. He was like a father to you; of course you feel the way you do."

Naruto shut his eyes and shook his head. "It's not just that, I…"

"Naruto, you should have been told sooner." Sakura interrupted him sternly. "One of us who knew should have. Your attitude was OUR fault. Nonetheless, I know Iruka-sensei was always proud of you, and just seeing you grow up was enough. He died without regret, I just know it."

Naruto looked at her, and smiled slightly. "Thanks, Sakura-chan." He said as he put the photo down on his lap. "I needed that." He leaned over to kiss her, which Sakura gladly returned.

"Hey, lately you've been saying a lot of things to help me. It was only fair that I returned the favor." Sakura winked at him.

Naruto gave her his usual goofy grin. "I guess."

Still, Sakura knew from personal experience that Naruto needed to do something else to take his mind off Iruka. And that's when she got a brilliant idea. "Hey, Naruto. Did you make any plans for today?"

"Uh, no, not really." Naruto replied, scratching his head.

"Why don't we do a little sparring for today? It will help take your mind off things. Besides…" Sakura leaned in to nibble his ear, turning Naruto's skin red. "…you'll get a surprise if you win."

Naruto gulped. "O-okay, Sakura-chan! Just…just give me a few minutes, okay? I need to find something to wear!"

Sakura smiled and walked away, swaying her hips in an absolutely sinful manner, not that Naruto was complaining. "Sure thing, sweetie. Take all the time you need. I'll be in Training Area 7, waiting for you." She blew him a kiss, and walked out the door.

"Oh, jeez!" Naruto ran to the shower as he shed his clothes; he was going to need a cold shower before their spar…

* * *

Naruto entered the training area half an hour later. His normal shinobi clothes were dirty, and he didn't want to wear them for this spar, not when Sakura was giving the hint it might be something "special". However, he found something he figured Sakura might like to see again: his old orange suit. It was a little bit small, but he could still move with no problem, plus it didn't look too young for him. _"Wait 'till Sakura-chan gets a load of this!" _he thought ecstatically.

"Sakura-chan! I'm here!" Normally, he wouldn't be calling for his sparring partner, at least not these days. But something told him this wouldn't be a normal sparring session.

"I see you made it. And nice choice of clothing too."

Naruto looked behind him to see Sakura leaning against a tree, clearly expecting him. And like him, it seemed she had a similar choice of attire: her old clothes. Sakura was still as lithe, athletic and beautiful as he remembered. However, she was now a grown woman, and Naruto went farther with her than he had ever hoped. Those two facts brought old adolescent fantasies surging through Naruto's mind. "You…" he began. For some reason, he couldn't form the words. There was no reason he shouldn't have been able to; he had been on missions with Sakura dressed like that with no problem, never mind the recent milestones in their relationship. "You look good." He finally blurted out. Naruto smacked his head as he realized he should have said something nicer.

"Just good, huh?" Sakura asked, looking slightly annoyed. She strutted over to Naruto and placed her hands on her hips. "That's too bad. I go through the trouble of finding my old clothes, and that's all you say. Huh. I suppose you will have to forget about your surprise then…" she turned around, giving him a "Hmph". "…not that I think you'd have a chance of winning anyway…"

Naruto suddenly protested and flapped his arms wildly. "W-wait! You just surprised me, that's all! Please, what was it?"

"Not telling." Had Naruto been paying better attention, he would have noticed the sly smile across Sakura's face before she turned her away again.

Naruto let out a low growl, but he wasn't angry; on the contrary, he was giving her a seductive smile. "Name your terms, vixen." He said in a low voice and wrapped his strong arms around her.

"Put me in a position where no matter what, I will most certainly lose." Sakura replied, returning the smile.

Naruto backed away, and pulled out a kunai. Sakura did the same. "Ready…GO!"

Both ninjas disappeared into the forest. However, Sakura's taunts had gotten to Naruto; he was impatient. Quickly, he ran across the forest, sprinting towards where he saw her move. "Here I come, Sakura-chan…" He quickly spotted some pink hair, and pulled out his kunai, pointing it at her back. "This is the part where you surrender…WHAT!" Naruto found himself holding a pink wig on top of a log hostage instead of a person.

"Not quite." Sakura came from behind, and Naruto's face met her fist. Normally, his skull would have been shattered by such a blow. But she wasn't worried; the clone dissipated as if she hit nothing at all. Still, she fell into Naruto's trap herself; she was now exposed. Quickly, Sakura pulled out a kunai. _"I should expect some shuriken in about 3…2…1…"_ As she expected, the sharp weapons were hurled towards her. Sakura deflected and dodged all of them, but when she back flipped away, Naruto was in her face as soon as she was upright. Sakura hastily blocked Naruto's punch. While she avoided the blow, she was still thrown back.

To her surprise, Naruto became the aggressor, using his kunai and fists to keep her on the defensive. Sakura countered, but Naruto dodged each one of them by a hair's breadth. Sakura fell back, holding her kunai in a defensive position. Both stared at each other panting, smiling at one another. "You really have gotten better." Sakura complimented him. "A year ago, unless you planned to use Rasengan, you wouldn't have dared to get this close to me."

Naruto smiled. "Well, after all the fights I've been in, getting up close isn't as scary as it used to be. Besides…"

Sakura suddenly felt arms hug her body. "A Kage Bushin!"

"…it's fun messing with you." Naruto grinned naughtily. Suddenly, the bushin began to grope her all over.

"Naruto! This isn't…ah!... Sakura's face flushed as Naruto massaged her breasts over her shirt.

"Neither was the way we beat Kakashi." Naruto replied, knowing what she was going to say. Hearing Sakura moaning the way she was aroused him almost as much as seeing her naked. Naruto's hand snaked its way down into her pants, and suddenly, Sakura flipped the Bushin over. Naruto had to bring his knees together and squat as the clone's memories flooded his mind. _"Maybe I should be doing the physical contact from now on." _He thought. All those feelings at light speed wouldn't have bided too well for him right now.

"Naruto!" Sakura panted. She wasn't angry. In fact, she was becoming rather playful. "Concentrate." she said as sternly as she could; which wasn't very much at all.

"Of course." Naruto said, smiling back. "I might not be concentrating on what you want me to, though."

Sakura only gave him a sexy grin. "Oh, I wouldn't know about that." Sakura vanished into the woods, and Naruto desperately tried to follow her trail.

Naruto leapt into the treetops, looking left and right. Then his eyes widened at what he saw: Sakura's shirt splayed haphazardly on a branch. "OH YEAHHH!" Naruto quickly made his way towards the spot, looking forward to a topless Sakura. "You little vixen, you…" He made it to his target…only to find Sakura was not in sight. "….Sakura-chan?" Suddenly, a volley of shuriken flew at him from all directions. Naruto ran for dear life. "HEY! You're acting like I've never seen you like that before!" Naruto finally cleared the trap, and bent over to catch his breath. "Jeez…this is the most I've ever had to work for…" Sakura's laughter caught his attention, and he looked to see where it was coming from. In another part of the thicket, Naruto found Sakura's arm, this time hanging up her shorts on a branch. "HOLY…!" Naruto sprinted over there, only to find Sakura was once again nowhere in sight. Then, Naruto felt something tug on his ankle. "Oh no, not this ag-" Naruto was hoisted upside down in the air by a snare. "Aw, come on!" Naruto screamed. "What did I do to deserve this!"

"Well, for starters, you could have found a better way to compliment me." Sakura came out of hiding…and much to Naruto's disappointment, fully clothed. Sakura just gave him a mischievous smirk at seeing him upside down. "You disappoint me, Naruto. I figured you would have learned your lesson by now."

Naruto pouted "Kakashi never used one's pervertedness against them."

"No, but it was the same principle. Use the enemy's weakness against them. In your case…" Sakura turned to herself and smacked her ass, resulting in Naruto getting a nosebleed upside down. "I think I made my point."

Naruto cleaned his face, and gave her a serious look. "This calls for a rematch." Naruto cut the snare with his kunai, and flipped onto the ground. "You're going to pay for that. I'm going to rip those clothes off of you…" Naruto licked his lips with a predatory gaze. "…and I'll make love to you until you pass out."

Sakura just looked at him skeptically. "You've got stamina, I'll give you that. But enough to make me pass out? Don't underestimate me."

"We'll see." Naruto replied, never losing his confidence, whether it be battle or love. He then got into a defensive stance. "Ready?"

"Born ready." Sakura replied, equally as confident.

The two jumped back, only to leap towards each other once more. Sakura held nothing back; if a punch connected, Naruto would be on his way to the hospital. IF a punch connected, a big if. Naruto had clearly been studying her; he parried all of her blows and made sure not to use any hard blocks to counter. While Sakura was still more agile, Naruto had gotten crazy fast over the years. Quickly, Sakura attached an explosive tag on her kunai, and flung it. While the kunai itself missed Naruto, it was close enough for the explosion to have an effect if Naruto didn't get out of the way. It went off, and when the smoke cleared, she saw no sign of Naruto or that he retreated; that worried her. "Naruto?"

"Right here, Sakura-chan!"

Suddenly, Sakura felt a pair of hands rubbing her rear. "AHHH!"

"My god, Sakura. I could never get tired of this…"

"NARUTO!" Sakura slugged Naruto across the face, worried she may have done too much damage. Her fears were relieved when the Bushin dissipated. _"I should have known…" _

Before Sakura had a chance to straighten herself out, Naruto suddenly leapt in front of her, and grabbed her breasts. Sakura's face turned the same color as her shirt as Naruto squeezed them. "Actually, concerning you, I can never get enough of any part of the body."

"Naruto, quit fucking around!" Sakura uppercutted him into the air, but that to was a bushin as well. If Sakura thought she could get some relief, she was wrong; Naruto burst from the ground, again headed for her breasts. Sakura tried to block his hands, but that only proved to be a feint as Naruto instead placed his head in her chest and motor-boated. "Damn it, Naruto!" Sakura slammed him back in, but that only proved to be a bushin once more.

Sakura stepped back a bit, preparing for an attack, both the violent and the sexual kind. Sakura noticed she was panting nervously. However, it probably had more to do with the anticipation of what may be to come… _"Damn it, Sakura! Get a grip!"_ Sakura spun as she heard Naruto giggle from all directions.

"I'm just taking your advice, Sakura-chan." Sakura spun to her left; nothing there. "You used my weakness quite well, I'll give you that." To her right, nothing there either. "But you can't say you don't share the same weakness as I."

Behind her, he was still nowhere in sight. "Kage Bushin…he's filled the forest with Kage Bushin!"

"And now, we're going to make you pay for that." The unseen clones said in unison from all directions.

Suddenly, Naruto landed in front of her, and showed off a protruding tent in his pants. "Damn it, Naruto!" Sakura's face turned blood red with shock and embarrassment, and leapt back, throwing some shuriken. "Naruto, you baka! For once, fight like a real ninja!"

Naruto side-stepped the sharp objects with ease; getting her flustered threw her aim way off."Um…no. What I'm doing now seems to be much more effective." he replied nonchalantly.

Sakura stopped to prepare herself for anything. Unfortunately, the way her body was reacting physically, she couldn't think straight or calm down. Suddenly, shuriken came from both her sides. She jumped up and away, but Sakura saw the skirt-flannels fall to the ground as she back-flipped away. "Oh no, he didn't…" Sakura turned her head around, and saw exactly what that area of her shorts looked like without them. While being without them was by no means inappropriate, they did nothing to conceal her bottom's perfectly circular shape. _"I'll have to remember to thank Shishou those, profusely." _Sakura reminded herself. "You like that!" Sakura shouted, pointing to her somewhat-exposed area. "Take a good look, you perv!"

"Oh, I am." he called.

"_Damn it!"_ She still couldn't pinpoint his location as she looked around!

"But I was already thinking of you with much, much less on since this sparring session began." Shuriken were hurled towards her, and Sakura leapt to avoid them. For some reason, she was hoping the shuriken would shred her clothes off. The more rational part of her mind fought that more primal part, reminding herself that she did not plan for it to go like this, and that she still valued those clothes. But still, the excitement that Naruto had begun to build up inside of her…it was exciting beyond anything she felt before, even from their previous trysts. Had her shorts been a lighter color, Naruto might have noticed something peculiar but arousing, and at least for that she was grateful. Naruto continued to taunt her with his plans for her, and Sakura was losing balance and concentration…

Suddenly, Naruto leapt towards her. It was a laughably predictable lunge, one not even in his younger days would Naruto dare try. Even an academy student could easily counter such an "attack". And yet, Sakura found herself helpless. Perhaps it was his piercing blue eyes, the way his hair waved in the wind. Or…perhaps it was Sakura 's mind and body separated, and the later wanted to receive whatever Naruto had in mind. Then, Naruto captured her lips in a kiss. Sakura was so entranced by Naruto, all she could do was return the kiss. "I win." Naruto breathed.

Sakura just felt the sharp edge of a kunai behind her head. "You know…uh…most shinobi…oooh…I…wouldn't fall for this." She finally managed to gasp as she and Naruto continued to French each other.

"The same could be said about Kakashi-sensei. I doubt he would let a real enemy exploit his fondness of Icha-Icha. But that worked for us, didn't it?" Naruto grabbed her bottom and hoisted her against a tree, causing her to yelp in excitement. "And I think I'm the only one who could do this to you, right?"

Sakura moaned as Naruto massaged her breasts over her shirt. "YES! Yes…" Sakura wanted him so bad! She tried to undress him, but Naruto only kept her away from his zippers. She then tried to undress herself, but Naruto stopped her again, which really stumped her. "What…what are you doing? This is what you want? Right?" Sakura never wanted so bad to take her clothes off and experience pleasure.

"Do you…have any idea…" Naruto paused to finger her under her pants, causing her to stifle a scream. "…how long I waited for this? Sakura, when you asked me if you looked more woman-like…it was true that you were always as beautiful to me as you ever were. But that didn't change the fact that I noticed that you had matured. I wanted to tear those clothes off and take you right then and there. I never thought of you that intensely…until that time. And despite everything we've done recently, I'm feeling that way again."

"Then…what's keeping you?" Sakura asked in anticipation.

"I'm going to make you suffer like I have…until you break anyway." Naruto grinned wickedly, growling.

For what seemed like an eternity, Naruto groped her and made her writhe in pleasure. However, he kept himself from stripping her and made sure she did not climax. No matter how much Sakura moaned or grinded herself against him, Naruto refused to give her any more than what he was…at least until he felt he broke her. "Naruto…ah…please…"

Naruto stopped his rubbing between her legs and smiled slyly. "Yes, what?"

Sakura nearly screamed "Oh kami, please! Please, take me! Make me yours!"

Satisfied, Naruto kissed her deeply. He then proceeded to unzip her vest…"_Oh, how I've longed to take this off!" _He was imagining what kind of bra she usually wore under it…and that's when he was met with a big surprise. Right after opening it, he found himself staring at Sakura's bare breasts. Sakura, taking notice of his surprise, looked at him nervously. "What the-!" Before Sakura could answer him, Naruto pulled her shorts down, eliciting a small scream of surprise from Sakura. As Naruto feared, nothing down there either. Normally, this would excite Naruto, but he couldn't imagine Sakura going commando on their missions together. "Sakura…" he began to ask, nervously. "You mean…all this time…"

"Of course not, baka!" Sakura replied harshly. "What kind of a woman do you take me for!" Feeling that things just got tense between them and the mood was on the verge of being ruined, Sakura's expression soften. "This was supposed to be your surprise." She blushed, imagining that such a thought did cross Naruto's mind when they were younger

Naruto just stared at her in shock; then, upon finally comprehending what Sakura just told him, the lust returned full force as he kissed her deeply. Sakura fumbled with Naruto's pants, trying to undo the zipper; quite a challenge when she felt her breasts being fondled. "Oh...Naruto…" Sakura moaned as she felt Naruto finger her. Despite how much she was enjoying this, she still hesitated to do it outdoors in broad daylight. She broke away from their kiss and whimpered "We shouldn't…not here…"

"No one's supposed to come here when it's occupied, remember?" Naruto asked huskily. Considering how preoccupied he was with Sakura at the moment, it was amazing that he could answer at all. Hearing no objection from her, Naruto helped her out of her open vest while Sakura got him out of his jacket. "Besides…didn't you ever fantasize about making love here?"

Sakura slipped her shorts off her ankles and removed Naruto's boxers. "More times than I could count." She replied before grinding against him. Naruto hissed at the contact; it seemed the both of them wanted to do away with foreplay and climax quickly. It was certainly tempting. But no, Naruto wanted to drag this out; he wanted Sakura to be desperate from his touch, and that wouldn't happen if he gave her what she wanted now.

Sakura was about to take off her boots, but Naruto grasped her hand in his. "Leave them!" he nearly shouted. Her boots accentuated her legs and stuck to them like a second skin; Naruto almost never fantasized about her without them (not that she didn't look good without them).

Both of their lips locked, but Naruto made it a point to keep contact between the rest of their bodies at a minimum. Sakura obviously didn't like this, and pushed harder. She managed to sneak her hand out and touch him all over. Naruto winced in pleasure as she stroked his manhood. Before he lost control, he grabbed Sakura's butt and holstered her up against the tree again. Sakura gasped and straddled him, still locking lips. Naruto suddenly took her to the ground and pinned her there. It was then that he went to work on her breasts. Sakura moaned loudly as he touched their bare skin. "About…time!" Sakura's legs squirmed as Naruto pinched her nipples, but she could do nothing to change her position. Naruto lowered his head and began to suck on them, and Sakura made sure to keep him there. While the pleasure her body was feeling was overwhelming as it was, the feeling of her fingers of Naruto's hair combined with the former was beginning to drive her mad. As Naruto nipped at the skin of her neck, one of his hands inched down to Sakura's sex; the kunoichi was quickly becoming pudding in his hands.

Finally, Sakura's hold loosened enough for him to move his head, causing Sakura to pout. "Relax; I think you'll enjoy this." he assured her.

Naruto hoisted up her rear while Sakura's shoulders and head remained on the ground. Sakura's breathing quickened in anticipation of what was to come. Then Naruto lowered his mouth…"OH KAMI!" Sakura screamed. This wasn't anything new, but Sakura felt she would never get used to this. Every flick of his tongue sent jolts of pleasure up her spine; with each stroke she felt she would die a very pleasant death. "Naruto…Oh Naruto…" Sakura couldn't form a coherent sentence to tell him how much she enjoyed this.

Using his fingers to substitute for his mouth, he said "Relax. Just relax and enjoy…" He continued his oral administrations as Sakura continued to writhe furiously in pleasure. Little did she know, Naruto was nearly going mad himself. Sakura's taste drove him wild; it took all of his willpower just to go slowly so he could torture his lover with pleasure. The sight of seeing her writhe, seeing her truly be his was enough to make him enjoy the slow pace.

But, it seemed he wouldn't have to keep it up much longer. "NARUTO!" Sakura finally climaxed, smiling as she came down from her high. But her taste finally pushed Naruto over the edge. He needed more NOW! "Oh Kami, Nar-AHH!" Naruto continued his administrations, this time with wild abandon.

The cascades of pleasure came to Sakura never ending; Naruto was never this wild around her before. _"I better calm him down if we're going to make this last." _Sakura somehow managed to find the strength to lift herself up, and placed her palms on Naruto's temples. Her hands glowed green with chakra, and began to alter Naruto's physiology to calm him down. While he still made an effort, Naruto was beginning to slow down. He still held firm, determined to make Sakura orgasm a second time. Just as he felt himself go numb, he succeeded. Sakura's legs landed in a heap, and Naruto fell back on his butt.

He was quickly feeling the sexual excitement from before returning with a vengeance. "Why…" he panted, both feeling disoriented and distracted from the site of Sakura lying down open-legged. "…what did you go and do that for?"

Sakura managed to recover, and crawled towards him seductively. "Come now, you didn't think you could torture me like that and get away with it, did you?" She reached him, and ran her hands down his chest. Naruto tried to fight it, but he couldn't help but shudder in delight at her touch. "I'll show you…what it's like to be on the receiving end." Naruto gasped as he felt Sakura's lips envelope his manhood. She didn't hold back, not all. The ministrations of her tongue would have sent him climaxing immediately under normal circumstances. NORMAL circumstances; with 2 students of the benign sanin, circumstances often took a turn for the extraordinary. While she was playing with Naruto, Sakura placed her hands between his thighs and pumped her chakra into him. Her chakra inhibited the normal physiological reaction for a male orgasm, building up Naruto's pleasure to unimaginable heights. Soon, not even he could keep himself from writhing around and moaning. Sakura would have smiled if she could; she would have loved watching Naruto like this. However, even with her medical expertise, she could only keep this up for so long; Naruto's body's need to climax would soon overrun the chakra blocks she was administering. Soon, it happened, and Naruto finally felt some relief. Sakura wasn't wild about the taste, but she didn't hate it either.

Naruto panted as he watched Sakura relax and lick her lips. "Naruto, would you mind getting me some water? It's in one of my scrolls…in the shorts you ripped off." Naruto smiled and made a Bushin to retrieve it. Sakura looked slyly as she watched the clone run off for it. Naruto himself only continued to look at Sakura, amazed that she seemed to be as aroused as he was. The Bushin came back with the scroll, and dissipated. Sakura summoned a water bottle and washed her mouth; she figured Naruto wouldn't appreciate tasting himself. Oddly enough, she didn't mind when the situation was reversed.

She then noticed that Naruto was staring at her intently. There was no debate that he was enjoying what he was watching. "Sakura-chan…" he hoarsely whispered. "I need you. NOW."

Sakura stood up, and walked towards him, emphasizing her breasts and her sex, smiling naughtily. However, she stopped short and appeared to be reconsidering, as suggested by the finger under her chin. She even rubbed her calves together, and dangled her womanhood above him in a tease. Then, she smiled broadly. "You'll have to earn it!" Then just like that, she took off.

"WHAT!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief. The only response Naruto got was Sakura's laughter through the forest. He sprang up, and sprinted like there was no tomorrow. While Naruto's tracking skills weren't the best, especially when being as "unfocused" as he was, his tenacity allowed him to find Sakura. Sakura continued to run, which proved difficult for both of them. Watching Sakura run naked…and from the rear…made him lose sight of his surroundings, leading to him tripping and unable to concentrate on sprinting. As for Sakura, it just felt weird to run without clothes on. The unfamiliar feeling prevented her from running at her full potential. That, and the butterflies in her stomach made it difficult for her to put any real effort into her running.

Suddenly she was tackled from behind and the two sprawled to the ground. Both laughed hysterically at the turn of events. Before Sakura could stop laughing, Naruto pulled her into his lap and began kissing her neck. "OHHH. AHHH…" Sakura grinded into him, having enough with the foreplay. Then, Naruto had an idea. His chakra control was still a little bit below average, but he could still make small rasengans about the size of his pinky. From personal experimentation, he knew that they were harmless on human skin. But it still created a massage-like sensation. Naruto began to squeeze his lover's breasts, and then held his palms at the tip of her nipple. "Naruto…why…"

"Shh…you'll see."

Naruto began to concentrate (which proved difficult because of his current situation). His mini-rasengans began to form on both hands, and then he placed them on both of Sakura's breasts. "AHHHH!" Naruto was worried for a second that he may have hurt her. But he was proven wrong when Sakura began to grind against him violently and crank her neck back to access his lips. Naruto continued to use his chakra to fondle her, seeing Sakura go mad with ecstasy. Naruto felt his lap becoming sticky and wet…and he wasn't aware of himself climaxing. Naruto had to smile with male pride with what he was able to accomplish. Then, he lowered his left hand between her legs while he squeezed her breast with his other hand, both still swirling with chakra. Sakura let out an even louder scream from before, and Naruto felt her body go slack. Naruto let her go, and she collapsed the ground like a ragdoll. "Sakura!" Naruto shook her, worried he went too far again. "Are you alright!"

Sakura began to come to, and was panting like she ran a ninja marathon. "I…I'm fine Naruto." Sakura then sat up, looking at Naruto seductively. Naruto, transfixed by her beauty, felt himself leaning back. "That was very clever of you, Naruto. Using your ninjutsu specialty to…" Sakura couldn't quite form the words. Suddenly, she pinned Naruto onto the ground. "I think I'll put my own abilities to the test as well."

Suddenly, Naruto felt roots growing around his wrists, and pulling. They didn't hurt, but Naruto could not break the bonds unless he wanted to tap into Kyuubi's power. "Genjutsu." He said in realization. "You're going to use genjutsu against me."

Sakura just gave him an evil smile. "Oh, I'm not just going to hold you in place." With that, Sakura began to alter her appearance slightly.

She didn't do anything drastic like change her hair color or enlarge her breasts; Naruto would never forgive her if she pulled a stunt like that. What she did made it appear that Naruto's senses had enhanced. Suddenly, her skin seemed to shine brighter, and her pink hair more radiant. Her eyes seemed to be practically sparkling. Her touch also began to feel softer and smoother than before. What caught off guard was the new smell that invaded his nostrils. The scent smelled like a cross between cherry blossom perfume (go figure), sweat, and sex. Naruto didn't think he could've been driven more wild than he already was, but this was quickly proving him wrong. "Oh kami…"

"You like what you're sensing, Naruto?" Sakura smiled while sitting on him as if he were a comfy pillow.

Naruto also realized that her voice sounded even sexier than usual, although still the familiar one he grew to love. "Sakura…" His lover stroked his chest, tracing circles around it and eliciting electric bolts of pleasure inside of him. Naruto was about to climax again. "…I can't take much more of this…"

Sakura looked back at him and smiled wickedly. "If you think this is overwhelming…wait until you get a load of this." Sakura turned around so that she and Naruto were face to face. She began licking his chest, and nipping at it while her hands played with him elsewhere. Naruto let out feral screams as it went on. Soon, Sakura's sex joined with Naruto's at last. Naruto was yelling like an animal, due to the sensory overload. He didn't know that Sakura was being pushed to the brink as well. Her core went from bonfire to magnesium flame; she could no longer stand teasing Naruto and began to rapidly grind against him. That one round probably lasted only a minute, but to both it felt like an eternity.

Just when Naruto was about to finally climax, he screamed and broke his illusionary bonds. Sakura screamed as he pinned Sakura on her stomach. "No more games; you're mine now." He growled animilastically, although there was no sign of Kyuubi influence on him. Naruto began to pound into Sakura with reckless abandon. This wasn't the most romantic way to do it, Sakura thought; but it felt pretty damn good. From their previous trysts, Sakura was now used to having Naruto inside her; Naruto therefore had no trouble moving. In addition, she was already so aroused that Naruto felt practically nothing as he went inside of her. As driven into a hormonal frenzy as he was, Naruto hadn't forgotten about his promise to her. He wanted to make this a day Sakura would NEVER forget. Sakura moaned loudly from his ministrations, urging him to move faster and faster. Naruto eventually pulled her arms towards him to get a better grip on her. Sakura climaxed violently, but Naruto did not release her. "Not yet. I'm not done with you yet."

Their love-making was becoming the polar opposite of an intense sparring session. Both involved physical activity, could be quite tiring, and knocking out the opponent was an acceptable outcome. However, the key difference was that a sparring session could injure the opponent and caused both participants pain. Instead, Naruto was hoping to knock out Sakura through extreme pleasure. Sakura tried to keep pace, switching positions and trying to pleasure him as well. But Naruto was too determined, and soon Sakura's body was too exhausted to turn the tables. All she could do was sit back and enjoy. Both partners went through several more orgasms, oblivious to the setting sun and the combined smell of sex and sweat.

Finally, when Naruto lifted her pelvis up and drove into her, both experienced a wall-shattering orgasm. The two saw colors off all kinds, and their world became distorted. Both failed to hear themselves release feral screams. Sakura's world went white, and then, blackness.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he started to become aware of his surroundings. He felt exhausted, almost like he had gone through a dozen S-ranked missions without rest. He also faintly recalled some rather "interesting" activities with Sakura. _"What a wild dream…"_ He laid back against the grass…wait a minute, grass?

Naruto instantly shot up. Naruto's mind finally woke up, and took a good look around. It seemed they were on the training grounds; it was hard to tell, however, because it was nighttime. Naruto then observed he was naked, and looked to his side to see an equally naked Sakura. She was lying in a splayed position, her limbs pointing in different directions. Her breathing was so shallow that for a second Naruto thought she was dead. "So, it wasn't a dream…" Naruto just smiled and sat down to gently stroke the sleeping beauty. Like this, she looked so vulnerable, yet she was so strong. Admittedly, it was quite arousing to, but of course Naruto knew better. Besides, he had a feeling Sakura would be giving him a hard time tomorrow for making her so sore she couldn't walk. Naruto had to snicker at that thought. "Hey; I do keep my promises…well, most of the time anyway." Good thing they were both over that one.

Naruto realized he was getting cold, and he probably was a blanket to Sakura. She twitched slightly in her sleep; perhaps a reaction to the cool breeze. _"I should get us both back home, before we catch a cold."_ But how was he going to do that? Their clothes were probably scattered everywhere, and he didn't want to disturb Sakura by trying to dress her. In fact, she looked so peaceful, he didn't want to disturb her in any way. Then, Naruto slapped his forehead. "I really AM such a baka at times."

Quickly, he called upon his Kage Bushins. Naruto was quite thankful it was dark out; the last thing he wanted was to end a day of great sex by seeing several naked copies of himself. "Spread out, and get my clothes." The bushins dispersed, leaving Naruto by himself with the slumbering Sakura. He sat down, shivering while he waited for them to return. He wanted to hug Sakura for warmth, but he would only fall asleep again. He had to stay awake if he was going to get them home.

Soon the bushins returned, each with an article of clothing. "Okay. I need one of you to dress and go to my apartment. Once you're there, strip down and leave them on the floor."

One of them asked "Teleportation technique?"

"You got it." Then, something occurred to him; Naruto nearly kicked himself for nearly forgetting something else. Sakura would send him flying to another continent if he forgot. "Oh, and did any of you bring Sakura-chan's clothes? Don't forget to bring them home too…I want to see her in them again. And…I don't think she'll appreciate me advertising what we did here."

"Way ahead of you." One bushin exclaimed, enjoying the feeling of her clothes perhaps a little too much. But he couldn't blame him.

"Okay then! Hurry up! I'm freezing my ass off here!" The clones dissipated, leaving only one. He dressed as quickly as possible, and tucked Sakura's clothes under one arm while her boots were under another. Perhaps not the most subtle way of doing it, but there were hardly any people out at this hour, which was probably around midnight.

Naruto gently picked up Sakura, careful not to disturb her sleep. Her warmth helped him deal with the cold while he waited. He nearly jumped when he felt Sakura's tongue against his chest. She rolled in her sleep with her mouth open. _"Phew. For a minute there I thought she wanted to go at it again."_ After what seemed to be an eternity, Naruto found himself back in his apartment.

Quickly, he parted open the bedroom door with his foot, and entered. Carefully, he laid Sakura down on the bed, and took the other side. He pulled the covers over them, and scooted next to Sakura, sighing at her touch and warmth. "Sweet dreams, Sakura-chan."

Naruto snuggled in close and embraced her, and ended the night with a kiss to the forehead. Quickly, he fell back asleep in the comfort of his bed and loved one. It was too bad he wasn't awake to hear Sakura murmur "Naruto…"

* * *

Kizu glanced at the corner of his eyes as Zetsu dumped the person he requested onto the ground. "That certainly took you a while, Zetsu."

"My apologies; he wasn't where we would have expected."

The man in question only writhed on the ground in fear. "Please…please don't hurt me…"

"Look at what you've become." Kizu said, glaring at his captive with contempt. "You were once so much more…"

"I'm not that same man anymore. There's nothing that can be done; not even the Godaime Hokage could fix me. Hell, even if she could she wouldn't…"

"What if I said there was a way?" Kizu asked.

The man's eyes lit up immediately. But then, he furrowed them in skepticism. "Impossible. Even if such a thing were a possibility, I doubt I would receive such treatment from you."

"And why do you say that?" Kizu asked curiously.

"You're not the type to practice medical ninjutsu. I can see it; the way you move, your demeanor is not as attuned to science as mine…and your chakra. It's too large, too wild. You can't have the precise control needed to use chakra for healing and medical-based attacks."

Kizu only smiled. "And THAT, is why I sought you. You are brilliant, and at your peak, an exceptional fighter. And I don't plan on 'restoring' you per say; I plan on tearing down your entire being, and rebuilding it from the ground up into something better." He then displayed the hand signs for a summon…but instead of an animal, a corpse appeared in front of him.

His kidnapped victim only looked in shock. "Is that…"

"Yes. One of the finest shinobi of an already an exceptional clan…and his power can be yours! IF…you work for me. Do so…and I promise you revenge on your most hated enemies."

The victim's frown slowly turned into a sinister grin. "Yes…YES! I will serve anyone as long as my power is returned to me…and what I had endured will be returned a thousand fold…"

"You'll have to prove yourself first." Kizu warned him. "And the time to exact your revenge will not be right…for a very, very long time."

His "kidnap victim" nodded. "Whatever it takes. Whatever you need. But…if I'm to work for you, I must receive his power first…"

"I was intending on that. But we must hurry. Are you ready to begin?"

* * *

Kyuubi slept, his forelimbs tucked under his chin as usual. Not much else to do except that and screw around with Naruto. But the nine-tails was getting weaker; if he didn't act soon, he would have an appointment with death itself. "I'm running out of time. If I'm not reunited with my other half soon…" He couldn't complete that thought. Death was a scary subject for a biju.

"Do I detect fear in your voice?" a voice asked accusingly.

The Kyuubi opened his eyes and glared outside his cage, finding his cellmate on the other side. "You. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" he asked sarcastically.

The being across the cage smirked. "Well, just enjoying watching our host kick Akatuski's ass…and insuring you'll never get out, in more ways than one."

Kyuubi lunged at him, trying to catch him in his claws but the bars held strong. "I WILL BE FREE!" he bellowed. "Your precious container will fall eventually! I can feel it, the biju are disappearing one by one. It's only a matter of time before they pull out the big swords…"

"You really want to disappear so badly?" the one on the other side asked. "What Akatsuki offers you is no different than staying in here until your time is up. The difference is that the former will do it much sooner."

Kyuubi stopped, then grinned maliciously. "You don't know? After all this time?"

"I never assumed you knew anything yourself, since you were originally just a beast; it's only because of Naruto that you gained sentience…if only you could have gotten all of his good qualities too…"

Kyuubi chuckled. "You think free will alone is enough to change one's nature?" Kyuubi exhaled slowly, relaxing. "I didn't know myself. But when Kizu possessed Sakura's body, and came in contact with Naruto's, my true memories have finally returned. Now, I know what the Akatsuki really want the biju for…"

"Would you like to tell me what, exactly? The best for you that I can think of Akatsuki offering you is another jinchuriki for you to live in…"

"SILENCE!" Kyuubi bellowed. "Why would I tell you? I don't owe you a damn thing. Besides…aren't you curious to see what happens?" Kyuubi asked maliciously.

"No, and I'd rather not see Naruto go through more than he has to…more than he already has…"

"And we all know who's to blame for that, now, don't we?" Kyuubi laughed evilly. The one outside the cage turned around and waved him off.

"Enough. Even if you decided to tell me, there's not much I can do." He glared behind him with killing intent in his eye. "But let me give you a warning: If you break free, I promise you will regret it."

"Such empty threats." Kyuubi chuckled. "Why, I am the very source of Naruto's power. Should we be separated…even if by miracle he survives, just like Gaara…he'll be no match for me."

The figure only smirked. "Oh, I wouldn't know about that…"

As he turned, Kyuubi bellowed "What are you hiding from me, N-"

"You share what you know, and I'll give you a little bit of what I have up my sleeve. Deal?" Kyuubi remained silent. "Didn't think so. Later, Kyuubi. Let me know when you feel like making yourself a fool again." He trudged across the sludgy waters, the ripples and splashing fading into the darkness.

With that, the figure walked beyond the beast's sight. "Soon." Kyuubi growled, as he lay down to go back to sleep. "Not today, not tomorrow…but soon enough…" He closed his eyes, always dreaming of freedom.

* * *

That's it! I hope you enjoyed. For the next arc, the original Team 7 (with one exception) returns to the Land of Waves! What are they going back for? It's not a simple reunion, I can tell you that much.

Iwane-Rock

Eikyuutoudo-Permafrost


	39. Peacetime

Hi everyone! Thanks for waiting patiently for this next chapter: I hoped to get this up much sooner than my last, and here it is. I hope you are all having a wonderful summer! So sit back, relax…and enjoy!

Also, I send my condolences to all the families who lost a loved one in the Aurora shooting. Bad things can happen any time, any where, and when they do, it leaves a profound impact on all of us. May all the victims rest in peace.

* * *

3 years have passed since the war between the Iwa and Konoha villages, and things couldn't have been better for the later. With Kumo, Iwa and Kiri out of the picture and in dire straits for now, the village as well its ally Suna were experiencing an economic boom like never before. It wasn't paradise by any means, but things haven't been that good for the village in a long time.

Of course, this new income came from a large amount of missions which for Tsunade was a mixed blessing. She was happy for her village to be going through such good times, and it was good for her politically. But all of that meant more paperwork for her. Tsunade sighed as she made her way towards her office, looking groggy and tired as usual.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama." Another blond kunoichi chimed pleasantly. Ino became Tsunade's new assistant, replacing Hinata who had left on maternity leave. Tsunade personally would have liked to have Sakura as her assistant, but she was needed out in the field more. So, she had to do with Ino. "Morning, Yamanaka-san." Tsunade replied as she plopped down into her chair without any of the grace ninja were normally associated with.

"Another wild night with the ero-sage?" Ino asked out of the blue, flashing a mischievous grin.

Tsunade's face turned red at the question; if anything, it sounded more like an accusation. "You!...how…" Tsunade glared at her. "Your mind-reading is not to be used that way. Understand?" she growled.

Ino chuckled. "Nothing psychic about it. You're easy, that's all." Tsunade grumbled as she got her mountain of paperwork organized and pulled out a jug of sake. "I'm shocked that one of the most prestigious medical-nins of our time drinks before the day has even started, every day of the week…" Ino groaned with disgust.

"A little sake now and then is good for you." Tsunade mumbled. Ino quirked her eyebrow, thinking that stuff was practically opium for the Hokage. "Just tell me when Hinata's pregnancy will end." Tsunade muttered, missing an assistant that didn't point out her flaws.

"Any day now; however, you should know that it will be many more months before she's ready to return to work once the baby is born…"

"I know, I know…" Tsunade answered. She knew shouldn't ask such silly things; it was like a child asking "Are we there yet?" over and over in a carriage. Tsunade decided to preoccupy herself with the whereabouts of some other young shinobi. Kakashi had left with some other jonin on an espionage mission. Sakura would be back any day now from a medical conference made up of traditional doctors and medical shinobi from allied villages. "How's Team 12 doing with their mission?" she then asked.

Ino shrugged. "You can never tell with them. I guess their reputation has spread so fast that now even experienced ninja are cautious to attack them. We haven't heard from them, but we have every cause to believe they're still with us…"

Tsunade sighed. "That worries me. It means the Ookamigumi is probably trying something even more underhanded than usual."

* * *

In another part of Fire Country, a group of samurai moved. Their mission was to show the local lord what happened when one double-crossed the yakuza group known as the Ookamigumi. Soon, they spotted the mansion. They were not about to just rush in and announce their arrival; if they were going to kill him and his family, they needed the element of surprise. The captain called one of his men. "Makoto. Check the perimeter for defenses."

The man chosen dashed across the forest, crouching low. Once the mansion was in reasonable eyeshot, he quickly looked around to see anything out of the ordinary. In a way, he did. He found a ninja. That in itself was to be expected; after all, ninjas were samurai's biggest competitors, and often their greatest fears (though their code would never allow them to admit that). What was surprising about this ninja, however, was that he was asleep. Not resting his eyes while sitting up; he was sprawled on the grass, snoring, and if he did manage to get up, it would be too late to take the defensive. Still, ninja were deceptive warriors; it was best to not take chances and check with the leader. Tapping into his radio, he whispered "Taichou, I found one ninja sleeping like a baby. It would be opportune to kill him, but I fear that there may be some kind of trap. How should I proceed?"

"**Eliminate him, quickly and silently."** His leader responded.

Nothing more needed to be said, and the rogue samurai drew his katana. Sneaking up on him as quietly as possible, he raised his katana to impale the young ninja's heart…and was immediately hoisted up into the air. The sudden change in orientation caused him to scream and drop his katana.

The sword landed a hair's breadth from the teenager's temple, causing him to shoot up violently, confused and somewhat alarmed. "What! Where…"

He then looked up, finding the samurai hanging upside down by the ankle. "Ingrate! Cut me loose!" Makoto demanded.

The teen only looked at him skeptically. "Uh…how about no?"

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!" was the samurai's response.

"Definitely no then." The teen was fairly thin, but had lean muscles on him, indicating fairly intensive exercises. His hair seemed out of control, like he never bothered to comb it, and a long portion was tied in a ponytail. He had the standard ninja attire, with a dark cloak and metal gauntlets on his wrists He also wore glasses; among the warrior classes on the continent, this was considered a sign of weakness. But in the shinobi world, nothing was as it seems. "Yuji to team…" he said into his earpiece. "…I think they've arrived."

"**Copy that."** Another voice spoke into his communicator. **"Stick to the plan for now."**

Inside the castle guarding the family was Naruto. He hadn't changed much over the years, as he essentially stopped growing. He did however, have two long bangs that further enhanced the resemblance to his father. His team had grown though, and he had them out in the field by themselves. They were experienced chunin now, and up against samurai, so it shouldn't have been any trouble. Just in case though, Naruto stayed with the family in the unlikely event anyone got through. "Iori, Shiguri…" he spoke into his earpiece. "…get to work."

* * *

"They know we're here!" The captain shouted as he drew his katana and pointed it at the castle. "Hurry! Kill him before he escapes!" The other samurai drew their katanas and charged.

Yuji, meanwhile, just sighed. Multiple opponents all at once were always a pain in the ass, even for experienced ninjas. "I was hoping they'd retreat. But I guess samurai are just too stupid for their own good." He flexed his fingers, and charged.

"Slice him in two!" The commander shouted.

The first samurai to reach him first brought his katana down…and was stopped by Yuji's two fingers, and proceeded to use them to snap the blade in half. Before the samurai could gawk at Yuji's work, the ninja kicked him into his comrades, knocking them down like bowling pins. It didn't look like those caught in the line of fire would be getting back up. One samurai, however, sneaked through the tall grass, ready to slice Yuji's carotid arteries. He sliced…and Yuji vanished. The samurai looked up to see that Yuji flipped above him. "Good try…but no." Yuji then pressed the switch on his spider gauntlets and wrapped the samurai up in wire. Upon landing, he lifted the swordsman like he was nothing…and swung him around like a mace, taking out more samurai. While Yuji had improved over the years, he still preferred not to work alone. "Uh, guys…I'd like some help here!" Yuji called into the trees as he delivered a counter-elbow to another samurai. If he stopped for one second, the blasted swordsmen would dogpile him!

"On it!" two voices said as they descended from the trees.

The first, a young woman touched down. Her hair was crimson, but its long length and wavy pattern conveyed a sense of gentleness. Her blue eyes seemed gentle at first glance, but also conveyed a fierceness that made some of the more cowardly samurai stop in their tracks for a second. The fact that she had some nice curves under her shinobi outfit had a similar effect as well. "So, that's how many…?" she asked as she counted as many as she could see. "30? 40?"

"I counted 60." Yuji replied, trying to hide the fact that he was also transfixed by her beauty.

"20 for each of us then." Iori mumbled. "You could have set a few more traps; the job would be easier then." Before Yuji could offer a retort, Iori charged the samurai head on. The first samurai to reach her raised his sword in a vertical slash, just like before…and Iori punched the samurai hard enough to shatter his chest plate, sending him flying a good 4 meters. Two more approached her from the side, their katanas moving forward in a stabbing motion towards her kidneys. Iori quickly pulled out her kamas, their curved blades catching and deflecting the swords. When the two were open, she split-kicked both of them in the face.

However, one snuck up behind her, and this time his sword reached her heart from behind. "We can do this! We can win!" he shouted in excitement. With that, his prize seemingly poofed out of existence…and he got a shuriken in the eye.

The real Iori leapt from the tall grass, and brought him down by impaling his knee with a kunai. "Stupid samurai! All pride, no brains!"

"Iori, look out!" Yuji suddenly shouted as he spotted something that could give them trouble.

It turned out one of the samurai was an experienced kyuudo practioner; the samurai's accuracy with a bow rivaled that of ninja with shuriken, and unlike the projectiles ninja often used, the arrows were intended as killing weapons. The samurai took aim…and just then, a long chain of metal wrapped around the bow, and twisted, taking both the bow and samurai with it. Stunned by the unexpected attack, the samurai released his twine, sending the arrow into the neck of one of his own comrades. The one behind the chain finally leaped into view. He bore spikey, long black hair, and his face had a tattoo of a dragon on the left side of his face. In addition to his shinobi uniform, he also wore small sunglasses; an unusual feature for ninja, as they were said to do their best work in the dark, where such optics would be a detriment.

"Shiguri, you jerk!" Iori shouted. "We could've used your help 5 minutes ago!" Yuji could see a vein beginning to protrude from her forehead.

"Hey." Shiguri shrugged nonchalantly. "You guys can take care of yourselves." Turning around to throw a shuriken, he said "Besides, you left a lot of openings for some stragglers to get through to the castle. I was a bit occupied with them." He then turned his attention to a charging samurai. In an instant, he whipped his Dragon Tongue towards him and sliced his Achilles tendon, rendering him unable to stand. Another leapt from the bushes, convinced Shiguri could not defend himself. However, his other Dragon Tongue extended from under his sleeve, wrapping and slicing the samurai's wrists. Pulling, the samurai's hands went numb and he started to bleed out, forcing him to drop his sword. "Listen." Shiguri told him, all the while keeping others at bay with random shuriken. "I know you samurai are very partial to bushido, but I'd get out of here if I were you. You're not much use with your wrists the way they are. Besides…I'm an opportunistic predator." He told him in a low voice. "I have a tendency to go after the weak and wounded." The samurai shakily stood up, using only his legs to stand, and ran as far as they would take him. "As annoying as cowards are…" Shiguri then sliced another one under the armpit, severing his brachial artery. "…9 times out of 10, they're the smart ones." One rushed at him with a wakizashi, but Shiguri caught him with ease and redirected it into his femur.

He did a quick backflip to join his friends, who gathered in a circle to protect one another. The samurai stopped; it seemed that they wanted them surrounded, but wouldn't risk giving up the defensive position. "Well, this is certainly a pickle." Shiguri commented.

Yuji took aim with his gauntlets. "Nothing we can't handle though."

* * *

Naruto observed the battle a best he could from his position. It looked like his team was doing well so far; but one mistake could mean their death. And if he came out to help them, the family would be in danger. For now, they were on their own.

"Daddy, I'm scared." The little girl said to her father.

"Don't worry, Ayame; the Konoha shinobi will protect us." He said as he gathered her in a hug. Though he put on a brave face, Naruto could see he was just as scared as she was.

"Can they really do it?" his wife asked. "They're only children…"

"They're practically adults now, mamm." Naruto assured her. "And they've been through much worse as kids." He then took a peak outside, making sure no one would spot him. "Still, there's too many of them." He commented.

"You mean, they can't beat that many!" The lord asked, alarmed by his slip of the tongue.

Naruto decided to clarify what he meant. "Sorry; not what I meant. I was thinking more about how many they can pick off as opposed to meet head on in battle. If those samurai's goal was my team, numbers wouldn't be a problem. However, their goal is to kill all of you, not engage in a battle. Even if they defeated us, as long as you managed to escape, they would be dishonored and the mission would be considered a loss." Naruto replied.

"Which means…?" the lord asked, still not getting it.

"While my team is fighting the majority of them, a couple will slip past their guard and reach the mansion. It can't be helped; as sharp as our senses are, we can't see everything going around us." Naruto told him bluntly.

"What will we do?" The wife exclaimed, nearly panicking at the notion of being killed despite their protection.

Naruto only grinned smugly in response. "Don't worry about it; you've got me." He exclaimed, pointing to himself.

* * *

Yuji back fisted another samurai, who went down like a sack of potatoes. "We need to wrap this up!" he shouted to his teammates. "I don't think we can afford to hold back! Not if we're to protect the Supattos!"

Iori gave him her two cents. "I don't think that's a good idea! What if they have someone stronger!" she shouted as she back kicked another who tried to sneak up on her from behind. "Besides, I'd rather not go all out against these weaklings!" she exclaimed as she blocked a katana aimed for her head.

"Actually, I was waiting for Yuji to agree to that!" Shiguri exclaimed as he whipped his dragon tongue across another unfortunate soul's face. "Let's do it, Yuji!"

"Majority rules!" Yuji exclaimed as he leapt further into the horde of swordsman.

He quickly glanced at the samurai around him, trying to weed out a higher ranking member among them. His kekkei genkai slowed everything down for him, allowing him to get a good look at his attackers. He then spotted one with a katana that had a pearl-white hand guard. Only high-ranking samurai were allowed to carry such fancy and expensive weapons. "Bingo."

Quickly, he dodged all slashes aimed at him by a margin too close for even experienced ninja like it was nothing. Without getting a single cut, he made his way to his target. The samurai tried to pull out his sword with battojutsu, but Yuji placed his foot on the hilt, preventing him from doing so. Before he could knock the teen off and try again, Yuji flipped over him and snared him with his wires. Leaping high enough to mount a branch, he hoisted him up. His comrades rushed to his rescue, just like Yuji planned. "Flies never do learn to watch out for webs." With that, Yuji launched more wires around as many samurai as he could get.

Soon, all those that charged him were entangled in his webs. "Men!" the lieutenant barked. "Break through them! They're too thin to be used for proper binding!" The samurai began to cut or force their way out.

Yuji shouted "You should've thought about WHY those wires are so thin! It's for better conduction!" He made the proper hand signs and grabbed the wire. "Raiton! Raikumo no Jutsu!" Electricity charged the wires, which began to blow blue and sizzle. Soon, the samurai twitched like mad; to Yuji, they looked like ragdolls in the hands of a hyperactive child. When Yuji began to smell their hair burning, he quickly undid the jutsu, and his victims dropped to the ground in a heap. While Yuji had long ago accepted killing as part of the shinobi life, he believed it was better to do as little as possible to stop the opponent.

Suddenly, Yuji's kekkei genkai warned him at the last minute of an attack from behind. He spun to the side just as the samurai behind him raised his katana with a battle cry. Before the samurai could realize Yuji had side-stepped him, he swung his sword down. Yuji then used the opportunity to hit the swordsman's femoral nerve right under him. He placed his fingers on the spot and the samurai cried out in pain.

He collapsed, dropping his weapon. "What…AHHHH! Wha…!" The samurai could not stop gritting his teeth and moaning in pain.

Yuji got the gist of what he was asking; he believed he owed the poor guy an explanation. "I hit your femoral nerve; when I did, I used my chakra to cause it to fire continuously." Yuji explained. "I can stop the pain. But…" He placed both hands on the back of his victim's knees. As he said, the pain stopped…but then the samurai felt one moment of sharp pain as his tendons were torn. "I can't allow you to move." Yuji sighed. "Sorry."

Without warning, Yuji casually threw a smoke pellet behind him, and another samurai leapt out the bushes, clutching his throat and running away from the toxic cloud. "Next time keep in mind I'm aware of my surroundings at all times." Yuji told him nonchalantly. "Maybe then I won't have to give you a dose of organophosphates."

The samurai only collapsed and foamed at the mouth in response.

* * *

Iori charged with her kamas and kicks. All that encountered her were stunned by her strength and speed. However, in the confusion of battle, even one as strong as her could become careless. Almost too late, Iori had noticed a katana had entered from her blind spot! Quickly, she blocked with her kamas, but the force behind the sword surprised her; it knocked the kamas out of her hands.

"You're mine!" The samurai stabbed, and Iori blocked with her forearm. It should have been a futile block, but the katana stopped dead at Iori's forearm. "Wha-?"

Before he could attempt another attack, a whirling tonfa emerged from Iori's sleeve, and she proceeded to knock him across the head. Another emerged from underneath her other sleeve, and the kunoichi shoved the short end into her opponent's solar plexus. "I'll have to thank Ten-Ten-sensei for the weapon lessons!" Iori quickly rushed to retrieve her favored weapons, knocking out any attackers cold along the way.

When she retrieved them, another one caught her off guard and knocked a tonfa away from her. _"I guess Yuji was right; looks like their best soldiers have arrived!"_ She quickly tucked her kamas under her vest…they were too precious for her to risk losing again…and another samurai, wielding both his katana and wakizashi, pounced.

However, it seemed Iori had even more tricks up her sleeve. The two blades were blocked as they landed inside the grooves of two sais. The samurai was well built, but he couldn't force Iori to budge an inch. Then, Iori shouted and snapped the two swords like twigs. A stab to the samurai's shoulder incapacitated him, and the kunoichi grounded him with a round kick. Noticing out of the corner of her eye another Kyudo practitioner aiming for her, Iori rolled to the side and threw a sai at the would be offender. She had to wince when she noticed where it hit. _"If I ever go out on a date, I better not tell him about this." _

Tossing the other sai away, as they worked better in a pair, Iori pulled out another weapon: her nunchaku. She charged, knocking any incoming samurai with it and throwing off any close in opponents with the weapons' chain. She blocked a downward strike, but the force made the chain brake. Annoyed, Iori tossed the two sticks to the side and backed away.

She still didn't want to pull out her dad's kamas; it seemed she wasn't having much luck with melee weapons today. _"I guess I'll have to wind up wasting chakra on these guys after all."_ Quickly, she made hand signs for an incoming group that rushed towards her. "Katon! Gokakyuu no Jutsu!" Iori unleashed a fireball at the incoming attackers. The first few to approach her got burned and others collapsed from the heat.

However, one who was lagging behind used them as shields from the flame, as well as a good method to plan a sneak attack. As he discarded his unconscious (if not dead) comrade, he prepared his sword in a thrusting motion. However, the scarlet ninja was nowhere to be found. He put his sword in a guard position, nervously anticipating an attack anywhere from the side. Others circled around him to protect one another. But none couldn't defend what was coming next from above! "WakuSeiRasengan!" Iori, descending from above, held a rasengan the size of a cart above her. She then slammed it onto the unsuspecting swordsmen, leaving a large crater in the ground. The samurai looked like they had been nearly torn to pieces, but their twitching indicated they were still alive, if just barely.

Iori's breathing suddenly deepened, as she got down on one knee to catch her breath. "Whoa. I think I overdid it a bit."

* * *

Shiguri spun around, his dragon tongues keeping any would-be attackers at bay. Some had the clever idea of severing his achilles tendon from below, but Shiguri anticipated such tactics and jumped up, finishing out anyone who tried that with a round kick. However, Shiguri was beginning to get bored, and figured it would be more efficient right now to take out a large group of them "Doton! Hadanahadasshi Anma no Jutsu!" The ground underneath an entire group of samurai approaching him began to undulate, protrusions of earth going in and out like in a game of whack-a-mole. Everyone in the immediate area fell over. Once they kissed dirt, it felt like hammers were hitting their body all over underneath them. Most lost consciousness within a few seconds; those that didn't found themselves in a world of hurt and unable to move after it was over.

"AHHH! HELP!"

Shiguri looked behind him to see a samurai flailing his hands in the air, still clutching his sword. Shiguri's face nearly paled at the pathetic sight.

"What's with you!" one of his partners asked.

"A bee! I'm allergic to them!" he shouted, seemingly forgetting he was in the middle of a battle field.

Shiguri saw that he indeed did have a bee that refused to get out of his face. Shiguri only grinned evilly as he got an idea. Biting his thumb, he shouted "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Wasps the size of rats appeared in front of him, and he gave out a single command. "Go get him, girls."

They flew over to the samurai, who dropped his sword and ran away screaming, his comrades only staring in disbelief.

"Listen, you guys really aren't worth my time!" Shiguri told them as he picked up some shuriken from his pockets. "So, I think it's about time we wrapped this up!"

* * *

Team 12 looked over the crowd of samurai they had defeated and neatly placed into a pile. "Well, that was a lot of work, but at least there were no casualties." Yuji said, sounding rather cheerful.

"We were too nice, if anything." Shiguri argued, kicking one of them for good measure. "This group of samurai have been associated with human trafficking and assassinations of politicians in other countries. The world is better off without this scum."

Yuji replied "I won't argue with you on that; however, I'd rather play protector and not executioner if I can help it."

"Always the nice guy." Shiguri said, rolling his eyes. "But, our objective has been completed, and that's more important at the moment."

"Are you sure about that?" Iori asked, looking amongst the fallen. "I don't see their captain among them; I think he snuck past us in all the confusion."

"No big deal; that's what Naruto-sensei stayed behind with the Supattos for." Yuji assured her with a confident smile.

* * *

The captain of the samurai squadron hated to use his men like that, but for the sake of the mission, he was left with no choice. Besides, to die in battle was expected. However, for that large a platoon of samurai to be taken out with little effort…ninjas gave him the creeps. _"No matter;_ _I can always get more samurai to serve under me."_ Quickly, he made his way inside the house while the young ninjas took a body count. He had to think quickly about where the family could be inside, before they went looking for him. Given the architecture and layout of the building, there was only one logical conclusion. _"The basement; that is the only place for them to be in this situation."_

Individuals who were not trained as warriors would hide when in danger; the problem was that when they did they often dug themselves into a corner. If they were found, that was the end of the line for them. Quickly, he felt the floor for a doorway. When his fingertips brushed a rather wide crevice, he knew he found what he was after. Using all of his strength, he pried the trapdoor open.

Slowly, he descended towards the basement, looking for his prey. When he found the three of them huddled in a corner, he raised his sword, preparing for the kill. "There you are. I'm sorry I have to do this, but as a samurai, this is my job. Though I bear you no grudge, you and your family must die!" He thrust his sword through Mr. Supatto, completing the most important part of his mission. However, he noticed something off. _"That felt more like wood… and I can't smell blood…"_ His suspicions were confirmed when he noticed the wife and child not even flinching. He pulled the kimonos off and wigs off, revealing only logs where his prey should have been.

"If you weren't so eager to get the job done and escape…no, scratch that. Ever since I got here, you had no chance of winning."

The samurai turned around to see none other than the blonde ninja himself. "Out of the way, boy!" He raised his katana up; Naruto got ready as chakra engulfed his hand.

The samurai brought his blade down, and Naruto's hand met it. However, instead of the blade severing the hand, the opposite had happened. Seeing his blade broken, the samurai fell to his knees in disgrace. "You…you're the one rumor had spoken of…" The feats of powerful ninja were followed by many, even samurai.

"I hope they're good ones." Naruto commented. "Either way, surrender. Knowing my team, I'd imagine most of your friends are still alive; there's no need to throw away your life here as well."

The samurai smirked. "A ninja with mercy; you are a rare one indeed. However…" He pulled out his wakizashi, but not to attack; this was meant for seppuku. "You should know, no samurai can ever hope to live in this disgrace…" He aimed the short blade towards his heart, preparing to die.

However, he was never given the chance to commit the act; Naruto rushed behind him and knocked him out with a chop to the head. The samurai captain went down with a thud, still alive. "Samurai always take the slightest of failures so hard." He muttered. Hefting him over his shoulder, Naruto added "Besides, have you even thought about the kind of people you are working for? If there was anything worth committing suicide over, I'd imagine that would be it. At least it would be for me."

He then looked into the shadows of a dark corner. "Alright! You can come out now!"

The Supattos emerged from the shadows, clearly relieved. "Is it over?" Mr. Supatto asked, still afraid of another attack.

Naruto smiled. "Yeah. It's over. At least, the part where we beat up the goons is." He looked at his unconscious companion slung over his shoulder. "Now, we gotta find out about the head honcho and inform Kakashi-sensei…"

* * *

"Kakashi!" Gai called from his perch. "Kakashi! HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

Kakashi finally looked up from his Icha-Icha book. Sighing, he asked "What is it now, Gai?"

"I propose a challenge!" the green beast proclaimed out of nowhere.

"Gai, we're in the middle of a mission…"

"Ah, but that's the challenge!" Gai exclaimed, giving him his cocky thumbs up.

"Come again?" the copy ninja asked, perplexed with Gai as usual.

"Whoever catches Pirania wins!" Pirania was a small-time yakuza boss, who had recently been rising in power. He was also the one who sent samurai to kill the Supattos a few days ago. Naruto's team confirmed that after some interrogation of the samurai. Their mission was to protect the Supattos from the immediate attack; Kakashi's, Gai's and Kurenai's was to eliminate Pirania so he couldn't do it again, one way or another.

"Whatever." Kakashi replied, uninterested as usual.

"Ah, but here's the catch!" Gai announced. "The loser must parade in the street…with a tutu on!"

Kakashi just stared at him, whether in disbelief or in horror, he could not be sure. "Gai…think about what you're doing…don't you think that's a bit extreme…not to mention cliché and CHILDISH?"

"Hah!" Gai proclaimed, his bravado getting to him. "I knew you would be too chicken to…"

"**Guys, get ready."** Kurenai chimed in on their ear pieces. "Pirania's coming out of the brothel."

"Guards?" Kakashi asked, glad to have his focus back on the mission.

"**About 5 of the usual Yakuza thugs.** **I wouldn't worry about them. However, this weird guy is with them…" **

"Weird? How?" Kakashi asked.

"**Can't say for sure; he's got a hood on so I can't really confirm my suspicions. However, I can feel a strong chakra from him;** **he's been trained in ninjutsu from the way he carries himself. Not to mention Pirania seems to be treating him like he would a well-crafted sword. I suggest we approach this with caution." **

"Agreed." Kakashi replied. "Let's go, Gai." He told his teammate, both forgetting about the challenge.

Gai and Kakashi made their way from the forest onto the rooftops of the small town, and intercepted Pirania as he made his way down the street. This was the first time either of them got a good look at him: A tall, well built, grizzled man. He was in prison before, and obviously spent most of his time there working out. However, he was nothing to worry about; even if he proved physically stronger than anyone on Kakashi's team, they were far more experienced and versatile fighters. The five thugs Kurenai mention circled him as well; nothing special about them. But the one cloaked in a hood lurked behind them; Kakashi could feel what Kurenai was talking about. "You feel that, Gai?"

"Yeah." Gai replied, not bothering with his usual flamboyancy. He could feel that this opponent was going to be a tough one. "What do you suggest?"

"Kurenai, trap as many as you can in a genjutsu." Kakashi ordered over his radio.

"**Should be doable on all of them." **came the reply.

In a second, all 7 of the thugs suddenly felt themselves bound. The majority of the yakuza thugs yelled their lungs out while struggling. Pirania, however, wasn't worried; he didn't even bother trying to break free of whatever he perceived held him. "Heh. Looks like the Supattos weren't satisfied with just body guards. That's what you're here for, Seiba Hatora!"

His hooded body guard quickly called "Kai!" and broke free. Quickly, he undid the genjutsu on his boss.

"Hey! What about us!" one of his thugs shouted.

"Sorry! You fodder aren't worth the time!" Pirania sneered. Quickly, all 3 ninja emerged. None of them bothered with introductions or the like; with their mysterious opponent, they had to take him out, now! Before they could get close, the one Pirania called Seiba threw down a smoke-pellet. The fumes wouldn't allow the 3 ninjas to get any closer, so they had no choice but to wait until the smoke cleared.

"So, you must be Konoha shinobi." Pirania said from atop the roofs which his body guard had carried him up to.

Gai looked up at him with contempt. "That's right."

Pirania only sneered as he fiddled with his hair, acting as if the 3 below could never touch him. "Tell me, were you planning to take me prisoner? Or were you actually planning to kill me?"

"Whichever proved easier." Kakashi replied. "And unfortunately for you, thanks to your friend up there…it looks like that will have to be the later."

Pirania only laughed. "I knew ninja would be after me sooner or later. This boy here cost me a good portion of my fortune, but it was money well spent! Much better than a samurai!"

"And what makes you so certain?" Kurenai asked, holding a kunai and ready to attack.

Pirania only grinned in response and grabbed hold of Seiba's hood. "This! What was once your greatest weapon!"

He pulled off the hood, and revealed his prized guard's face. He was fairly unassuming; typical light skin and dark hair. But when he opened his eyes, the 3 jonin below could only look on in shock.

"What!" Kurenai exclaimed.

"It can't be!" Gai shouted in horror.

Kakashi himself was almost too shocked for words. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but he knew his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. "That's-!"

* * *

"And that's the gist of it, Ba-chan." Naruto grinned smugly as he gave his report. "Still, to be on the safe side, I think it would be wise to relocate them for a few weeks and hopefully Mr. Supatto will be forgotten by the major crime families."

Tsunade wrote the details down. "Okay then. Well done. You're dismissed." Naurto's team left, and Naruto was about to follow them out, when Tsunade said "Oh, and Naruto!"

"Yeah?"

"Sakura's back; the conference was shorter than expected." Tsunade informed him. "She's probably at your apartment now, so go see her. You know how she tends to miss you when the two of you are separated."

Naruto's face suddenly cringed. "What's wrong?" Tsunade asked, concerned. "Did you two have a fight?"

Naruto chuckled slightly and brushed off the idea. "No, no. Nothing's wrong! Just stubbed my toe against something! It'll be fine!"

Naruto kept up the demeanor until he was out of her sight. His face then turned back to being scared. _"Crap! I forgot to clean the apartment up! What am I going to do! Sakura-chan's gonna kill me!"_

* * *

Yuji and his team met up with the rest of their rookie generation, all planning to hang out at someplace with exotic food.

"So, shall we hit Jaa's place?" Shiguri asked. "I'm kinda in the mood for Pad Thai."

"As good as Jaa's cuisine is, I wanna eat that pizza food again." Yuji answered as he licked his lips. "That place was so good! I gotta have more!"

Iori absently rubbed her stomach. "Fancy that; I was thinking the same thing." she said as she thought about it. "I think pizza might have even become my favorite food now."

Yuji only looked at her, blushing slightly. _"It certainly helps when we have similar tastes."_

"So, how are Naruto-sensei and Sakura-sensei doing? Fine, I take it?" Chan asked out of the blue.

"For the most part." Shiguri replied, shrugging.

"They don't get along?" Hanabi asked, somewhat concerned about Konoha's most famous jonin.

"They're still very much in love." Yuji said defensively. "I guess…it's just when you become a couple, both have to make adjustments, and even then they push the wrong buttons from time to time…" Everyone began staring at him, wondering how he could know things like that. "I…it…they…not that I'm an expert or anything!" Yuji shouted, flailing his arms. "I just figured that's how it went by looking at them." he explained, feeling like he had been called out.

"True enough." Iori replied, sighing. "They have their good days, and they have their bad days." As the teens proceeded down the street, they began to hear faint voices. It sounded like two people arguing. As they got closer, everyone recognized it as the voices of Naruto and Sakura.

"…really, you don't have to be so upset…"

"You promised to do it when it was your turn over and over again, and still…!"

"It's not that big a deal…"

"Not a big deal! Look at this place!"

"Really, since you got back before me, I don't see why you couldn't do it yourself!" The argument came to an end with a loud thud.

"Then again, they have really bad days." Iori commented while she stared up at Naruto's floor in shock. Iori then turned to the group and said "Listen, you guys go on ahead; I've a feeling Naruto-sensei is going to need some cheering up."

"And I've a feeling Sakura-sensei's going to need something to vent her frustrations." Yuji groaned. All the other chunin only stared at Yuji with awe as he fearlessly, albeit reluctantly, accepted his role as Sakura's sparring partner. Her strength was legendary; the Hokage was the only other person who would spar with her otherwise. "You go see Naruto; I'll wait down here, see if I can talk her out of it." Yuji told Iori. With that, Iori entered the complex, while Sakura came huffing down.

Sakura, like Naruto, hadn't changed much over the years. The only notable difference was the short pony-tail she had, much like Tsunade used to wear in her youth. She only stared at Yuji with an irritated snort; not at him, but just because she was annoyed in general. "You. Me. At Training Area 5. NOW." She emphasized by pointing her thumb in the general direction.

"Why should I? I'm hanging out with my friends…" Yuji asked, seemingly not intimidated and apathetic to Sakura's rage.

Sakura took a deep breath, and nearly yelled** "Because I'm your sensei, I said so, I'm in a foul mood, you have free time as opposed to other people here who have more important things to take care of, I taken out all I could on Naruto, and if you don't we'll have a sparring session right here, right now, and woe be to anyone who gets in our way!" **

The other young chunin cowered behind the street corner, amazed Yuji could even stand without trembling. Sighing, he relented. "Okay, okay. I was just teasing yo-" Sakura suddenly grabbed him by the ear and dragged him down the street. "OW! OW! No need to-"

"Just shut up and walk!" Sakura hissed, paying no heed to any passer-byes who gave her space as well as eyes wide with fear. "The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off…"

* * *

"Feeling better?" Iori asked her teacher as they waited for their meal to arrive.

"A little, thanks." Naruto replied as he rubbed the bump on his head. "Although, I would have preferred a bowl of ramen to cheer me up…"

Iori cringed at the thought of someone enjoying ramen on a regular basis. "Only scholars who have no free time to cook eat as much ramen as you." Iori told him sternly. "You need something different; it's a wonder you've never come down with constipation…"

While her friends went to the Jaa's restaurant, Iori took him to Zuko's Pizza Place. It was relatively new, with a virtually unheard of food in the region, but in no time at the entire place was crowded with people lining up to eat the exotic food. "Here you are." The waiter said as he placed the dish of dough, cheese and various meats and toppings on the two ninjas table.

"Thank you very much!" Iori replied cheerfully as he went to help other customers. Naruto only stared at what they've been given, not knowing what to make of it. "Oh come on! It's food!" Iori chided Naruto.

"There's no chopsticks or forks…" Naruto said as he looked around. "How are you supposed to eat it?"

Iori rolled her eyes, sighing. "Like this, baka-sensei." Iori simply took a piece which easily came off, and ate it. Naruto only stared. "What?" Iori asked. Granted, she wasn't exactly an elegant lady, but after seeing the way Naruto ate so many times, he wouldn't be in any position to complain about her manners.

"My table manners are bad enough as it is…" Naruto answered sheepishly.

"Not here they're not. Dig in." Iori commanded him.

Naruto hesitantly picked up a slice, and took a bite. His chewing became faster as the taste sunk in, and soon he was chowing down. "Ez goog!" He nearly shouted between bites.

"Okay, the 'don't talk with your mouth full' rule still applies here." Iori said, giving a look of disgust. Naruto shut up and swallowed. "So, sensei, forgot to clean up again?" Iori asked, finally starting the planned conversation.

Naruto sighed. "It's nothing much; just some clothes and dust. It only takes a minute to fix…"

"To you, it may not be a big deal…" Iori corrected him. "…but to most women in general, that's the first step to creating a dumpster for a home." Iori took another bite of her pizza before continuing. "She's trying to keep your bad habits under control is all. And when you're busy, it's easy to let things pile up until it's too late."

"But still, she overreacted!" Naruto shouted.

"Did you offer to clean up right there and then?" Iori asked quizzically.

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Well…I tried to explain why I let it go…"

"You should have just gotten started right there, and apologized." Iori ate the last bit of her slice. "Besides, how many times have you promised to do this chore whenever it was your turn?"

Naruto looked down. "Quite a few." He mumbled out.

"And how many times did you actually follow through on that promise?" Iori asked. No answer, likely meaning never. "I thought so." she sighed

"Iori." Naruto asked as he grabbed another slice. "Besides the obvious, do you think she's mad because I'm not living up to my promises?"

Over the years, Naruto had opened up to his team about his youth and heritage. And they knew about Naruto's "Promise of a Lifetime." Granted, it worked out in its own bittersweet way. But it still bothered the blond ninja that he couldn't live up to it like he planned and prepared to, even if it no longer mattered to Sakura.

Iori gave her answer. "No. She's mad because you're neglecting your chores and responsibilities as a roommate, let alone a lover. Besides…you ever think about how she feels when she's left to do all the work?"

Naruto shrugged. "I get it; our relationship is supposed to be as equal a partnership as possible."

"You know that's not what I meant." Iori replied curtly.

Naruto then thought about the way Sakura was raised. His eyes widened in realization. He remembered how patriarchal her family was; not to mention what the altercation between Sakura and her father. Even after all these years, they hadn't spoken to one another. Naruto could only look down at his food as he remembered it all. "Shit." He muttered. "I've been a real jerk to her, haven't I?"

"I wouldn't go that far; you've just been getting…too comfortable." Iori answered. "Sakura knows and understands you as you do her. But that doesn't mean you won't make mistakes, or her for that matter. You just have to come to terms that you screwed up, give her a little bit of space and make it up to her."

Naruto sighed as he helped himself to his third slice. "What if nothing I say or do is good enough for her?"

"Giver her time; she'll come around." Iori smiled.

Naruto thought of something as he took another bite of pizza. "Wait. How could you know stuff like all this? Do you have a boyfriend of your own or something?"

Iori's cheeks turned the same color as her hair. It seemed she found herself in the same situation as Yuji was only an hour ago. "I just figured that's how all relationships are, that's all." Iori then said "Besides, I'm on my way to becoming a woman myself; I certainly wouldn't want a man with messy habits."

"You should see Yuji's room." Naruto told her. "If he gets a girlfriend like Sakura, I'd be very worried about him unless he changes his ways."

"W-Why mention Yuji?" Iori stuttered.

Naruto just gave his usual goofy grin. "No reason." Naruto knew the two had feelings for each other, and were desperately trying to cover it up. As much as Naruto wanted to spill the beans and get them together, he knew it was best to let their relationship develop on its own time. Thinking about the cute couple they could be almost made him forget about his own relationship troubles.

* * *

"BAKA!" Sakura yelled as she kicked a tree down. Even though she was yelling at someone currently not present, in her mind he might as well be.

Yuji, haven taken refuge in the treetops, jumped off and landed on solid ground. "Okay. I understand you're frustrated, but could you not imagine me as Naruto-sensei, please?" The only answer he got was a fist coming straight for him, which Yuji dodged by arching back in the nick of time. "I'll take that as a no." he whimpered, shuddering at the speed it came; a second later and his head could've been exploded.

Quickly, Yuji grabbed hold of the arm and locked Sakura into an arm bar. Granted, Jiu-jitsu was not his strong suit, but he figured if he could hold her down, Sakura's anger could be quelled.

"I tried everything!" Sakura shouted as her opponent tried to get her to surrender. "The first time I was nice about it!" Sakura stood, easily supporting Yuji's bodyweight on her arm alone. The chunin, in response, tried to press his body weight down further and hyperextend the arm. "The second, I scolded him about it!" Sakura flexed her elbow, while Yuji desperately tried to get it straight again. "The third time I did it myself, and looking back, I shouldn't have!"

Without warning, Sakura suddenly flung the chunin off her arm, and Yuji was sent flying. Quickly, he shot out some wires that were more elastic than his usual ones, and flew back towards Sakura. He tried punching her, but Sakura easily dodged it, and all Yuji had to show for his strike was a good-size crater where she was before. Not intent on playing defender, Yuji took a few shots at Sakura. "Okay, I get it already! Naruto didn't do what he said, and you're upset! Now can you please stop taking it out on me?"

Sakura continued to block as she replied "It's not just cleaning the apartment! He lets laundry go, he doesn't do the dishes, doesn't clean the bathroom…"

"So, Naruto-sensei's lousy at cleaning up after himself." Yuji said as Sakura began to counterattack. "Maybe he should be doing other things for you…"

"How hard is it!" Sakura yelled as she and Yuji attempted to push each other back with their fists. "It takes 15 lousy minutes at MOST! ANYONE CAN CLEAN!"

Yuji, learning from many years of being Sakura's regular sparring partner, broke the hold and flipped on top of her, attempting to pin her arms behind her back. "Anyone can clean; but some people just don't have the motivation. If you think what Naruto leaves behind is a disaster, you should see my room…" Sakura bent over and launched a side kick towards the sky. Thankfully, Yuji flipped out of the way safely. "…to me, it's just too time consuming." Yuji continued. "I get home from a mission, I'm tired, and I don't have a problem with it the way it is. I just want to relax, have fun, and maybe do something I wanted to do but couldn't for a while. Besides, I feel I need all day to do a good job of cleaning and make it worthwhile…"

"That's the talk of a lazy bum!" Sakura hollered as she charged Yuji.

She threw her punches more rapidly as before, and it was all Yuji could do to defend himself. It seemed explaining it from his point of view only angered Sakura further. _"I guess a man's perspective only makes things worse for her." _Bearing the pain of his arms getting battered, behind his cross-block Yuji said "Sensei, we're all so busy, and need more time to take care of the little things…"

"That's the problem!" Sakura kept yelling, not caring whether or not her sparring partner was listening. "You always say you need more time. Let me tell you, as a medical ninja, and as part of ANBU, I NEVER had enough time for anything! I just knew what I had to do, and did it! If you work hard on even the simplest of things, you can get anything done!" Sakura then spun, delivering a round kick to Yuji.

Though Yuji successfully blocked it with chakra enhanced elbows, he still felt a sharp pain traveling up his spine, as the shock was absorbed by his entire body, and before he knew it, he was still sent flying into the forest, despite using monstrous strength to counter. His flight came to an abrupt end when he crashed into a tree. "Ow." Yuji's body slid down the trunk, and he just slumped onto the ground. "No more, no more; I give." Yuji panted, raising his hands in surrender. Granted, he gave up several times before, but Sakura wouldn't let him quit. Apparently, she was in such a foul mood she needed a moving target.

This time, though, it looked like he was off the hook. Sakura, looking pretty worn out herself, slowly walked towards him and lay against the tree on the opposite side. She breathed heavily, indicating that she had quite the workout. Despite the torture that he was put through in their sparring sessions, Yuji was quite pleased he was quickly catching up with Sakura. Coming back from a session with no broken bones was always a plus too. "Yuji…" she panted. "…do you think I overreacted?" she aksed, referring to her argument with her lover.

Yuji sighed as he rubbed his aching shoulder. "Don't know. You do have quite the temper; although, after seeing some of the dumb things sensei does at times, I can't blame you for lashing out most of the time…"

"There was more to it this time around, Yuji." Sakura interrupted. "You know about my family, right?"

"With your asshole of a dad? Yeah, I know of it." When the epiphany struck Yuji, he sat straight and turned to face her. "You're not thinking…that he's going to turn into him, are you?" he asked, concerned.

Sakura hung her head low. "Well, I didn't think for a second it was likely. But…when I came home, and the apartment was still in the shape we left it in…" Sakura took her time to gather her words. "I got worried about letting it go, thinking that Naruto expected me to do everything…and then I saw Naruto and I…as I did my mother and father. I guess…I guess I really did freak out."

Yuji finally managed to stand up, and walked over to his mentor. "Sakura ne-chan…Naruto-sensei has his faults. But he would never, EVER make you into a normal housewife, let alone the other crap your dad pulled that night and on your mom. Your strength and independence are the reasons he fell in love with you! I should know, because he tells us these things when we're out camping on a mission, even when we keep hearing them over and over again! God damn, it pisses me off! We get it already, you love Sakura!"

Though he couldn't see it, Sakura was blushing madly. It still made her heart race when she heard Naruto expressing his feelings for her, or about them.

Yuji lazily plopped back down. "Look. Just cool off a bit. Whatever Naruto-sensei is slacking off on, he'll make up for it. You two will work something out."

Sakura relaxed, and smiled slightly. Before she could thank Yuji, someone came running towards them. "Haruno-sempai!" she called. It was someone Sakura recognized from the medical nin corps.

Sakura stood up in alarm. "What is it!"

"It's Hyuuga-sama, sempai! She's gone into labor!" The ninja nurse replied.

Sakura's eyes widened in alarm. "Shit! Yuji, go on and head home! Thanks for the spar!" With that, the two medical ninjas took off.

"I guess I should let Naruto-sensei know." Yuji said as he looked for the exit.

* * *

Tsunade also heard the news of Hinata's untimely birthing by an aide from the hospital. "Well, I think Sakura's got it covered. Ino, why don't you go and help her." The Godaime suggested. Ino nodded, and left with the aide towards the hospital. Though Tsunade was the head of the hospital and medical nins, it was only during extreme emergencies that she was called upon. Besides, helping mothers give birth was a simple matter. It was nothing her two students couldn't take care of.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, deciding to take a sake break. _"Well, at least I have more time now that there's more medical ninja around…" _She then looked at her stack of paper work. "…More time to do this." Tsunade grumbled. She quickly gulped down the sake and decided to finish up for the night; nowadays she really had no excuse to slack off on her paperwork.

Just then, one of the gate guards ran into her office. When that happened, it was almost always bad news. "Hokage-sama! Kakashi and his team…"

"Are they hurt!" Tsunade asked as she slammed her palms on the desk alarmed.

"Yes. Kakashi managed to get his two teammates out alive, but they're in serious condition! They…"

"T-Tsunade…" Both turned to see a battered and torn Kakashi in the doorway; he didn't even bother to cover up his sharingan eye.

"Kakashi!" Tsunade shouted. She rushed over to the copy nin and supported him. "I knew to expect something bad, but-!"

"The mission was a success, Hokage-sama…" Kakashi wheezed. "…but not without its problems…"

"You can tell me about it later! Right now, we need to get you to the emergency room…"

"Not yet!" Kakashi protested. "There is something you need to see…" Kakashi pulled out a scroll, and handed it over to Tsunade.

"What's inside?" Tsunade asked.

"A body. One that cannot be revealed to the public just yet. Please; I need you to analyze this immediately."

Tsunade hesitantly looked at the scroll. Finally, she snatched it from his hand. "All right. I'll analyze it as soon as possible. But you need to go to treatment now!"

Kakashi reluctantly submitted and allowed the guards to place him on a stretcher. But Kakashi still could not relax.

* * *

"AAAAAHHH!" Hinata screamed as she threw her head back into the pillow. "It hurts so much!" She suddenly turned a glare at her husband, Hero. "YOU DID THIS TO ME! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

Hero only winced as Hinata's grip tightened around his hand. Hinata wasn't famous for having Tsunade's or Sakura's strength, but today she could've fooled him. Sakura and Ino were also taken aback by Hinata's unusually temperamental behavior.

"I thought Temari was bad enough." Ino said in shock as she tried to her best to block the pain impulses in the mother-to-be's nervous system. But even medical ninjutsu wasn't much better than traditional techniques in ameliorating the pain of child birth.

"At least with Temari it matched her personality." Sakura shot back as she helped with opening up the birth canal. Turning her attention back to the new life about to enter into the world, Sakura got ready. "You're doing great, Hinata! Just one more push!"

Hinata cringed, and let out a final yell. "GET THIS THING OUT OF ME!" Hero braced himself as he felt the bones in his hand turn to gravel.

Finally, Hinata ran out of breath, and collapsed on the bed. Another cry echoed in the room. This one however, was higher pitched. "Congratulations, Hinata!" Sakura exclaimed. "You did it! It's a boy!"

Hinata panted heavily, exhausted from the ordeal. "That's…that's good…"

"We're going to clean him up, get rid of his umbilical, and get a footprint to ID him…" Ino said in awe of the bundle flailing in Sakura's arms. "…although, being a Hyuuga, that may not be necessary. Still, we better do it just in case. Rest, Hinata. You went through a very tough time."

Hinata finally smiled slightly, and lay back on the pillow. After the long labor she had, she finally passed out. "Thank you very much for delivering our son." Hero said to the two medical ninjas, bowing.

"Only doing our jobs, Hero-san." Ino replied pleasantly.

"I hate to ask for more of your services after doing so much for us already…" He held up his hand to Ino. "…but if it's not too much trouble, do you think you could fix this? I don't think my wife would like to see me trying to hold my son one-handed…that could prove disastrous for the baby."

Ino winced as she saw the skin on his hand turn black and blue. "Listen, Sakura. I got this. Go take care of the baby."

Sakura went through the routine procedure as she cleaned the baby and stamped his foot in ink. "You certainly gave your mommy a lot of trouble…" She smiled as she placed him in the maternity ward. She then left to get a cup of tea; helping mothers give birth was always a tiresome ordeal, and after it was all over, she just wanted to go home and collapse on the bed. Labor seemed to turn even the kindest of women into demons. _"I hope no other emergencies come up."_ She thought as she sat down in the lounge.

As she began to take a sip, a voice said "I take it Hinata's birth went well?" Sakura looked to her side to see Tsunade walking up to her. Sakura had to suppress a groan; when Tsunade came to see her at the hospital, it was always something important and time-consuming that she needed her help with.

"Very." Sakura replied to save face. "The baby's fine, and I'm certain Hinata will recover quite nicely."

"Good to know." Tsunade answered. "Because I need your assistance now."

Sakura laid her head back as she tried to get her mind ready for work as best she could. "May I ask what the nature of the assignment is?"

"An autopsy." Tsunade replied. "I already did the initial examination…and I can see why Kakashi was adamant that I keep it classified for now."

Sakura's interest suddenly peaked. "What does Kakashi-sensei have to do with the body?"

"It was related to his mission. And it involves something you're familiar with." Tsunade looked around the halls, to see if anyone was listening. "Enough talk. I need you to come with me; NOW."

Sakura quickly gulped down her tea and tossed the paper cup into the waste basket. _"What could be so important with this autopsy?"_ Sakura wondered as she followed her master.

* * *

"I hear it's okay to come in?" Naruto asked as he and his students edged the door open to Hinata's room.

"It's safe, Naruto." Ino said, not even turning to look at him. "You missed the whole thing."

Naruto chuckled slightly. "Thanks for inviting me, I don't think I could handle it; I fainted just from watching that video back in sex ed." Ino only rolled her eyes.

Naruto and his team entered the room. Everyone from the original Rookie 9 plus any students of Hinata from the academy were there with the new parents. There were two new additions to the growing population as well; Temari, now married to Shikamaru, as well as their daughter of 8 months, Houri. She very much resembled Temari, and had Shikamaru's hair. "You missed out on all the fun…" Shikamaru said nonchalantly. "…at Hero's expense of course."

Naruto didn't dare think about what would happen if he got Sakura pregnant. He was going to have to find some kind of steel rod for her to hold onto when the time came. "So, where's the Mini-Hinata?" he asked eagerly.

"I'm afraid the baby is the wrong gender to qualify for that description, Naruto-kun."

Everyone stepped back to let Naruto see Hinata bundling up her son. The foul mood she was in earlier seemed to have vanished and replaced by her normal persona. The fact that Hero wasn't afraid to be near her again pretty much confirmed that. "Wow!" Naruto exclaimed as he got closer to look at the baby. It had Hinata's hair, and Naruto was even more stunned by his eyes. His left seemed to be red, perhaps passed down from someone in Hero's family, while his right was the expected Byakugan from Hinata's clan. "WOW! HE'S SO CUTE!" He suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone covered their ears in preparation of what was coming. Leave it to an impulsive ninja like Naruto to disturb a newborn baby. "WAHHHH!WAHHHHH!"

Hinata tried her best to comfort the infant, but Naruto's outburst had upset him greatly. "NARUTO!" Hinata suddenly launched a gentle fist strike from her bed at Naruto, sending him into the wall. It didn't do the damage Sakura's punch would have, but it did leave some nice cracks in the wall.

"Babies generally don't like it when it gets loud." Hero warned him. "Please, don't force me to make it any louder; I'm very good with torture." Naruto's face turned ghastly white in response.

"We told him the same thing when this troublesome baby was born…more or less." Shikamaru said as he took Houri in his arms. His favorite word, when describing his new family, was used as one of affection. "This fool just keeps forgetting. When he and Sakura have their kid, I pity to think of what will happen to him when he makes his own kid cry." Everyone shuddered at the image of Sakura practically crushing Naruto to a pancake over such an incident.

Naruto recovered, and softly blurted out "Sorry, sorry." The baby seemed to have finally calmed down, and Naruto once again approached the couple. "So, what are you going to name him?"

Hinata thought carefully for a minute. "I…I'm not quite sure. We wanted to be surprised, and I guess it was my instinct to think of names for a girl. Of course, right now that would be inappropriate. Hero, do you have any thoughts on what to call your son?"

Hero thought for a moment. "How about…Setsuna?" he asked as he stroked his son's cheek.

Hinata looked at the little boy in her arms, and smiled. "Setsuna. His name will be Hyuuga Setsuna." The baby cooed slightly at the sound.

"Okay then." Ino smiled. "I'll write that down for the birth certificate. And congratulations to you both."

Naruto looked around, and then asked "By the way, where is Sakura-chan? I know she's busy and all, but wouldn't she want to be here?"

Ino took a look herself, realizing Sakura had not come in with everyone else to see the new family together. "You're right; she was the one who fixed Setsuna up and took care of the proper IDs. I'll go ask around after I'm done completing Setsuna's birth certificate."

With that, Ino took off. All of the other Rookie 9 got closer to Hinata to congratulate her and get a better look at Setsuna. However, Naruto only stood in a corner on his own. _"Is Sakura still mad at me?"_ he wondered. Granted, that argument felt like a volcano erupting, but even the best of couples have arguments like that, right? That's what he kept telling himself.

Naruto was distracted from his thoughts when Shikamaru patted his shoulder. "Let's go; it seems the baby's getting hungry, and I don't think Hinata would appreciate the men staring."

Naruto nodded, and waved to Hinata. "Congratulations again."

"Thank you all for coming." Hinata said to everyone.

As Naruto finally exited the room, Ino approached him. "Naruto, I found Sakura."

Naruto sighed with relief. "Great! Where is she?"

"She's in the morgue, doing some kind of autopsy; the guards refused to give me the details, and said she and the Hokage are not to be disturbed."

"What's the deal?" Naruto asked, as his interest piqued.

"I don't know; it sounds like S class information. I could find out with my mind transfer, but Tsunade would likely make me her new sparring partner if I did, so…"

"Don't sweat it." Naruto smiled. "Thanks Ino."

Naruto walked out of the hospital, not at all happy about the turn of events_. "If it's an autopsy that Ba-chan is not telling anyone about…it looks like Sakura-chan isn't coming home tonight…" _He placed his hands in his pocket and prepared for a night alone. _"At least she's won't make me sleep on the couch after today…"_ That was of little comfort to Naruto right now.

* * *

"How is the PCR coming?" Tsunade asked Sakura as she inspected the body for anything that Kakashi may have missed in his report.

"It just finished. I'll have a look…" She looked at the results as they were printed. "The DNA from the body and the eye match, Shishou. It was no implant."

Tsunade sighed. "Either we have one member of that infamous clan unaccounted for…or it's something else." Sakura was about to speak up, but at the last minute decided not to bring it up. "Yes, Sakura?"

"Forget it, Shishou; it's a stupid suggestion…"

"At this point, I'll take any. This corpse has left me stumped!"

Sakura gathered her words as carefully as possible in order not to look like a fool in front of her master. "What if…what if the cells, from whatever their source may be, were copied and used to make him?"

Tsunade looked at her like she just stumbled upon something forbidden. "You mean…cloning?"

Sakura blurted "Forgive me, Shishou. I know how silly it is to suggest…"

"No." Tsunade interrupted her. "You may be onto something. Orochimaru and Kabuto experimented with cloning, though their success was limited. You remember that Yamato has the DNA of the Shidaime, right?"

Sakura nodded. "But shishou…Orochimaru's dead… so it can't be him…"

"…which leaves Kabuto…"

"I doubt it's him." Sakura replied. "This man was apparently some kind of commodity on the Black Market, right? Kabuto and Orochimaru were never interested in money, at least not when it came to material wealth. Besides, he's a cripple now; I doubt any employment in this department would be meaningful to him; not to mention that if it was him, I would expect the village to be attacked by mass-produced clones."

"You may be right." Tsunade concurred. "It' best not to rule out that Kabuto is connected somehow; you never know how time changes a man. Also…there's this mark." Tsunade pointed to what looked like the shadow of a cat's head above where his heart was. "Have any ideas?"

Sakura thought for a moment. "I have one idea…though it's a slim possibility."

"Anything would help, Sakura." Tsunade reminded her.

"On my first C-class mission, me and my team fought against a business man named Gato. I never learned much about him, except that he ran a large corporation."

"And where is he now?" Tsunade asked; Hokages weren't expected to know everything that occurred during their predecessors'' reigns, especially when it came to closed cases.

"Dead." Sakura answered. "He was killed by his own ninja henchman, Zabuza."

"Yes. I remember now." Tsunade said. "I'll send a squad to look into the state of Gato's corporation. Also, I'd like for you to get a few cells from Kakashi's Sharingan. It might help us identify who this Uchiha is…or, if your hypothesis is correct, where, or from whom, he came from."

* * *

Sakura didn't come home until late at night for a couple of days, when Naruto would be fast asleep, and she would always leave before Naruto woke up. Naruto sighed, staring out the window. _"She's never had a case like this before; she must be really mad at me."_ He called Ino earlier, to see if she was staying with her. She said she wasn't, and (somewhat annoyingly) reassured him that Sakura had been busy with something. "What could be so important?" He wondered. Sighing, he got away from the window sill, and walked into the main room. He then had a good look around. The room wasn't FILTHY per se…but, it could use a cleaning. "I guess I really have let everything go." If nothing else, it would help him take his mind off her.

He then made the sign for Kage Bushin, summoning about 4 of them. "Come on; let's get this place tidy." He and the bushin went to work on the apartment, cleaning up anything they saw and organizing anything they thought could use some improvement. They must have been at it for 15 minutes before they heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it." The real Naruto declared.

He opened it, and to his surprise, he saw Sakura standing right in the door. Judging by the dark circles under her eyes, it looked like she was working herself to death. "Hey." He said in surprise, unsure how to feel. "Welcome home."

"Thanks." Sakura muttered, confirming his suspicions about her being tired. Before she could say anymore, she took a look inside the apartment. "You…you actually cleaned up?"

"Just started." Naruto replied, somewhat sheepishly. "You know, I just figured it was…time. I have to admit, I have my own limit with these types of things you know. Come on in; you look like you could use a nap."

"Only if you come into bed with me." Sakura replied, letting out a loud yawn. "I've been working on this case non-stop for days…"

"Would you mind telling me what, exactly?" Naruto asked as he let his girlfriend inside. Though he tried to hide it, Sakura could tell he was irritated about being left in the dark. Their fight didn't help things much either.

"Tomorrow." Was her reply. "Tsunade wants you and Kakashi tomorrow to meet with her. We'll give you all the details right then and there." Naruto nodded, satisfied with the answer. "You can stop with the cleaning; I don't really care about it at the moment." Naruto, somewhat being relieved from being freed of his "chore" dispelled his bushins, and carried Sakura to the bedroom. "I miss this." She said, smiling slightly.

"You can always ask, any time." Naruto replied softly. "I doubt you want to sleep with your normal clothes on; how do you want to be dressed?"

Sakura's faint smile grew a bit wider. "Whatever you prefer. I'm not in the mood for sex, but if you want to strip me completely, that's fine."

To no one's surprise, he did. And himself after he was finished. Snuggling up to her, he kissed her forehead. "Sakura, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to treat you like your dad did your mother; I just got lazy and forgetful. You know I wouldn't expect you to do everything for me."

Sakura nodded slightly. "I'm sorry too, Naruto. I overreacted. I guess growing up the way I did made me predisposed to thinking like that…"

"Sakura, I promise. I'll make a better effort to-"

Sakura suddenly shushed him on the lips. "It can wait till tomorrow. Right now…" Sakura yawned. "I just want to sleep…" So Naruto let her.

* * *

Iori walked through town later that evening, ordering some ice cream. It was a rather boring day today, and she didn't expect anything to change that. However, as she was always reminded, life always throws surprises.

And that surprise came from overhearing a conversation between another team and their jonin instructor nearby. "It's ridiculous that we have to go so far!" one complained.

"Doesn't he have a ninja village in his country!"

"I'm going to miss this week's episode of Yokohama Shore!"

"Enough!" their jonin instructor shouted. "A shinobi that complains about a mission given to him over such petty matters doesn't deserve to be a ninja at all! You all are either going to escort this man all the way to the Land of Vines, or you can turn in your headbands right now and live the rest of your lives in disgrace!"

Iori nearly dropped her cone in shock. _"The Land of Vines! They're going…!" _A flood of memories invaded Iori's mind. Bad ones. She remembered all the times she and her father were ridiculed, and how the village, seeing an opportunity, effectively exiled her after Akatsuki disposed of her father.

"_Back then, I ran away. But now…"_ She looked at her hand, trembling with rage. Then, it clenched with a new determination. _"But now, it's different. I'm not the little girl I was before."_

Her first instinct was to talk to the jonin and convince him to allow her to join, but she stopped herself upon realizing how stupid it was. Tsunade would not allow it, no matter what excuses she could come up with. There was also a good chance that their escort was someone she once knew; she didn't believe she would be able to control herself once they met face to face…or worse. And once she got there, what would happen? She couldn't accompany them. But she had to go; her father deserved that much at least. _"I guess I have no choice but to stalk them!"_

"I'll see you all at 8 am tomorrow, sharp!" the jonin said as he dismissed his team.

Iori, upon realizing the time they planned to be there, quickly ate her ice cream and rushed to her apartment. _"I'm sorry, daddy. I should have gotten revenge for you a long time ago. And now, I can. Just wait a little longer; it'll be over soon."_ She had only one night to plan her trip and infiltration, and she had to make it count.

* * *

The next day, Sakura led Naruto and a recovered Kakashi into the morgue. There, Tsunade, dressed in the standard hospital smock, greeted them. "Thank you for coming, everyone. Before we begin, I believe Naruto will need to be brought up to speed. Would you like to explain, Kakashi?"

Kakashi turned slightly to Naruto. "As you know, you and I had related missions. You and your team were to protect the Supattos…and my team was supposed to eliminate the core threat."

Naruto nodded. "Since I'd imagine this wouldn't be an issue if we didn't both succeed…I take it your mission was not a success?" he asked, professionally as he could.

"No." Kakashi replied. "The mission was a success. However, our target had a body guard. An incredibly powerful one." Kakashi did not continue from there.

"How?" Naruto asked. "A Kekkei Genkai?"

"Yes." Tsunade replied. "But this guard had a kekkei genkai no one except for a few unmentionable should have! Sakura." She ordered her apprentice.

Sakura, dressed in an identical smock, walked over and unveiled the body on the examination table. There was nothing remarkable about him, except for one thing: his eyes. His eyes had the sharingan!

"What!" Naruto yelled in astonishment as he scooted over to get a closer look. "That can't be! Who is this guy!"

"Beyond the name Kakashi provided for us, we don't know." Tsunade answered. "But you're right. This man isn't in any of our records as a member of the Uchiha clan. Would you like to explain our theory, Sakura?"

Sakura stepped up towards the table and explained. "The only way to get a positive ID on the body was to preform DNA tests. We found we had to do it extensively, for only one Uchiha on record was a match. Even accounting for the fact that most technology for DNA is barely over 20 years old, the results were conclusive. We had to double check, because the DNA belongs to an Uchiha that was believed to be dead..."

Before Naruto could ask, Kakashi did it for him. "It's his, isn't it?" he said, lifting up his headband to reveal his own sharingan eye. "It's the owner of this eye. It's Obito's, isn't it?"

"Obito? You mean…this…is your friend? The one that died during the 3rd Shinobi World War?" Naruto asked in disbelief.

Tsunade sighed. "It seems that way. We solved one mystery and in doing so stumbled upon an either greater one…"

"No." Kakashi suddenly replied bitterly. "This isn't Obito. He died. I saw it."

"Did you?" Tsunade asked him skeptically. It may have come off as cold, but one often had to act like that to get to the bottom of things.

Kakashi seemed to struggle for an answer, but found none. Looking away and covering his sharingan once more, he replied "Okay, so Rin and I left before the actual moment of his death. We had no choice! We couldn't help him! And even if I didn't see it, there's no way he could have survived being buried by an avalanche!" Everyone just stared at him, taken aback by his sudden outburst, contradicting his otherwise easygoing personality. But it was completely understandable, as they were talking about a dead friend that continued to torture Kakashi. Kakashi, taking a deep breath, continued somewhat more composed. "Let's assume he did survive. The results from the rocks would have left scars not even the two of you could heal. And even if the incident left him with amnesia…his core character would not allow him to join up with the likes of a yakuza boss!"

"Enough." Tsunade commanded him. "There's more."

Sakura continued with the briefing. "Though the DNA matches with Obito's, there are some inconsistencies." She then looked to Naruto. "Naruto, you're familiar with telomeres, right?"

Naruto just gave a sheepish grin. "I think you're going to have to explain that one to me. Sorry, Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded in understanding; she sometimes forgot that not everyone was in the medical field like she was, and therefore unfamiliar with medical jargon. "Telomeres are a segment of genes located on the end of each chromosome. As a person ages, the telomeres regress. In other words, it is the key component to aging. Let's assume this is Obito; it will have been more than 10 years since he was last seen. Comparing the DNA from our original data banks, it would appear as if he hasn't been gone for more than 3!"

Kakashi easily understood the implication…but not a solution to the riddle. "Then…?"

"That's part of the mystery I was referring to." Tsunade answered. "Even more curious, and this will alleviate your fears a little, it's not a complete match. There are strands of DNA from an entirely different person. What function they have other than to form to complete an entire human being we couldn't determine. And then, things got really weird for us."

"The mitochondrial DNA we've isolated is definitely Obito's, according to our gene databanks. However, the foreign DNA does not match either of his parents." Sakura informed them.

Naruto proposed an idea before she could continue. "Maybe he survived, somehow and… had a kid?" He knew it was probably a stupid idea in the first place, but better that than nothing at all.

"That's impossible." Sakura explained to him. "Mitochondrial DNA is inherited maternally. Obito would never be able to have children with the same mitochondrial DNA he possesses."

"Then…what is it?" Kakashi asked, completely stumped.

"We have one hypothesis…" Sakura told them. "You all know of Yamato's Moutokon ability, right?"

Getting irritated with being run around in circles, Kakashi growled "That's got diddly squat to do with…" Kakashi stopped himself as what they were suggesting dawned upon him. "Wait…you mean he merely…possess Obito's cells?"

"That's the best we can figure." Tsunade answered. "But it would take great scientific and medical expertise to achieve such a thing…Orochimaru is the only one known to have done experiments like these, but out of the dozens of children he kidnapped, Yamato was the only success, and he turned on him. The fact that he's dead doesn't help him as a suspect either. Still, that doesn't mean others couldn't have learned the process…or Orochimaru shared the information with someone. And if it's not him, the only thing we do know that whoever is doing this has no shortage of cash. The lab work and equipment needed for this kind of thing doesn't come cheap."

"So, that's all we know?" Naruto asked.

"There is one more thing, actually." Sakura answered. "See this mark here?" she asked, pointing to his chest right around where his heart should be.

"Yeah. It looks like a cat." Naruto replied.

"There is one likely suspect this could belong to; Gato."

Memories of Team 7's first mission flashed through Naruto's mind. "But…Gato's dead."

"_He's_ dead, Naruto." Kakashi corrected him. "But his corporation is not. I heard his son took over shortly after his death."

"We've confirmed the logo is of Gato's old corporation, Claw Industries." Sakura told them. "At least, this is the symbol the company uses in the underground. This isn't something you'd want to tip off to the normal governments."

It suddenly dawned on Naruto why he was created. "If a corporation is makes one clone…they will make more. They'll start a black market of Uchiha clones. And there's no telling what that could lead to. The last thing we need is an enemy with a private army of these guys."

"Even so, a sharingan alone does not make an Uchiha." Kakashi stated. "The Uchiha needed training, just like any other shinobi. And not all were prodigies like Itachi and Sasuke were; Obito himself didn't have much natural talent in ninjutsu."

"Many ex-ninja have sold their skills to the Black Market." Tsunade replied. "And it wouldn't surprise me that if such an organization were building an army, they'd have instructors. With soldiers of this potential caliber, very good ones."

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura addressed her instructor. "We've talked quite a bit about the body. But what about his mind? Did you notice anything unusual about his personality?"

Kakashi thought for a moment. "Yeah. If I had to venture a guess…I'd have to say he didn't have one."

"Like Itachi?" Tsunade followed up.

"No. Itachi kept his emotions hidden; this guy had none. It's like inside, there was nothing but a void. Like a marrionate."

Sakura thought about Kakashi's answer. "Brainwashing then. Makes sense; one wouldn't want their creations to get out of control…or produce offspring with free will."

"And why is that, Sakura-chan?"

"We've also done tests on his reproductive tract; though his gonads have fully developed, he is sterile. If it's a business that's creating this army, common sense would dictate to keep up demand they would make sure none of their products would reproduce for free."

"We can speculate and make theories all we want." Tsunade interrupted. "But in the end, they're just guesses. What we need is the truth, and that is precisely what the three of you will seek!" The three of Team 7 stood at attention. "Since we've confirmed that this specimen is connected to the late Gato, you'll begin your investigation tomorrow. Since this is where you first met him, you will travel to the Land of Waves and piece the clues together from there!"

Though he didn't show it, Naruto was excited. He always planned on returning to the Land of Waves one day, as a vacation. After what he and his team did to help the island nation, he wanted to see how things had changed. Not to mention Tazuna and Inari. He hadn't seen them in ages; he wondered how they were doing… "When do we leave?" Naruto asked.

"At dawn tomorrow; we haven't a moment to spare."

Not even the absurdly early beginning of the mission was enough to diminish the blond shinobi's enthusiasm. He looked forward to all of it, despite the serious situation.

* * *

The next morning, Yuji knocked on the door of Iori's apartment, intending to invite her to hang out with Shiguri and he. But no answer came. "Odd. She's usually up by now. It's already past 11."

"Her loss." Shiguri shrugged. "Come on. Let's go hit the arcade; Naruto-sensei is going to be gone for a while, so we might as well get as much fun in during our break as we can."

As they walked down the stairs of the complex, Shiguri noticed his friend seemed…worried. "Everything okay, Yuji?"

The spectacled shinobi sighed in response. "I dunno. I just have a bad feeling about Iori. I'm worried about her, and I don't even know why."

"Damn. Can't help ya there. Has she been acting strange or something?"

"She seemed normal since we last saw her." Yuji explained. "I really can't describe it. It just feels like I need to be there for her."

"Well, unless your 'spidey sense' is tingling, I suggest you ignore it for now." Shiguri casually suggested. "So, what kind of games you want to do?"

"I'd like to try out that new Marvelous vs. Capco game; heard it's pretty fun."

"Sounds good. I really want to try…"

"Hey, you two!"

The two chunin stopped to see Yamanaka Ino in front of them just as they stepped outside. "Oh. Ino-sensei." Yuji greeted her. "What's up?"

"Where's your partner?" she asked, not bothering to answer his question.

"Not home." Shiguri replied. "Don't know where; she got up before we did apparently."

Ino replied "I see." while thinking absently to herself. "I guess it would've been a waste either way; I doubt a tomboy like her would be comfortable taking a role in the mission I'm about to take…but I could still use you two."

The two of them gawked. "Us! What for!"

Ino suddenly grabbed them both by the collars and dragged them down the road. "I'll explain on the way! I just need to debrief Tsunade-sama on it and we're off!"

So much for much needed downtime.

* * *

Naruto sighed loudly for what seemed to be the hundredth time as he and his old team rode the carriage from a town close to Konoha all the way to The Land of Waves.

Sakura, getting frustrated with Naruto, said "Naruto, I know you're bored…but that is all getting really annoying."

Naruto grumbled as he took a look out the carriage window. "We could get there much faster if we just tree hopped like we normally do! This Tigre guy could be long gone by now!"

"We don't even know if he was in this area to begin with." Kakashi said, still reading his book. "And if he is here, we need to disguise ourselves as civilians. If he is behind this, and sees ninja approaching, we will wind up tipping him off and he will destroy all evidence... or worse."

Naruto leaned back in his seat, stubborn as usual. "So what? We're ninja; we can make it without being seen…"

"…unless he has ninja who know what to look for." Sakura interjected. "And if he has several synthetic Uchihas, he will most certainly spot us." While Naruto had certainly grown up as a ninja, being subtle was still a problem for him. Sakura worried that bad habit would get him killed one day.

Still, Naruto couldn't argue with the logic of their strategy. "There is one thing that concerns me." He added. "We were in the Land of Waves before; wouldn't people recognize us?"

"While your features may be some cause for concern, you were both 12 when you first came." Kakashi informed him. "Since Gato was there at the time, and not Tigre, he couldn't have known everything about the young Team 7. Both of you have grown up substantially, so there should be no need to disguise either one of you. While your hair colors are rare, they're not unheard of."

"Which leaves you." Naruto replied. "You're definitely well known, especially among the different ninja black ops on the continent."

"That's what this henge is for." Kakashi said, smiling under his mask as he transformed back into the form he took when entering the carriage. Both Naruto and Sakura groaned, as neither one particularly liked his disguise. The disguise itself was good; it was the story around it that irritated the two younger jonin.

"We're here." The driver of the carriage called back to them. "If you'd like, I could drive you all across the bridge."

"No, that's alright. We prefer walking." Kakashi answered as his voice became hoarse and high-pitched.

"Your funeral, gramps." The driver shrugged. "It must be tough on your grandkids."

The team stepped out. The two younger jonin were dressed in their civilian clothes, with all their weapons and ninja uniforms tucked in their bags. Naruto and Sakura didn't bother altering their appearances; as Kakashi said, last time they were there they were half the age they were now.

Of course, Kakashi used a more radical disguise: an old man with a thick beard. He certainly did a good job sounding old and hunching over with his cane that he got for the disguise. But Naruto and Sakura hated to help him out like he was their actual grandpa. Not only did they have to treat their sensei as a handicap and take their time…their relationship had to appear as siblings. Granted, they had enough common sense not to have sex during a mission, but they had to avoid giving out even the most subtle romantic hints. That part was going to make the mission more torturous than anything.

"_There are other perfectly good disguises for him to use."_ Naruto whispered to Sakura.

"_He just enjoys torturing us."_ Sakura grumbled in agreement. _"Be careful though; he might get out a wheel chair just to spite us."_

"Hey, you little scamps!" their "grandpa" called. "Come help your old man." Holding his hands, they slowly made their way towards the now prosperous village in sight. "It's been a long time." Kakashi noted as the driver drove out of earshot.

"Well, are you ready?" Sakura asked Naruto, eagerly anticipating their return.

Naruto only smiled. "Let's go see how Inari and the old geezer are."

* * *

Funny story related to Iori throwing her Sai in what I'm sure most of you guessed was the groin. Years ago, my martial arts school had a knife course. Among the many things we did was knife throwing, just for fun. We had a target set up, and took our best shot. Mine happened through dumb luck, but my knife landed in…yup, you guessed it. Realistically, I probably would have only scratched the guy's balls, but we all still thought it was pretty funny.

Next time, Team 7 is reunited with Tazuna and family, Iori returns home, and just what does Ino want with Yuji and Shiguri?

PCR-Technology that can create and duplicate a template strand from one single strand of DNA

Ookamigumi-Wolf Pack

Supattos-Spots

Raikumo-Lightning Spider

WakuSeiRasengan-Planetary Rasengan

Hadanahadasshi Anma-Extreme Massage

Pirania-Piranha

Seiba Hatora-Saber Tooth

Houri-Pineapple


	40. Like a Million Faces

Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the long updates between chapters! But with my other creative projects and my sometimes maddening academic schedule, this is the way it has to be. So, I hope you'll enjoy this latest chapter, and as always, please, review. They would be nice birthday presents for me (turned 28 this week)

* * *

Konoha Jonin Makoto Mahera and his team spent the past 5 days escorting a wealthy merchant back to his home in the Land of Vines. Though the country had ninjas of their own, the merchant felt it was more cost-effective to hire ninjas in the middle of his trip as opposed to the entire one. First they had to reach the port in the mainland, then they traveled by boat. Finally, they reached the island chain he called home. While his village was in walking distance, the merchant insisted on taking a carriage. He gave his students a good scolding when they groaned at having to walk more than they had to, but the truth was he was getting pretty sick of this guy as well. Still, in a few minutes the mission would be over. He could deal with it, and the genin under his command would have to learn to deal with obnoxious customers as well.

"I wanna go down to the beach! It's so pretty!" The young kunoichi under his care stated as she gazed at the coastline.

"We're here on a mission, not a vacation!" he scolded her again. "As soon as this is over, we head back home!" While he himself was tempted to find a motel to relax, it would be unwise to settle down in a village full of competing ninjas. Though there were no problems between the two villages, it was still unwise to advertise their status and purpose.

When the village came in sight, they heard something drop to the ground. It came from the carriage! Makoto pulled a kunai and prepared to race inside the carriage. "Yoshi, go check it out; I'll check on Mr. Toshiro. Be on guard."

The genin looked under the carriage, kunai drawn while his sensei made sure their client was safe. "There's nothing here!" he called.

"Mr. Toshiro is safe as well." Makoto confirmed. "Stay alert; I don't think anyone would go as far as to hire ninja to assassinate a mere merchant, but better safe than sorry." He ordered his team.

* * *

Iori sprinted through the tall grass of a nearby field as she hurried out of the team's line of sight. Following them wasn't important; they took her where she needed to go, and that was all that mattered. It was a pain though; she had to use her butterflies to tranquilize Konoha's gate guards, stay a safe distance away from the team, stowaway onto the ship's broiler room, and had to hang from the carriage's belly. She would find her own way from here, and at this point she preferred it.

First, though, she needed to make sure her disguise was intact. Looking at her reflection in a nearby pond, she gave herself a satisfied nod. She dyed her hair black, and wore contacts that made her eyes appear a pale gray. Hopefully, those would be the only features she would have to alter. Any other physical features would either require plastic surgery, or using henge. The former would have caused permanent changes (not to mention more money than she could ever hope to afford), and the later would waste otherwise unnecessary chakra. Iori decided that the more subtle the changes, the better. Besides, she was so young when she was exiled from her home; it was unlikely that anyone would recognize her now, even without the changes. _"I did all I could. I'll just have to hope for the best now."_

Quickly summoning a pack from a scroll she carried, she stood and stared at the village ahead. It was funny how she barely ever thought of the village over the years as she became a ninja in Konoha. And yet when that team mentioned it as their destination, it was all she could think about. She wasn't sure if she was after closure, or revenge. But she just felt she had to come. _"Let's see how much you have all changed…if any of you changed at all!"_ She hefted her backpack, and made her way towards the general direction of the village.

* * *

Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi (currently in disguise) made their way towards the bridge. While all stayed aware for danger, Naruto sometimes had a tendency to be unobservant when something didn't fit what he was looking for.

That something on this occasion was a plaque on the bridge's entrance. "Na-I mean, brother!" Sakura exclaimed, doing her best to save face. "Did you see this!?"

Naruto, not really paying attention, answered "Yeah, yeah, Sa-sis. It's nice." It seemed their disguises were making Naruto not care for anything else outside of the job.

Quickly, Sakura slapped his back. Not enough to do any noticeable damage, but the vibration in his spine stopped Naruto in his tracks. _"Naruto."_ Sakura whispered. _"Take a look._ _Now."_

Naruto did so, and tried his best not to look surprised as he stared at the plaque. _"The Great Naruto Bridge"_ it read. The subtitle underneath it said _"Dedicated to the children who never give up."_

"Wow." Naruto whispered. "I…but…"

"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" Kakashi asked in his old man voice. "We best get going; we're running late!"

Naruto groaned, but Sakura lightly squeezed his shoulder. "Don't worry." She assured him. "There will be opportunities later."

Naruto smiled slightly, and nodded. The three continued on to their destination.

* * *

The three ninja walked the streets of Wave, like they did years before. However, they all felt like it was their first time here; so much had changed, it no longer felt familiar. What had once been a nation suffering from poverty was becoming prosperous, and it seemed the local economy was still growing.

"Is this the result of our…last visit?" Naruto asked in astonishment.

"It's amazing what easy access to the mainland and back can do, can't it?" Sakura replied.

As much as they all wanted to enjoy the sights, they had a mission. "Tazuna's house should be around here, if we make a left." Kakashi reminded them.

The team found the house, to see that little has changed. "You'd think that Tazuna would have moved ever since completing the bridge." Naruto said.

"Homes have a way of becoming a part of you, I guess." Sakura replied. "I think it's best if I knock on the door…grandfather." Their "grandfather" nodded in agreement, and Sakura proceeded to the door.

After knocking, the door was answered, but it wasn't by anyone the team recognized; it was an elderly lady. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Sakura replied. "This is the house of Uxota Tazuna, isn't it?"

The old lady chuckled. "I take it you folks are from out of town." The team nodded affirmatively. "Tazuna moved out, sold this place to me a couple of years ago. As fun as it would be for you all to keep me company, I've a feeling that you want to know where Mr. Uxota lives now, eh?"

"If you could, please." Sakura replied.

* * *

Tazuna sighed as he typed away at his typewriter; he had an important speech tomorrow, and only the night to prepare it. It was a pain in the neck; sometimes he wondered why he even took the job of a councilman. Or served another consecutive two terms. Well, at least he would be ready to retire after this, and with a better reception than most of his colleagues. He then heard the door in his room knock. "Come in."

A tall man with glasses, daisho samurai set and proper appearance with black hair opened the door. It was his servant, Kanshou. He initially didn't want to take a servant, but Kanshou needed the job, and he was quite handy to have around. "Sir, there are some visitors at the gate to see you."

"Anyone I know?" Tazuna asked, irritated about being interrupted while preparing for tomorrow.

"They wouldn't say, sir." Was the servant's answer. Though his answer seemed rather detached, Tazuna knew him long enough to know that he was as perplexed as he was.

Tazuna turned back to work. "Then send them away; they can set an appointment with me if they give me their names." If this was an assassination attempt…the person who put the hit on him should ask for his money back, the former bridge builder thought.

"They did, however, insist I give you this message." Kanshou emphasized.

"Spill it out, then."

"Should you ever require aid, seek the Will of Fire." Kanshou said. "That is the only information they would give me."

Tazuna at first dismissed it as he typed away on his typewriter. But then something in him clicked, like a sense of déjà vu. _"Wait a minute…Will of Fire? Could it be…?"_

He finally stopped what he was doing, and turned around to face his servant. "Kanshou, what did they look like?"

"2 young people, with an old man, their grandfather I think. The young man has blond hair, blue eyes, and the young woman has pink hair and green eyes. They both look rather fit. And not the going to the gym type. More like the live for battle type, like I used to be at their age."

Tazuna thought for a minute. Slowly, a smile formed on his lips. He got off of his chair and walked to the closet. "Send them in; keep them comfortable in the guest room. I'll make myself presentable in the meantime."

"Sir, are you sure about this?" Kanshou asked. "You don't even know who-"

"Actually, Kanshou, I know them quite well. In fact, I don't think I would be here if it weren't for them. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." He seemed to have finally selected a casual form of dress. "They're old friends of mine, ones I haven't seen in ages. I expect you to treat them like they would any other guests."

Kanshou bowed, and replied "Of course, sir. As you wish."

* * *

Naruto looked around the small mansion anxiously as he and his team was seated in the living room, convinced that no matter how good he had it, Tazuna couldn't possibly be here. "This can't be right; there has to be a mistake. There's no way the old geezer would get rich so quickly and choose this kind of lifestyle…"

"This is where we were directed." Sakura chastised him. "We'll find out if he's here, and if not, we'll leave."

"I can assure you, you have come to the right place. And for the record, I must say that given the choice, I would have stuck with my old home, but as a council member, I'm required to live here in order to insure a few people have jobs."

Naruto and Sakura stared in front of them as Tazuna, dressed in a nice button up shirt and khakis walked into view. He hadn't changed much; if anything, time had been pretty good to him. The only noticeable difference was some minor hair loss, as his sideburns were not as tall as they used to be, but all things considered, he was the same as they saw him 12 years ago. "Old geezer!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

While Kanshou was prepared to slice the youth in two for his apparent disrespect, upon seeing his master's jovial response, he relaxed. "Naruto!" Tazuna replied, smiling. "Look at you! All grown up! I can't believe it's been so long!" He walked up to Naruto, and embraced him to the jonin's surprise. Tazuna took his eye off of him to see the other member of Team 7 who helped him. "Sakura! Look at you! You've become quite the woman!"

Sakura blushed madly at the compliment; she hadn't expected someone who saw her as a skinny pre-teen girl years before to compliment her on her maturity and beauty. "T-Thank you Tazuna-san!" she stuttered.

Tazuna then looked at the old man, and his smile disappeared in confusion. "Who is this?" Finally Kakashi undid the henge and revealed his true form. "Kakashi!" Tazuna replied, his enthusiasm returned. "You haven't changed a bit! It's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too, sir. I'm glad that our mission together years ago have helped your country immensely." Kakashi said as he shook hands with the former bridge-builder.

Tazuna smiled sheepishly for some reason. "Yeah. In fact, to this day you were still charged for a C rank mission when it should have been much higher. Come on in to my office; we can discuss paying off the rest of the debt…"

"Actually, we came here for something else." Sakura interrupted. "We were hoping to investigate what has remained of Gato's company. Perhaps, you could tell us something important, if it's not too much trouble?"

Tazuna's cheerful voice became serious. They could tell, even to this day, Gato's empire was a sore spot in Tazuna's past. "What happened?"

"It's a long story." Kakashi answered. "We were hoping you may be able to point us in the right direction."

Tazuna, understanding a ninja's need for secrecy, nodded. _"Let's talk about this in my study. Less likely to have people eavesdropping." _He whispered.

The trio followed him inside, and Tazuna shut the doors and locked them. "These walls are sound proof; it should be safe." As everyone took a seat around the table, Tazuna opened it up. "Before we begin, I'm just curious; where is Sasuke? I liked him, he was a talented kid."

Everyone seemed to have clammed up being asked that. "What? Did something bad happen to him?" he asked, now concerned.

Sakura seemed like she would have to tell him the truth…no matter how painful it was. "Well…"

"Sasuke's on an extended S-class mission." Naruto interrupted for her. "He left before our mission began, and we don't know when he'll be back. But I'll let him know you said hi." He said as if nothing was wrong or unusual.

Sakura smiled slightly. _"He knows just the right things to say at the most important of times." _

Tazuna nodded in understanding, buying Naruto's lie. "I see. Okay, then. Let's get down to business, shall we? Why don't you all start from the beginning and why the sudden interest in Gato's company."

As the tale of the Uchiha clone unfolded, Tazuna's face became more solemn. Sakura then pulled a photograph from her vest pocket, and undid the genjutsu she placed on it (just in case someone pickpocketed her). "Here's the symbol found on the subject's chest. We wanted to confirm if it belonged to Gato's company."

Tazuna inspected the symbol with scrutiny, and growled. "Yeah, this belonged to Gato's company, at least while he was still alive. Tigre has changed it since then, but there are rumors on the black market of this specific symbol still being used."

"What about this Tigre guy?" Naruto asked. "After the crap Wave went through with Gato, I can't imagine you'd let his son do business here."

"We didn't; not at first. But as an international company, he could go wherever he wanted as long as there was free trade. Besides, it was Gato, not Tigre, who was in charge when the company was draining our country dry. Tigre also worked hard to wipe his father's influence from the company's past clean; over the years, he has convinced many in the public that he was a legitimate business man and donated to various charities and causes. Credible news of any corruption within Gato's company seemingly vanished overnight. If we barred him from trading within waves, we could have risked him having sued us, and with his money, I bet he would have won easily." Tazuna looked down as he collected his thoughts. "He's different from his father, make no mistake. But he's as rotten as his father; I can see it in his eyes, and I've seen sides of him he would never reveal in public. Though we try to keep a civil relationship in the eyes of the public, I know he has bought off council members who have actively opposed me."

"So, I assume since the corporation has reestablished itself here, other than the politics, there have been no problems that you're aware of?" Kakashi asked.

Tazuna sighed. "He hasn't been caught or charged with anything. But I've seen him at some of the parties our council will throw on holidays; I can tell, just by the way he asks for favors, that he's up to no good. Unfortunately, my word alone isn't good enough, and he's careful enough not to let too much slip out of his tongue. So, if you want to hear anything about him directly from here, I'm afraid I'll be of no help."

Kakashi, satisfied with what they were told, stood up from his chair. "Do not worry about it, old friend. You've helped us quite a bit. At least now, we know where to begin and what to look for. We'll be on our way now…"

"Now just a minute!" Tazuna suddenly shouted. "You can't just visit me and expect to leave like that!"

Naruto, in fact, was about to take his side. However, Sakura spoke up before he could give his own opinion. "With all due respect, Tazuna-san, this wasn't a social visit. We came here with a mission to do. We simply do not have the luxury. Besides, if we are exposed, you and your family will be at risk."

"I understand that." Tazuna replied. "But you must understand that I am no longer a mere bridge-builder. I'm one of many people running this country. If I'm assassinated, the government will have no choice but to investigate; bribery can only cover up so much. If it's done quietly, they'll know it was ninja, and they will know where to look. If it's done like it was nearly 12 years ago, with samurai out in the open…well, that would just be plain stupid. Either way, there's no way that Tigre would play such a hand, not yet. Besides, staying here would be beneficial for you three as well."

"We appreciate the offer, but we can afford a motel." Kakashi said, hoping to end the debate.

"Yeah, a motel where, as unlikely as it is, you're liable to be killed in your sleep!" Tazuna shouted in irritation. "At least, while Tigre is laying low and playing it cool, you three are safer here. And should I be wrong about all this…there's no one else I'd count on to protect my family." The three were taken aback by his knowledge, and had no counter-argument for what he just told them. "Besides, I know too much now. I have to help you investigate…or, in case I get tortured, I will need you three close by now." Both Sakura and Kakashi sighed in defeat.

"Well, you've got no argument from me." Naruto smiled enthusiastically. "I was personally looking forward to seeing you and the rest of your family, even though the mission comes first."

Tazuna smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that." Looking at his watch, Tazuna asked the trio. "So, now that everything's settled, have you all eaten yet? It's nearly time to cook dinner."

* * *

Back in the Land of Vines, a middle aged woman with brunette hair tied in a bun read her book as the rain poured heavily on her inn. Typical weather in the subtropics. It still didn't keep such weather from being a pain; thankfully she wouldn't have to go outside anytime soon.

She was distracted from her thoughts when it seemed a potential customer had arrived, the chime of the bell alerting her. It seemed to be a young lady with ebony hair; she couldn't have been any older than 16. "Hello, Miss? May I help you?" she asked.

Folding her umbrella, the young lady replied "I would like a room for a week, please."

It seemed she was the straight to business type, but she couldn't just rent a room yet. "Just you?"

"Yes." She replied bluntly as she reached for a towel provided on the front desk.

"But…you're so young. Surely, you must have friends, if not family with you?"

The young teen smiled politely. "Afraid not. I'm something of a wanderer."

The host quickly saved face. "My apologies. I know there are some unfortunate souls like yourself who are on their own. Are you looking for work?"

"An odd job or two might be helpful before I hit the road again." She replied as she tossed the towel in a basket. "I'm still looking for a place to settle down; haven't quite made up my mind where."

"I'll see what I can do for you then. Since it's uncommon to get visitors who are not quite adults, I'll give you 50% discount. It's the least I could do."

The girl bowed. "Thank you so much! But you don't have to…"

"I insist." The hostess said, making it clear through her tone the subject was not up for debate. "You probably have enough troubles as it is. I won't have it any other way."

The teen bowed again. "Thank you very much. You have a deal!"

The teenage girl paid a deposit (to the inn-keeper's surprise), and signed her name. "Well, it looks like we're all set, um…Fericia Wato, is it?"

"Unusual name, I know." She replied sheepishly.

"Apologies. There's nothing wrong with having a unique name. I think it's quite exotic" The hostess then got a key from the drawer. "Room Number 7, 3 doors to your right."

After the teen bowed once more and made her way towards her room, the hostess seemed to get a sense of déjà vu. "Excuse me, but have we met? You look familiar."

The teen chuckled slightly. "I doubt it. This is my first time here."

The hostess then waved it off. "My mistake then. You rest well, and enjoy your stay."

The teen entered the room and locked the door…and immediately clenched her teeth in a desperate attempt to conceal her growl. "I almost wish you acted like the bitch I remember…"

Iori knew her all too well. It was probably a month before her father was taken when her face was forever etched in her memory. She saw a little boy getting bullied by his peers. Iori stepped in and chased them off (after punching the biggest one in the nose). She was about to help him up, when suddenly his mother pulled him away and kicked her. _"Don't touch my child, demon spawn!" _When her father came to pick her up, he noticed the bruise on her forehead. He demanded to know who struck her, but Iori never told him. She didn't know why; she supposed at the time she thought _she_ had done something wrong.

Iori felt sick being in that ignorant woman's inn…but she would have to endure. She had half a mind to burn the inn to the ground and trap her in it…but as much as she wanted to take her hate out on her, in the end that was all she was: ignorant. The true target she was after, knew exactly what he was doing when he organized the mob the burned her own house with her in it. _"Soon. I must be patient." _

Though she wasn't the type to resort to this, she sat on the floor and began to meditate. She would need to have her mind focused if she was to exact revenge.

* * *

Inari waved goodbye to his friends as he prepared to enter his family's mansion. As nice as it was, he still missed his first home; it was relaxing to be near the sea. Fortunately, grandpa promised this would be his last term as a council member and while it was unlikely the current owner would sell back the house, they would at least buy a new place that had some resemblance to their old residence.

That's not to say their current home didn't have its perks, as Inari waved hello to Kanshou upon entering the yard "Hey Kanshou! I take it everything is fine?"

"Yes. We actually have some visitors. Friends your grandfather has informed me your family is very familiar with."

Inari figured they were some distant relatives they ran into every now and then; very nice people, but Inari would almost always wind up forgetting their names and faces, as they usually failed to leave an impression on him. As he made his way inside, he could hear his grandfather's laughter from the living room. "Really!? Your own team!?" His grandpa shouts echoed down the hall. "Damn! Time really has flown by me! And what about you?"

"Never got one." A female voice responded. "As part of the medical corps, I never had time to focus on training a few individuals. I have, however, had the pleasure of training one of his students. He's come a long way."

"She does make a great instructor, though." Another person enthusiastically said.

"I second that." Another male voice said. "I'm surprised that this blond knuckle-head even got a team. Then again, those 3 were quite the handful; I guess he was the best choice for them."

The term used to describe one of the people caused Inari's eyes to widen in surprise. _"No! It can't be!"_ he thought in denial not from dread, but delight. He dropped his backpack and raced down the hall into the mansion.

When he finally reached the living room, his eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing. Team 7! Naruto Uzumaki was here! He instantly recognized Kakashi; he hadn't changed a bit from what he could see.

Kakashi turned around, and his visible eye widened in surprise. After smiling underneath his mask, Kakashi turned to the others. "Guys, it looks like someone's here to see you." Pointing his thumb at Inari

They turned their heads, and their smiles only grew wider. "Inari!? Is that you!?" the blonde, without a doubt Naruto, exclaimed in surprise.

Inari himself could hardly believe it was Naruto he was talking to; he remembered him as a boy about to enter his teens. Now he was a man; in many ways, he reminded him of his surrogate father. "Naruto-nichan! It really is you!" he exclaimed in joy.

Catching the blonde ninja off guard, he ran towards him and tackled him onto the floor, giving everyone a good chuckle. "Inari!" Naruto huffed, embarrassed. "Wow, you've grown. In fact, aren't you a little bit big for this? Both in body and mind?"

While Inari was still quite recognizable, the fact he had grown into a teenager threw Team 7 off guard as well. He had grown in height to the point where he was almost eye-to-eye with Naruto, and it was clear that he worked out too; not ridiculously muscular, but it was clear he regularly practiced some physical activity. He was also showing another stage of maturity, becoming flustered at hugging another man. "Sorry! It's just…it's…"

"It's cool." Naruto said as he picked himself and Inari up the ground. "I understand. I was pretty impulsive about these kinds of things as a kid as well." Inari scowled at being called a kid, though it seemed no one noticed. "Good to see you too, Inari." Naruto smiled, patting his shoulder. "You really have grown."

Inari smiled in response, as he turned to see…Sakura!? It seemed he stuttered her name out loud, as she only giggled in response. "Hello, Inari. It's good to see you too."

Up until now, Inari still remembered Sakura from years ago. A skinny pre-teen girl with barely developing adult features was the one he remembered. But now…he didn't know what to think, except for one thing. _"T-This is Sakura!?_ _She's gorgeous!"_ Even though at the time he wasn't old enough to be into girls, he could have never imagined Sakura growing into the gorgeous woman in front of him.

"Inari? Hey, you okay?" Naruto asked, waving his hand in front of his eyes to see if anything was off.

Inari snapped back to reality upon realizing he was spacing out. "Oh! Y-yeah!" Quickly, he bowed to Sakura. "Good to see you to, Sakura-san." Inari was worried that may not have been an appropriate suffix.

It seemed he had nothing to fear, however, as Sakura pulled him into a hug. "No need to be formal with us, silly! If anything, we should apologize for not coming to visit sooner!"

Inari, however didn't hear her. Instead, he felt her hands across him and her breasts against his body. _"S-Soft!" _was the only thing he could think.

"Don't beat yourselves up over it." Tazuna interrupted. "We've been busy, you've been busy…it's just as much on us." Addressing Inari, he said "Your mother's getting dinner ready. Go wash up."

Before Inari could do what he was told, Tazuna quickly came up to him. "Wait a minute! Walk with me." As he and Inari traveled up the stairs, Tazuna whispered "Listen, Inari. Team 7 is undercover, and I'm letting them stay here during the duration of their mission. I can't go into details, I just want to be sure you don't go telling anyone that they're here living with us. Things could go south fast if word gets out. If they're seen with us, just tell them they're friends of the family. Naruto is Tom Yoong, Sakura is Ichigo, and you can call Kakashi Croc-san. Got it?"

"Got it, grandpa." Inari answered. "I guess this means we can't play much catch up, huh?" he asked, a tinge of disappointment in his voice

"I'll be sure they stick around for that." Tazuna answered, patting Inari on the shoulder. Then, he gave Inari a sly look. "Sakura's become quite the looker, huh?"

Inari nearly screamed in surprise. "Gramps! You can't go around saying things like that!"

"I wasn't talking about me." Tazuna answered, giving Inari a mischievous look. "I can see clear as day the way your face matched her blouse in two seconds upon looking at her." Inari stuttered something unintelligible, flapping his arms. "Relax, kid. I'm not going around spilling any secrets." He playfully slapped his grandson on the back. "I'm just worried you won't be able to keep your own in front of her."

Tazuna laughed on the way down the stairs, while he left Inari fuming and red.

* * *

Yakuza boss Byakko sighed as he took a sip of his sake. It was a slow day today, the authorities were having trouble keeping up with them, and there were no new officials to bribe. Taking a bite of Mongolian beef, and pushing the plate to the table, he said to his boys "I think I'll go for a walk. Anyone who's not too busy, join me."

As he and two others got up to leave from headquarters, one of his guards came to see him. "Sir, it seems you have a visitor."

"Whoever it is, tell him to piss off! Not in the mood." He growled curtly. He never liked to be bothered right after lunch time.

"He says he is the son of Kurohyou."

Now that got his attention. Kurohyou was a friend of his, his partner while rising through the ranks. Eventually, both parted ways to start their own crime families. While they were in many ways competitors, they always had a mutual respect for one another. However, he heard Kurohyou had died recently. They never talked about children, if they had any, but it was not completely implausible. "Send him in. I'll see if he's the real thing."

Within minutes, Byakko was in his office. He waited patiently as his body guards brought in the kid. It surprised him; he couldn't have been older than 15.

Still, for his age, he looked absolutely vicious. Spiked black hair, several tattoos which any normal mother would have killed her son for having, this kid was no goody two-shoes. He also looked quite athletic; Byakko couldn't be exactly sure of what he did for a hobby, but he could tell he had been in more than a few fights. "So, what's your name, kid?"

"Hyakujuunoou." The teen replied curtly. Judging by his tone of voice and body language, he was not interested in pleasantries and idle conversation; nor did he seem to particularly care about who he was speaking to.

"Looks like your father didn't teach you any manners." Byakko growled. "I don't have much patience for punks like you, so you better watch your mouth with me from now on."

The teen only sneered in response. "My old man didn't have manners, so he didn't teach me squat. Besides, I've learned that good manners only keep you alive; they don't help in giving you what you want."

Byakko's scowl slowly turned into a slight grin. "It seems you are his son after all; no crime lord would raise his kid to be a wuss, not if they're to take over the business. Your personality is like his too: a man of few words, and, unless it was our former boss, didn't give a damn who he pissed off." Byakko then turned to one of his guards. "Hamaguri, some sake please." As the guard left to get it, Byakko returned his attention to Hyakujuunoou. "I know you're technically not old enough to drink, but…"

"You'll let the LAW stop you?" Hyakujuunoou asked rhetorically, chuckling. "Don't be fooled, I know I'm getting into the game a little early, but I think it's best to start now. Life of a yakuza boss is normally not too long, ya know?"

"You keep your wits about ya, and you'll last as long as I have." Byakko replied, tapping his grey hair and balding head. Despite his age, he was also very well built; it was obvious that despite being leader, he was not one to let his thugs do all the dirty work.

When the sake was brought to them, Byakko started on a different topic. "I heard Kurohyou died."

"Yeah." Hyakujuunoou nodded, taking a gulp of the sake. It seemed he could hold his liquor, as he didn't show any outward signs of intoxication. "Samurai raid; nasty stuff. I was out for a walk at the time it happened, and it was over when I got back. We weren't close, but he wanted me to take over the business, you know? Want to live up to his expectations and all."

"What about your mother?" Byakko asked skeptically.

"She was a prostitute; guess I don't need to tell you I was an accident. Anyway, I haven't seen her in years; both agreed I should stay with pops, as I had more of a future living with him."

"Makes sense." Byakko nodded, satisfied. "Well, I'd like to give you a helping hand to get started, but you know I am a businessman. I don't give handouts."

Hyakujuunoou only smiled. "Wouldn't dream of asking for such a thing. Actually, I'm hoping that we could form some kind of partnership."

Byakko put his cup of sake down. "Alright. Now I'm interested. So, what do you propose, kid?"

"My dad's family used to specialize in the drug trade. Not only have the busts become more frequent, but more people are becoming more health-conscious. Higher risks, lower returns, you know? Until the trend changes, I can't rely on that. But I noticed one area of business that still seems to be on the rise that I'm interested in exploring: Human Trafficking."

Byakko nodded. "Yeah; slavery was outlawed decades ago in all 5 major countries, but there will always be corrupt people who want cheap labor and women who do what they're told. But why you want to team up? Having trouble catching some girls? Lost children?"

"The supply isn't the problem; I just want to get started with the highest demand possible. I think I have a few nice catches, and I want as much money as possible. Knowing your reputation, I figured some of your customers would be willing to pay gold for them. It'll help me get a running start; I figure maybe you take 60% of the profits and me getting the rest is a decent deal, no?"

Byakko only smirked. "Word to the wise, kid: When entering a partnership, never ask for less than 50-50! I'll be nice this time around and take the low end of the profits. But next time we do business, I advise you to be more shrewd in your demands." he smirked.

Looking at his watch, he stood up and said "It's getting late. If you mean it, bring me your merchandise to this address by the end of the week." Handing Hyukujuunoou a fold of paper, he added "Whoever you bring with you, they wait outside. We'll be out of sight, and out of earshot, got it?"

"Of course." Hyakujuunoou stood and bowed. "It was good to finally meet you. Father has always spoken of you rather fondly; I'm beginning to see why."

"Hmph. Your father was always a good judge of character." Byakko waved as he departed.

With that, Hyukujuunoou departed the premise. Byakko sent some of his goons to follow him; standard procedure among the crime families. He didn't wander into any areas that struck them as alarming, and finally, he reached the inn where he was staying. The goons, seeing nothing suspicious, left. When Hyukujuunoou entered his room, and confirmed they left, he shut the blinds and knocked on the tatami mats. "It's safe now."

The matts flew up as Miyamoto Yuji made his way out. "HHHHHGGGHHHNNN! I couldn't breathe in there!"

"Lightweight." Yamanaka Ino muttered as she got out of the floor boards and took a seat by the futon.

"Keep it down!" Shiguri, who met Byakko as Hyukujuunoou, hissed. His natural appearance did not need to be altered for this mission, as some would argue he already looked like a crook. "This room is only booked for one. Not only do I want to get charged for two more people…the mission could be, oh, I don't know, compromised!" he hissed sarcastically.

"Settle down, you two." Ino said. "Now, Shiguri, how did it go?"

"He seemed to buy it." Shiguri began. "The info you provided on Kurohyou helped a lot, and Byakko doesn't suspect anything unusual as of yet. Besides, no thanks to dear old grandpa, I've seen how…characters like him behave and what they expect. It seems he accepts me as the genuine article. The problem is, though, that I need to bring…'merchandise' you might call it."

"That's not a problem." Ino said. "I already have that covered. But did he mention any particular slaves in general?"

"Not a word; I wouldn't dare bring up the Daimyo's niece. I would've been killed on the spot."

"Of course." Ino replied. "We can't be too blunt."

"However, if this meeting goes smoothly, I'd imagine we'll get to see the auction…and maybe even the buyer." Shiguri said. "I'd imagine that if we're going to find her, she would still be with the rest of the stock, judging by the time between she was last seen and then. Someone like her would fetch a high price on the black market."

Ino nodded in satisfaction. "Well done, Shiguri. We'll continue as planned…"

"Hold on a minute."

The two turned to see Yuji raise his hand. "Yes, Miyamoto?" Ino asked, feeling she wouldn't be very interested in what he had to say.

"I couldn't help but notice something. Shiguri is the undercover guy. You are our current commander…"

"What are you getting at, Yuji?" Shiguri asked, prompting his friend to get straight to the point.

"What did you drag me here for!?" he suddenly shouted, causing both of them to give him perplexed looks.

"You're the medic of the team, just in case something goes wrong." Ino said, rolling her eyes.

"YOU'RE a medic nin!" Yuji shouted, pointing an accusing finger at their kunoichi commander. "So what do you need me for!?"

"You're back-up; just in case." Ino reminded him sternly. "Should this mission go as planned, I will not be able to step in and heal your injuries. Any other questions you'd like to share with us?"

Shiguri knew what was really eating up Yuji; his friend was afraid he was not contributing to the mission, and wanted to play an important part in it. Shiguri wanted to help him find another job besides backup, but he couldn't think of anything practical for him in this situation. Continuing with discussing the mission, he continued "Anyway, I'm really going to have to play the part of a yakuza boss's son. Which means I'm going to need henchmen." He noted, rubbing his chin in deep thought.

"Count me in, then!" Yuji replied enthusiastically, raising his fist into the air.

Shiguri could only give him a skeptical look. "Sorry Yuji; you're too nice to be a criminal. At best, you'd be laughed at. Smart guys with glasses are usually delegated to handling paperwork."

Yuji's face looked dejected as he looked down at the floor. "You're right…"

Shiguri sighed and said "Still, there is something you might be able to do…"

* * *

Back in The Land of Vines, council man Utsubokazura got his paperwork in order. Looking out the window, he sighed as he saw the sun begin to set. It looked like he wouldn't be coming home for dinner again. _"My wife is going to kill me one of these days."_ He thought. Looking back at the mountain of paper, he sighed. "Well, better get to it." Flicking back his silver pony-tail, he set his mind to work. He supposed he should get rid of them; he was quite the bishonen in his youth, but now in his 50s, it was probably time to move on and act his age.

He drew his pen and began to scribble his signatures on the documents, doing his best not to let himself be distracted by the outside world. A stray butterfly flew in, but he paid it no heed. Just a bug, nothing more. However, he couldn't help but notice with each passing minute, the village seemed to have gotten unusually quiet.

After a few minutes, a female voice said "It seems you're working hard…Mr. Utsubokazura."

Despite it not being someone he recognized, he wasn't alarmed and didn't even look up from his work. After all, it wasn't even nightfall and no one would attempt on assault on their own at this hour. Still, the guards would have escorted her inside if she was important enough to see the councilman immediately. _"How did she get past the guards?"_ he wondered. "I'm glad you noticed." He finally spoke. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish this work as soon as possible. If there is something important you need to tell me, you can set up an appointment with my secretary…"

"I prefer to do it now. I may never have a chance to see the face of the man who turned the village against us again; the same one who tried to burn my house down with me in it." The voice finished with menace in her voice.

Utsobokuzura stopped writing, and slowly looked up. In front of him was a red-headed teenage girl, glad in a shinobi uniform. And he could see she was trembling in fury, if only slightly (years on the field taught him that experience). He was certain that he never met her before, yet she was familiar. "Who-?" He then noticed the kamas on her sides. He could tell even from his desk that the handles were made of a special wood found only in the Land of Vines. Only one pair existed, and they belonged to someone. No, make that _something_.

Then, his mind finally put 2 and 2 together, as he began to remember the "little girl". _"It's her! The demon's child!"_ A trickle of sweat dropped down his forehead as Iori approached him slowly, and menacingly. "Guards! Guards!" He called.

"Don't worry about them." Iori growled. "They'll wake up…eventually. Same goes for most of the village's shinobi; I made sure to spread my butterflies all over. Too bad I can't say the same for you!" Iori suddenly crouched and pulled out her kamas, rushing at him.

Utsubokazura, realizing help was not coming, leaped into the air to dodge her weapons. Though he wasn't the shinobi he used to be, he made sure to maintain his skills and reflexes. And it looked like for the first time in years, he would have to call upon them again. Upon landing, he made his hand signs. "Futon! Tatsumaki Shuriken no Kaze!"

The air around him accumulated into dense masses, forming shurikens that then surrounded Iori. "You think this will stop me!?" Iori batted them away with her kamas, but all of the air shuriken suddenly simultaneously impaled her. Utsubokazura didn't even get a chance to let out his breath, as Iori popped into a cloud of smoke.

"Kage Bushin!?"

"You win the grand prize: MY FIST!" Utsubokazura turned to the right too late to his side to see Iori punch him across the jaw and into the window. The glass shattered, but thankfully he didn't tumble out.

Quickly, he prepared another jutsu. "Futon! Furyudan!" A dragon seemingly made from air flew straight to Iori, who was already countering with a better technique.

"Katon! Rasengan!" Iori used her own chakra to mold the sphere, while a bushin added the elemental composition. Hurling the sphere at the dragon, a cyclone of flame erupted and hurled Utsubokazura out the window.

Before he could scream for help, Iori, with the aid of some bushins, grabbed his ankle and pulled him back up. Throwing him onto his desk from there, she pounced on him and stabbed her kama into his shoulder. She then clamped his mouth with her foot to muffle his screams. "I would very much like to do this all day. But you caused more of a ruckus then I had expected, and I'm running out of time. So…" She raised her scythe, as Utsubokazura's eyes widened in horror. "…I will put an end to your life, right here and now!"

"VVAIIT!" He screamed through her foot. "VET MASM'T DE!"

Iori twitched her eyebrow, and slammed her other kama dangerously close to his head. She released her foot, and quickly grabbed his mouth before he could scream again. "Come again?" she hissed. Utsubokazura got the unsaid message: scream, and he dies.

The man before her wheezed. "I…I wasn't the one who ordered you to be exiled!"

Iori, unsatisfied, hoisted him into the air. "Yeah, sure. Seems like you were trying your hardest to keep me home by killing me. But if it wasn't you, then who?"

"He's not here; not anymore." Utsubokazura squeaked.

Iori slammed him back onto the desk. "Stop wasting my god damn time!? Who was it, and where the hell is he!?"

Utsubokazura took several deep gulps as he prepared to spill the beans. He was once a shinobi, but things were different now as a politician. "His name is Echiro Taka. Back then, he was the council man in the seat I'm in now. I was merely his servant and spokesperson at the time. Those things I said, encouraged…those were not my ideals! I was only following orders in the event the public would turn against him when coming after you and your demon father! Everything I did was on his orders, even if he were to deny it! It was to keep his hands clean!"

Iori suddenly tightened her grip on his throat. "But you went through with it, without hesitation. In fact, you looked forward to seeing me dead. How is that good enough for me to spare you!?" She proceeded to slam him against the bookcase behind them. "Did you stop to think, to what kind of man you were helping to make miserable!? What you were doing to a little girl, who had no idea of her lineage, and done nothing wrong!?" Tossing him aside, she clenched her fist, doing her best to keep her tears from flowing. "I discovered what my father was…and what I am. But how does containing a monster make one a monster!? Tell me!"

Utsubokazura only looked at her in fear. "TELL ME!" Iori yelled one more time.

"What difference does it make!?" Utsubokazura yelled, madness from fear taking over him. "Jinchuriki take the traits of the demons they contain; it's only a matter of time before their true nature takes over!"

"No." Iori growled, approaching him slowly. "It's only a matter of time before the person you think they are becomes reality. A self-fulfilling prophecy."

Suddenly, her hair started to show silver highlights, and her mouth grew fangs. Her nails grew into claws as well, seemingly negating the need for bladed weapons. **"Well, if that is what you're convinced I am…I'll give it to you! Just like you wanted!"** she yelled, her voice quickly becoming demonic.

Grabbing his neck, she dragged him across the floor. "No…please, wait! I'm sorry! Have mercy!" he begged, his nails desperately scratching the carpet.

His pleas seemed to have gone unheard, as she dragged him back to the window. Without hand signs, if this was a specific technique, she raised a stalagmite out of the ground. "Please…I've a family…" he sobbed.

"**So did I."** Iori growled, hoisting him out the window. **"So did I."**

Utsubokazura hit Iori's arm hard as he could to get free, but the jinchuriki offspring didn't flinch. Whether it was because her mind was overpowered with rage, or because her outflow of demonic chakra numbed pain, neither could say. "Good-by-"

She stopped her sentence as something caught her eye: a cracked photograph on the floor. Kicking it up with her foot, she caught it with her free hand. It showed Utsubokazura, his wife, and 3 kids. Iori felt wronged for so many years, and wanted her prey to feel the same as her. But, seeing his family, it stopped her. _"Why? Why can't I let go!?"_ She kept willing her hand to let go, but the command in her body seemed to go unheard. _"He tried to kill me! He took me away from Dad! It's only fair he suffers as much as I!"_

The sun had almost gone down. Realizing that her butterflies' sleeping powder would wear off soon, she pulled him back in and threw him to the floor. **"Eichiro Taka. Tell me where he is, fast! And I will let you go…"**

"After we drove you out…" Utsubokazura wheezed, "…he retired. I have not been in contact with him since, but I heard that he went to work for a businessman named Tigre."

"**Where can I find this 'Tigre'?"** Iori followed up.

"His home is in the Land of Waves." Utsubokazura wheezed. "I don't know if Taka's up there, but if not, he should know where he went."

Iori's mind flooded with memories of a summoned butterfly; much like the Kage Bushin, when they dispelled, their memories would become hers. Apparently, the surrounding ninja were waking up. _"Better get going."_ Iori glared at Utsubokazura one more time before throwing him back inside. Without looking back, she warned him "Next time, be careful who you screw with; they may come back to haunt you."

With that, Iori jumped out of the window, and vanished. Utsubokazura could only cry in joy at being spared.

* * *

A young, short-haired blond and slender tour guide walked down the steps of a port, looking as professional as possible. Walking around all day in a business dress and high heels was a pain, but it paid good money. Soon, she was face to face with a group of about 20 individuals. Some were businessmen, others looked like students looking for an apprenticeship. Others were simply tourists. "Hello, and welcome to Felidae Industries. We are the world's leading provider of all the latest technologies of all kind, and our goal is to create a more unified world and mitigate all of its problems. My name is Fubuki Tsukasa, and I will be your tour guide today."

An introduction exercise was done where members of the tour group introduced themselves as well, and what they hoped to gain from visiting the company's corporate headquarters. When it was over, Tsukasa announced "With that, I believe we are ready to begin. If you all will follow me, we will board the boat and arrive at Tiger Island in about 10 minutes." The tourists boarded the boat, and just lounged around, enjoying the nice day out at open sea.

Soon, the island came into view, and the tourists were stunned at what they saw. The island itself wasn't impressive; it was barely passable as a deserted island. Very small, and could not hold an ecosystem on its own. What drew their attention, were the buildings. Very, VERY tall buildings. From where they were, they appeared as extremely large rectangles of metal arranged with their longest sides reaching the sky.

One petite black haired woman dressed in a pink sundress and white hat exclaimed in awe "Those buildings must be a hundred meters tall!"

"Actually, our tallest one is 300 meters tall." Tsukasa corrected her as she approached. "The others range between 150 and 200 meters. Like what you see…miss…?

The young lady replied " Kiichigo. Enka Kiichigo. And yes, I'm impressed. I've never seen engineering like this."

Tsukasa, having been trained to anticipate responses to such statements, said "Tigre-sama wanted to have all of his departments concentrated in one location. Though he could have bought land on the main island, he felt it would hurt relations with the nationals. His father does not have the best reputation here, so Tigre-sama needed to something about the company's image. So, he made this island out of sea sand and came up with the idea of these 'sky scrapers'. This way, he can have all sorts of departments in one location."

Kiichigo nodded, smiling. "To get this done…I'm sure it's nothing to Tigre, but for anyone else this would cost a fortune."

"Well, he only spends his money if he thinks he'll get a good return…unless, of course, it involves one of his more philanthropic divisions." Tsukasa replied.

Soon, they approached the shore and disembarked. "I believe we have about 20 people here, correct? Please, write your names on these guest passes, and we can begin the tour!"

Soon, everyone was escorted inside the main building, where once more they all gasped in awe. The floor was made of polished marble, and the roof seemed to go on forever. The lobby itself was pretty sparse minus a few soft chairs and a reception desk, but to many that made it all the more impressive. Everyone also stared in wonder at set of stairs that were MOVING! "Felidae industries is always on the cutting edge of technology. What you see before you is an escalator. It's like a conveyor belt, only with stairs. It helps people relax while moving in a large area such as this."" Tsukasa said as she stepped ahead of everyone. "With that, we may begin the tour. And please, feel free to ask me any questions. Don't worry, I'm used to it." Everyone chuckled at the small joke.

The tourists were led up the "escalator" as Tsukasa called it, and were guided to the various departments to get a sample of how everyone worked. Most of it involved engineering. Others were involved in chemistry.

However, among them, Kiichigo was anxious. She wasn't finding the department she was looking for. _"Come on, come on. There has to be a biology department somewhere."_

"And finally, this is the biology department." Tsukasa told the tourists.

Kiichigo suppressed an urge to hiss "Yes!" Tsukasa began to talk about the company's involvement with this area of science, but Kiichigo was hearing none of it. Instead, her eyes wandered over to a restricted area. _"There's got to be something inside of there. First, I have to ditch this group."_ Making sure all were paying attention to the tour guide, she quickly made hand signs for the bushin no jutsu. Her chakra control was precise enough that the clone did not exude a puff of smoke when formed.

Before anyone could notice there was two of them, Kiichigo, who in reality was Sakura Haruno (who dyed her hair black), ducked behind a desk. The bushin did its job perfectly, following the group and not behaving too out of the ordinary. There were two problems, however; if anyone touched it, it would dissipate immediately. Also, too much distance between the clone and the original would have the same effect. It would have to do, though. Ninja never got much time during espionage missions and as such were trained to gather an hour's worth of information in a minute. As the group walked away for a lunch break, Sakura ran straight into the restricted area.

Her instincts made her instantly knock out a samurai guard with a chop before he even realized she was there. Quickly hiding his body under some tarp, she carefully made her way through the hall. She saw numerous biochemistry instruments at work, but nothing struck her as out of the ordinary and worth investigating.

Coming across a file cabinet, she decided to quickly take a peak. It was a good thing she was a very fast reader, otherwise this wouldn't have been practical. She didn't bother reading entire documents; not enough time and most of it would probably be junk anyway. She mostly looked at the document names and scanned the gist of their projects. Most had to do with antibiotics and findings of gene therapy. Nothing diabolical, but it was obvious that Tigre did not want to let the competition know what he had up his sleeve. Then, something caught her eye: Project KaUchiha, Fire Fan. _"The Uchiha clan's symbol was a fan…and they specialized in fire techniques. That can't be a mere coincidence…"_Quickly, Sakura pulled it out and quickly scanned it. At first, she was met with disappointment. Much of the document was blacked out, much like a classified document. But, Sakura slowly smiled as she realized that the company had more to protect than mere profits. _"I'll bring this with me and find a way to decipher it."_ After all, the document would have been shredded if NO ONE was meant to read it. She quickly sealed it in a small scroll, and looked to make sure no one saw her.

Her job wasn't done yet; she had to find more. It didn't look like she would find any more paper files on the matter, so she closed the cabinet and went about investigating more rooms. It seemed she wouldn't find anything unusual, until she heard something down the hall to her left.

"Are they finished yet?" A cold voice asked.

"Almost. They need more time to mature…"

It sounded like they were growing something; talking about it here, something they didn't want to be known. _"Better check it out."_ Quickly, Sakura cast a genjutsu that bended the light around her. She wasn't quite invisible; if she moved too quickly or got too close, they would be able to see the distortion that would give away her shape. Fortunately, Sakura was more than capable of handling herself in stealth situations.

Following where the sounds came from, she found what appeared to be a technician and another man in standard shinobi attire working on a computer. "This is unacceptable. We've confirmed one loss, and there are other buyers impatiently waiting for their products. Tigre-sama may even have to lower his prices. And that, my friend, will make him most unhappy." Judging by the threatening tone of his voice, it didn't seem like he really considered the other man a friend.

The technician stuttered "I-it's not my fault. I can't alter the rules of biology! It's even a miracle that we've conceptualized accelerated aging! It's either this or we'll have to grow them naturally. Another month, or 15 years. It's his choice." He said, with a little bit more courage in his voice this time around.

The other man said nothing at first, and turned away, walking down the hall. Sakura made sure to stay absolutely still and out of his direct line of sight. "Have them ready. No delays."

Sakura could see by the way he carried himself that the man was definitely a shinobi. He had black hair like a lion's mane, and black eyes, much like Sasuke's. He looked to be about 30. Though he was dressed in a business suit, she could see small pouches protruding all around his person. His expression also reminded her of Sasuke when she saw him as Orochimaru's pupil. _"Could he possibly-?"_ Sakura had no way of knowing right now, and it wasn't important at the moment. She had to wait for the technician to leave to take a look what he was working on. It looked like that wasn't going to happen anytime soon; it seemed he had a lot of work to do, and it was barely past lunch time. He may even pull an all-nighter tonight, and Sakura didn't have that kind of time. So, she would have to make him leave, if only for a few minutes.

"God damn, I only got an hour of sleep last night…" the technician grumbled as he picked up a cup of coffee and took a sip.

Sakura grinned, seeing her solution right there. _"I'm glad I insisted on bringing some of my medical equipment here." _Thankful that she was hiding with a genjutsu and that there was no one to see her, she hiked her dress up to reveal a pouch strap to her thigh. As a medic-nin, she made it a point to bring all sorts of medication with her in the event she could not treat someone with the mystical palm healing technique. Quickly sorting through the meds she bought, she found one that would do the trick. An emetic, medicine meant to irritate the GI tract and cause one to throw up. In the field, she would normally use this if someone was infected with some kind of poison and to quickly expel it if it had not yet reached the bloodstream. Sakura had to suppress a giggle. _"It's too bad Naruto isn't here."_ She thought. _"He would have loved to see this!" _

Quietly, she threw the pill into the man's cup. Hearing the splash it made, he looked around to see if anyone was there. Seeing nothing, he shrugged his shoulders, and returned to work. After a minute or two, he took another sip of his coffee. _"Three, two, one…"_ Sakura silently counted.

Suddenly, the technician's stomach growled loudly. He hunched over, beginning to breathe deeply. Then, he quickly brought his hand up to his mouth and made a beeline for the men's restroom.

Sakura, not wanting to waste anymore chakra, undid her genjutsu and went to the computer. While she worked with computers to store data for Tsunade and the rest of the medics and doctors, she couldn't decipher the specific programming that was on the screen. She would have to move even faster than with the paper files. Looking at her options below, she saw "Check Status" and "Eject Disk". Before moving on, Sakura decided to check on the former. The screen displayed data of some kind. Mostly numbers. She didn't have time to decipher the meaning, but she got a vague idea of what they were talking about. It said something about a subject with the characters "O" and "U". _"Could it stand for Uchiha Obito?"_ Sakura wondered.

"Hey, the tour guide said that one of the group members is missing." A voice down the hall said. "Go find her. We can't afford her having to find out things she isn't supposed to, whether it's accidental or not."

"_Shit!_ _I gotta bail!"_ Sakura quickly saved the computer's data onto the floppy disk inside, ejected it and stored it into the small scroll from before. She ducked around the corner as the samurai guards inspected the area. Not wanting to cause a ruckus, she went down the hall, hoping she would be able to escape without being seen. Seeing a room with the door slightly ajar, she entered, and quietly closed it. However, it seemed it lead to a dead end, as it was only a small lab. "Shit." Noticing a centrifuge machine, she decided to make some use of her predicament. Shutting the machine off, she took out a test tube and sealed it in the scroll along with the disk. It was probably nothing, but it might prove useful in the long run.

"Hey, wasn't that door open last time we walked past here?"

"Damn it." Sakura cursed. Today just wasn't the day for stealth. _"I don't have a choice now."_ She pulled out smoke pellets from her dress, and watched as security opened the door.

When the samurai spotted her, he drew his katana. "Found her!"

Quickly, Sakura threw the pellets and engulfed him in smoke. Sucker punching him before he could react, Sakura kicked off her heels and ko'd the guy's partner and made a break for it. "She's here! Inform Ameratsu!" someone down the hall shouted.

Sakura couldn't shake the coincidence of that name. _"Ameratsu?_ _That's a magenkyo sharingan technique! They must be growing Uchiha clones here!"_ Heading towards the windows, she hoped it prove to be a viable escape. Just when she reached them, she found a load of samurai to her left, right, and more were coming from behind where she was running. "Oh, of all the-!" The samurai from behind stepped away to let the black haired man Sakura saw earlier through. _"Could this be Ameratsu?"_

"You did well to get this far, especially with me as chief of security." He said, sounding rather condescending. "But this little charade has gone on far enough. Return what you've stolen, and we will forget this ever happened…in your case, literally."

Sakura only crouched into a fighting stance, showing no apparent fear at the seemingly overwhelming odds. "Sorry, but my mission comes first."

Ameratsu's expression remained unchanged. "As you wish. Take her!" He commanded the samurai. Quickly, before they could come close, Sakura slammed her arms and one leg onto the floor, causing the floor to crumble underneath them. While most fell to the floor below, Ameratsu made sure he and his unit would not go with them. "Bakufu Kyuushuu no Jutsu!" A small, green barrier was erected, and the shockwave from Sakura's strikes seemingly vanished.

"_He absorbed it!?"_ Before Sakura could analyze the situation, a loud bang exploded through the room, as well as a sudden and searing pain through her arm. "AHHH!" Sakura gripped her arm, noticing it was bleeding profusely. Thankfully, it seemed nothing vital was damaged. _"Whatever that was…that was no kunai!"_ She also noticed that the glass behind her had a large crack in it. Whatever hit her had enough power to shatter samurai armor…and yet, the actual hole it made was so tiny. _"To create that much force…I can't imagine something traveling that fast!"_

Looking back to Ameratsu's squad, she noticed one of the men hold a strange instrument. It seemed to have some handle, and the rest of the body was a small piece of metal pointing towards her. What really caught her attention, though, was the smoke that seemed to be coming out of the end. "Your aim with that little toy is pathetic." Ameratsu commented, bored. "A shuriken would have pierced her throat with no problem."

"Do you want to finish her off then, sir?" one of the samurai asked.

Ameratsu just turned around and said "No need to sully my hands on such an easy kill. Just make sure you finish her now that she can't move."

"_That's what you think."_ Quickly, Sakura smashed the glass behind her, and leaned back. The samurai fired their strange weapons, but thankfully none hit their mark. Before gravity took over, she saw what seemed to be a small metal ball whizzing past her face at incredible speed. _"Could that be it? What hit me before!?"_ Sakura didn't have time to mull over the mechanics of the device. In a few seconds, if she didn't act fast, she was going to be a nice red pile of goo on the ground below. Swiping the blood from her arm, she made the hand signs for summoning. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Katsuya appeared beneath her right before they hit bottom, and Sakura was cushioned from a hard landing, thanks to Katsuya's composition. "Katsuya, get us out of here!" she commanded her best summon.

"Right away, Sakura-sama!" The slug absorbed her inside her body, and crawled into the ocean.

* * *

"You're worried about her." It was a statement, not a question that Kakashi said to Naruto. The two were playing a game of shogi (which Kakashi was winning handedly) at Tazuna's while they awaited Sakura's [hopeful] return.

"I should have gone with her." Naruto muttered, absent-mindedly moving a piece into Kakashi's trap.

Whether his performance in the game was to be expected or hindered by his worries, Kakashi couldn't be sure. "Naruto, you know that Sakura is capable of handling herself." He said, trying to make him think rationally.

"Oh, like that's supposed to make me feel better." Naruto grumbled, seemingly not noticing his piece being taken.

Kakashi sighed, exasperated at his student's attitude. "Naruto, you know I sent Sakura out there alone because she was the best one out of all of us to go. She's the only one with sufficient medical knowledge to know where to search and what to look for. Even if we went with her as family like our arrival here, security would get suspicious if we didn't raise alarm at her absence. And we probably would have made things worse if we went with her."

Naruto only sighed in response, moving a piece even he knew would be captured, obviously not caring. Kakashi decided to take a different approach to quell Naruto's worries as he claimed the piece. "Naruto, look. If you're still planning on becoming Hokage, you're going to have to accept the fact that you will be putting those you love in danger." Naruto said nothing as he moved his next piece, but Kakashi could tell he was listening. "While it's true that the Hokage's job is to protect the village, he must also provide for his people and allow them to grow. Also, the village's shinobi is thought of as an extension of the Hokage's will. You will have to attend to all matters not just in fire country, but possibly the entire continent. While some missions may require you personally, you can't be everywhere at once. That is why you'll have to put many shinobi, including your closest friends, in danger. All you will be able to do is to trust them, their abilities, their will to live, and hope for the best."

Naruto at first said nothing. Finally, he spoke. "It was different, as a kid. Back when I was bragging about how I would become Hokage. For years, I didn't think of the consequences of the job. I thought I would be the absolute, BEST, Hokage. But, now that I've had time to grow up, and to think…I now know, no matter how good a leader is, no matter how good we've been at assuring none of our comrades die…sooner or later, we'll slip up. And it terrifies me." He finished, giving him a fearful look Kakashi almost never saw in his student.

Kakashi only nodded his head, showing he understood. "I know. I remember back when we were dealing with Zabuza. I put on a brave face for all of you, promising that none of you would die. But the truth was, I was worried sick that I could not keep my promise. I knew what Zabuza was capable of; with them, there were no guarantees. But, you have to remember: everything we do, we do for the sake of the village. And…in some cases, for the sakes of others as well. We don't fight because we want to, but because we have to. And, as Hokage, you'll see that many of the missions you'll be assigning will require shinobi to avoid fighting if possible. And I'm sure, when that time comes, you'll know who to pick."

Naruto nodded, showing him he understood. "I know Ba-chan had to go through tough times. And I'd imagine she still has to, being Hokage now." Though Naruto didn't keep track of missions Tsunade assigned, he knew from the moderately common funerals that every now and then, there would always be one shinobi who would meet the shinigami. Tsunade personally attended them all, and while she was not as broken up when her brother and lover died, he could see she felt responsible for their deaths.

"Maybe you and her are due for a talk." Kakashi said as he claimed Naruto's king. "Care to play again?" Kakashi asked, smiling smugly underneath his mask.

Naruto grumbled and got up. "If I knew the majority of this mission would involve playing shogi with you, I would have gladly invited Shikamaru to come."

"AHHHH!" That was Inari! Quickly, Naruto and Kakashi raced out into the yard where they heard the scream come from. Kanshou also joined them, preparing to draw his sword against any danger that may threaten his ward. Finding Inari splayed on the ground in panic, Naruto was about to ask what was wrong, when they saw some mass shifting the earth above it. It looked like whatever it was, it was about to break free. And it was big. Then, a gray blob popped out, with what seemed to be tentacles sprouting out of its head. "W-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" Inari screamed, his face turned blue and his pointing arm trembling.

Naruto patted him on the shoulder. "Relax. It's just one of Sakura's summons." Though he was calm on the outside, inside he was panicking. If Sakura had to summon to return, it meant something went wrong. To summon Katsuya…it could only mean she was hurt.

"What the heck did she summon!? The blob!?" Inari shouted, his eyes still not convinced that what he was seeing was a benign creature.

Seeing a slug's details up close and enlarged seemed to be turning him green. Finally, Sakura emerged from Katsuya's body. For a second she seemed to be thankful to be out of the slug's body, but it immediately turned to embarrassment upon seeing everyone seeing her covered in mucus. "Thank you, Katsuya. You may go now." She said, doing her best to mask her embarrassment. Katsuya disappeared, while Kakashi used a doton jutsu to cover up the hole.

"S-Sakura!" Inari said, seemingly recovered from his frightful experience. Despite her state, Inari thought she still looked beautiful. Trying to look as cool as possible, he asked "How'd it go!?"

Before Sakura could answer (or acknowledge his existence) Naruto came up to her and gently gripped her arm. "You're hurt!" he scolded her upon noticing the scar.

Sakura pulled her arm away, giving him a slightly annoyed look. "I'm fine; it's just a flesh wound. I've healed most of it." She admonished him.

"Since you summoned Katsuya to get here," Kakashi interrupted, "I take it there was some trouble."

Sakura nodded. "I'll tell you all about it. But to answer the most important questions, I don't believe I was followed, nor did they deduce my identity. My disguise held up." Sakura took a deep breath. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I've spent an hour in Katsuya's body as you can see, my arm is caked in blood, and I really want to get this dye out of my hair. In other words, I need a shower."

Kanshou bowed and walked towards the house "I'll prepare the water." He said as he went about his task.

"Thank you."

While Naruto and Kakashi were neutral, Inari's face turned red. _"S-Sakura!? Showering!? In my house!?"_ Seeing Sakura's thighs move as she walked inside only entertained those thoughts further.

* * *

Sakura stepped out of the shower, and grabbed a towel to wrap her body in. While some of her natural pink began to show, she still needed to rinse her hair in the sink. She went over, and let out a pleasurable sigh. She normally didn't get a bath right after a harrowing reconnaissance mission, so it certainly helped to put her in a good mood. However, there was one thing off: Someone was watching. Normally, she would have pulverized any pervert who was trying to peak on her, and, kami forbid in the event she couldn't handle the intruder, scream for help. However, this was one person she was more than comfortable with allowing to see her undressed. "You know, I could tell you were there the entire time. If you wanted to join me, you could have just said so." she said, her foul mood gone like it never existed.

Naruto, who was leaning back against the wall and enjoying the sights, smirked. "I did. But I'm only a kage bushin; the real Naruto had me transform into a small piece of debris and placed me on you, just to make sure everything was alright. I probably would've evaporated if things got too hot here. Besides, with the way things normally go between us, I didn't want to traumatize Inari."

Sakura smirked as she got the last of the dye out. "So, you noticed too? Jealous?" she teased him as she reached for her hair brush.

Naruto, as far as Sakura was concerned at least, only chuckled lightly. "Of course not. We've done things that Inari can only imagine in his wildest dreams!" Naruto then got the feeling in the air that Sakura was being serious. "Don't fret about it, Sakura-chan. It's just a crush, that's all. He just met you after years of separation. He'll be fine."

"I know." Sakura said as she whipped her pink hair back where it belonged. "But I had a crush to. I know what it's like when you feel brushed off and ignored…I'd imagine you know what I'm talking about as well."

Naruto only sighed. "Well…you want to let him take you out on a date?" he asked. "Not like we do, of course. But, you know, just let him show you around Wave?"

Sakura stared at the mirror quizzically as she brushed her hair. "Are you sure about that? Inari may have a hard crush on me, but he's not blind. I'm worried taking him on a date that won't even lead to anything would only hurt him even more."

Naruto shrugged. "I doubt it. Remember when I came back after training? Back then, when I asked you out on dates, I was certain you would never return the feelings I felt for you. I just wanted to spend time with you…and for you to acknowledge me." Naruto finally stood up straight. "Just think about it for a bit. But, more importantly…" Naruto came up behind her and hugged her gently. While Sakura agreed with Naruto to not make love in their host's house…with him touching her with only a towel on, it was hard to resist the temptation. "…Sorry."

Sakura only smiled slightly as she leaned back into him. "What for?"

"For treating you like a kid." Naruto told her. "I know you can take care of yourself. I just couldn't help but be worried sick. And, that wound…I'm no medical ninja, but I can tell that was a serious injury earlier."

Sakura turned around and kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry too. I know you were just concerned. I just had a rough day…and spending part of it inside a slug didn't help…that I kind of just lashed out." Sakura said as she leaned against his chest.

Naruto leaned forward for a full lip kiss with her. "So, I'll take it you'll explain everything?" he asked again.

Sakura's small smile turned grim as she faced him. "Yeah. I'll tell you all about when Kakashi-sensei can join us. But I can say they have Uchiha clones…I'm sure of it."

* * *

Uxota-Waterfront

Kanshou-Atoll

Byakko-White Tiger, also known as one of four Chinese mythological beasts

Kurohyou-Black Panther

Hyakujuunoou-Lion

Hamaguri-Clam

Utsubokazura-Pitcher Plant

Tatsumaki Shuriken no Kaze-Wind Shuriken Twister

Furyudan-Air Dragon Missile

Kiichigo Enkan-Raspberry of the Summer

Bakufu Kyuushuu-Shock Wave Absorption

* * *

That's it for this chapter! I think you know what the next chapter is going to play out…just not how XD On another note, I gave Tazuna a last name; I checked the Narutopedia site, and if he had one listed I would have gladly used it. So, hopefully you'll see the next chapter in a couple of months!


	41. In The End I Know

There is no excuse. I'm so sorry I've kept you all waiting. I promised I would make chapters shorter, but I wanted to get all of this out of the way in one fell swoop, and this is the result. Next time, I will try harder to make that happen.

I only hope you all continue to enjoy, and next time I'll do my best to cut these long chapters by three, even if it means ending on a cliffhanger or random scene.

* * *

A carriage pulled up towards a dilapidated warehouse district in the middle of the night. Byakko waited inside at the top floor of one close by, observing his visitor through a broken window. As the building was technically condemned, the samurai police typically didn't bother with these places unless they were informed. Outside, he saw Hyakuunjou, who in reality was the Konoha Chunin Naka Shiguri, step out of the carriage. Byakko took note of the driver; a boy about Shiguri's age, with glasses. _"Could this guy be undercover?"_ Byakko doubted it immediately upon thinking it; whatever this boy was to Hyakuunjou, he looked too frail and pathetic to be of any help. His ridiculous foreign get up further hinted that he was just a servant. Still, even servants could snitch. "Ookami, go ask about the driver." he ordered a thug

The servant stepped out of the driver's seat and walked inside, pulling on a long chain. Three women with bags over their heads, and their bodies covered in potato sacks, grunted as they were forced outside. "Who's he?" Ookami asked, pointing at the bespectacled Yuji.

"My servant." Shiguri replied, showing no signs of fear or anxiousness in his voice. "He's mute, so he couldn't snitch if he tried. And besides, I haven't been able to confirm it, but I think he's kind of retarded."

Yuji suppressed an urge to give him a dirty look, but that didn't stop a vein on his forehead from popping.

"Even so, he's not coming in." Ookami ordered. "You bring the merchandise in, and he stays. If these guys here see anything suspicious…"

Before Ookami could finish, Shiguri nodded in understanding. Turning to Yuji, he said, "Why don't you take a break, Jeevey? I'll take it from here." Shiguri took the chains from him, and went inside.

Hearing the yakuza barricade the doors behind him, he knew there would be no escape if he blew his cover. _"Fat chance of that happening."_ he thought suppressing a grin. _"I'm just too good at this bad kid stuff."_

"Well, show me what you got." Byakko stepped into view, flanked by his guards.

Shiguri brought the "merchandise" forward without hesitation, tugging on the chain hard for good measure. "These were a few tourists who were stupid enough to travel by themselves with no knowledge of self-defense. I had to move them away from their point of kidnapping to ensure no one would be able to trace us."

Byakko nodded, satisfied with his street smarts. "Only three?" he asked incredulously.

"We just started." Shiguri replied. "My men have confirmed finding others; they'll be ready soon enough. These are the ones I am most eager to get out to market, and see if your best customer would be interested."

Byakko pulled the bag off the first one. This one had quite a pretty face, with alluring hair. The style was rather plain, but some of the female yakuza could fix that. "Not bad." Byakko nodded in satisfaction.

"Let me go, please!" the girl cried, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Byakko than felt her body, predictably eliciting screams of disgust from the poor girl. "Great body type as well. I think she'll do." Byakko motioned for his men to take her into another room.

"Alright, so far so good. Now, what do we have here?" Pulling the bag off of the next, even Byakko was stunned. Her face alone was so womanly. Her purple hair made her look exotic. And those lips…many noble women paid good service to get lips like those through surgery, but there was nothing like the natural thing. "Looks like we have a real winner here." He smirked, cupping the captive's cheek.

"Fuck you!" she suddenly screamed, spitting on him.

"You'll learn to watch your tongue, you little tramp!" He yelled, backhanding her and seemingly knocking her out.

"Sorry about that." Shiguri apologized sheepishly. "That one's been a problem since I got her."

"She's a fighter, I'll give her that." Byakko said, wiping his face with a handkerchief. "Don't worry, though; we've got just what the doctor ordered for ones like this." Taking the opportunity to inspect her body while she was still out cold, he smiled in satisfaction. "Mmm. I'm tempted to keep this one for myself. But, I've had my fair share of bombshells like these. I suppose I can part with her."

The men dragged her into the back without their boss having spoken a word. "So far so good. Hopefully, this will be the grand prize of your bunch." Lifting the bag off, he looked even more stunned than before. A young woman with sparkling blond hair and blue eyes faced him. One side of her face was covered with bangs, making her look like she was begging for it despite her sad and frightened look. Byakko only grinned menacingly. "I just may have to have a little bit of fun with this one myself before selling her."

Though he couldn't see it, Shiguri clenched his fist slightly hearing his comment. _"Keep it together…she can take care of herself." _he reminded himself silently.

Ino pretended to be so frightened that she couldn't even speak, shaking her body as if trembling with fear. Byakko inspected her body as well, and sent her away. "Well kid, I must say, I am impressed with your tastes. You were wise to bring them to me; they're definitely top quality."

Shiguri, trying to remain nonchalant, replied, "So, I'm just curious; who is the buyer?"

"Don't know." Byakko replied. "His representative makes the purchases. Safety in case we're found out."

"Makes sense." Shiguri said, hiding his dissatisfaction with the answer. "I'd love to stick around, but I've got to get the rest of the merchandise ready. It could take a while, and our business here is concluded."

"Whatever happens, just make sure you come here in 4 days." Byakko handed him a sheet of paper, detailing another address. "We'll be having the auction here; I'll introduce you to the guy. And remember, same procedure as before." He gripped Shiguri's hand, squeezing. Though he was old and never a ninja, Shiguri could only imagine how much he could bench press. Though it looked like a friendly gesture, Shiguri could tell he was giving him a silent warning. Byakko may have fallen for his story, but he didn't trust him completely. And Shiguri knew he had ways of ensuring collateral in case anyone double-crossed him. "I'll see you there." With that, he walked off, and Shiguri was allowed to leave.

Shiguri returned to the carriage, silently thankful that Yuji was unharmed. He got inside and told him "Get going." emphasizing the gruffness in his voice. Yuji cracked the reigns, and the horses took off.

When they were out of earshot, Yuji turned back and looked at Shiguri incredulously. "Retarded? Where the hell did that come from?"

"Makes you even less threatening… which isn't exactly hard to do to those who don't know you." Shiguri smirked. Noticing the silence that permeated the atmosphere, Shiguri did his best to save face. "Aw, come on! You know that's not what I really think of you! I'm not exactly in a situation where I can be nice!"

Another moment of silence. Shiguri feared he might have truly offended him, until Yuji sighed in defeat. "Fine. I believe you." Shiguri sighed with relief as well. "I guess if we were going that route, I couldn't read my manga while I was waiting."

"Well, so long as you make funny noises for the sound effects they probably wouldn't have gotten TOO suspicious." Shiguri commented humorously.

"But what's really bugging me is letting Ino-sensei and the others alone with them. You think they will be alright?" he asked apprehensively.

"Chivalrous as ever, huh? Don't worry, they're all experienced kunoichi; they'll be fine." Shiguri said, seemingly confident in his answer, but truthfully had the same fears as his friend. What made it even scarier was that their jonin superiors were essentially captives, and if something went wrong, it would be up to him and Yuji.

Yuji replied, "I hope you're right about that."

"By the way, how are the transmitters working?" Shiguri asked. His senseis were trying out a new model designed to look like a hairpin; none of the yakuza would think to discard them

"I'm not able to hear much; a bit of sobbing, some sighing. None of them are from anyone I recognize. I guess that just means they're being prepped like Byakko said. Hopefully, Ino-sensei and the others are okay for now." Yuji informed him as he pressed the receiver in his ear.

"So far, so good." Shiguri commented. "I wouldn't expect for us to hear anything valuable, not now. Hopefully they'll be able to keep them throughout the duration of the operation."

"One other thing." Yuji said. "The other merchandise you mentioned. What are we going to do about that? Yugo and Temari-sensei were the only kunoichi available for this mission; there is no way we'll be able to get a harem together"

Shiguri took a moment to brainstorm on that. "Shit." He finally cursed. "I didn't think that far ahead. He just mentioned how little quantity I had, and I just said something on instinct to save face. If we don't come up with something fast, our cover will be blown for sure."

"I've an idea." Yuji said. "Hyakujuuno's story is that his father was killed during a samurai raid, right? Statistically speaking, the number of busts has gone up. Maybe you can tell him that you were found out, and had to escape without them."

Shiguri slightly nodded in satisfaction. "One problem, though; it has to be convincing."

"Leave that to me." Yuji replied, his enthusiasm finally returning. "Medical ninjutsu is good for more than just healing and poisoning."

Shiguri's eyes widened as his mind began to comprehend what he meant by making the story "authentic". "Yuji...what are you planning?"

* * *

Ino was thrown into an empty cell along with Yugo and Temari. They would be together inside for only a few minutes, as the Yakuza had to prepare to hook them on the most addictive opium they could find. Ino, not wanting to risk alerting the guards to their true identities touched her comrades' foreheads and set up a mind link between them.

"_Plain hair? Shikamaru likes it!"_ was the first thought coming out of Temari, not yet realizing they were linked.

"_Well, Shikamaru does have different tastes from most other people."_ Ino replied. That got her a dirty look from Temari. Ino could only smile nervously in response.

"_Anyway, back to the mission at hand."_ Yugo interrupted, her no-nonsense attitude diffusing the situation before it got out of hand. _"Ino, do you believe Dandelion-san will be here, or at the auction?"_

Ino replied _"No, I doubt it. Judging by the time between she went missing and now, I fear she was already bought." _

"_The question is, from whom?"_ Yugo thought.

"_It will be almost impossible to trace her at this point."_ Temari commented in apparent defeat.

"_Impossible for most anyone but me."_ Ino reminded them. _"This was to be expected though; and that's why Tsunade-sama selected me for this mission."_

"_So, Ino."_ Yugo asked. _"What's the plan now?"_

"_We simply wait for the auction, and we'll move on from there. Has everyone got their naloxone pills?" _The two nodded affirmatively. Naloxone was a competitive antagonist to opioids, and would help prevent them from becoming addicted to the opium that Byakko was about to administer into their systems. Ino may not have been at Sakura's or Tsunade's level, but she was an accomplished medic in her own right.

Suddenly, their cage opened. "Hurry up!" one of them yelled to three other thugs, as the three kunoichi were roughly grabbed by the shoulders. "We need to get these whores prime and ready!"

* * *

The next morning, in Wave, Sakura sat down at the kitchen munching on bacon and eggs that Tsunami prepared. It would take a while for the results from the objects she gathered from Felidae industries to come back to her via Katsuya. But Tsunade was a fast worker when she had to be; they should be back soon. Suddenly, Tazuna came in, carrying a large piece of paper. "Morning, Tazuna-san. What's that you got there?"

"I remember you telling me about your little trip to Felidae Island and that unknown weapon. I suspected I knew what it was, and I just need to confirm it." Laying out the blue prints on the kitchen table, he made sure that Sakura could see the designs clearly. "Was this the object you saw?" Tazuna asked Sakura as she finished her last bite.

Sakura looked at the diagram, observing the handle, and the barrel of the device. "Yes. I'm sure of it." Sakura said. "On its own, it didn't look dangerous. But something about it packs a punch. What is it?"

"It's called a gun, a pistol to be exact." Tazuna replied as he pointed to the different parts of the weapon. "It uses flint, iron, and gunpowder. This piece…the trigger, right here…is pulled, and a piece of flint is pulled with it, creating sparks via friction from the iron stored. The sparks inside lights the gunpowder in the barrel here, and the explosion inside will propel the metal balls, which we call bullets."

Sakura was genuinely impressed. "Ingenious. How do you know about these?"

"They're part of our standard military now, and we're slowly making them available to citizens provided they're not criminals and spend at least 2 years of military training. Ever since Gato, we've agreed that we couldn't rely on our geographic protection and began making weapons that would even give shinobi a run for their money. The pistol was one of our first, and now we're making another variety with longer range, accuracy, and if worse comes to worse, can be used in melee combat. But enough about all this; a private company shouldn't be able to get these yet. Which means…"

"… wherever they're getting these things from, it's from within the government." Sakura finished for him.

Tazuna sighed. "I might have a few suspects in mind. I'll look into it."

"Tazuna-san…don't!" Sakura warned him. "You'll put yourself in danger…"

Tsunami, overhearing the conversation, was about to agree with Sakura, but Tazuna gave his reply quickly. "If what you say is true, we're already in danger!" Tazuna huffed. Rising from the seat, he began to adjust his tie. "I've got to go to work, and I'd feel better if I was more proactive about it. Don't worry, I can handle myself; I know how to be subtle." Tazuna, upon observing his daughter's look, sighed. No matter how sure he was of an opinion, with that look Tsunami could force him to compromise. "However, I do have one request."

"Name it." Sakura answered.

"In case something happens, look after my family." Tazuna told her. "I'll be sure to keep myself alive, but I need you to make sure Tsunami and Inari remain safe."

Sakura replied "Naruto and I should be enough to protect your daughter and grandson. But Kakashi-sensei is going with you; Tigre has Uchiha clones, that I'm sure of, and shinobi of that quality have ways of assassination in broad daylight an plain view."

Having a feeling this was an argument he couldn't win, he sighed in defeat. "Very well then. I'm counting on you." Looking at his watch, Tazuna cursed under his breath. "Shit. I nearly forgot to wake Inari. He's going to be late for work."

Sakura's eyebrows quirked in surprise. "Inari's not in school?"

"He can go back any time he wants." Tazuna answered. "He wanted to learn some skills, however, and given how unstable our economy and situation was only a few years ago, we thought it would be good for him to learn some skills he could always fall back on."

"I'll go wake him up." Tsunami answered. "I'm done here, so it's no problem."

"Don't worry about it, sweetie." Tazuna waved to his daughter. "I'll handle it myself."

* * *

_Inari sprinted through the forest, not knowing the when or why, and finally reached the beach. It was always his favorite place to go; it helped him feel safe and forget about his troubles in the world. He couldn't remember why he came here; it felt like it was supposed to be something important. _

"_Inari…" a feminine voice said._

_Inari turned to his left…and his jaw dropped at the sight of what he saw. _

_Sakura was only a few feet away from him, wearing only a shell necklace that failed to cover her breasts (minus the most important part), and a tiny grass skirt that barely passed as a loincloth. If even a slight breeze blew, Sakura would have been completely exposed to him, yet this did not seem to bother her._ _Instead, she seemed to look forward to such an "accident"._

_Inari didn't dare make a sound; even if this was wrong, the sight before him was just too good to ruin. _

"_I've been looking for you…" She inched towards him closer, slowly and seductively, teasing him with her thighs, her forbidden treasures threatening to escape their flimsy confines. "I need a real man…to satisfy me…" _

_Before Inari could reply, Sakura suddenly kissed him._ _There was nothing chaste about it; it was hungry and needy. Inari lost the precise details of what was happening to him, but he didn't care. He never thought he would experience anything like this in his teenage years. He went with it, and had what was perhaps the best time of his life. _

_It seemed he was a natural at this, as Sakura only kept moaning his name. "Inari…Inari…" _

_When it seemed their tryst was about to come to a spectacular end, her voice began to change._ _It became deeper…hoarser than any woman should be. "Inari…Inari…" _

_She was beginning to sound like an old man, yet Inari couldn't stop to his horror. Come to think of it, she sounded like…"Grandpa!?" _

_Suddenly, beneath him, instead of Sakura, was his grandfather! "Inari…"_

* * *

Tazuna shook his grandson a bit rougher. _"Man!__ This kid will probably sleep through the apocalypse one day." _Raising his voice, he said "For the last time kid, wake-"

"AHHHH!" Inari bolted up from his bed, his face covered in cold sweat. Checking his surroundings, and seeing his grandfather next to him (fully clothed, thank goodness), he began to calm down. "A dream…it was only a dream…" he panted.

Tazuna gave his grandson a worried look. "Inari…what's wrong? What were you-?" He cut his sentence off when he was noticing something protruding from Inari's blanket. Both Tazuna and Inari turned red at the sight of it. "Oh…" Tazuna groaned, looking at his grandson sheepishly. Then, he realized exactly what Inari dreamed of and how he contributed to it. "Oh!..." he exclaimed in realization. Suddenly, he clapped his hand over his mouth, trying to prevent the laughter threatening to escape from coming out his mouth. He failed miserably, and had to hunch over as he laughed. "HAHAHAHA!" he bellowed. "No wonder you woke up with such a cold sweat!" He continued laughing at the absurdity of intruding on Inari's wet dream. "I can't blame you; I'd be traumatized too if I was getting frisky with…with…" He giggled manically like a child. "…myself!" he finally burst out.

Inari feared his grandfather would roll on the floor any minute, assuming he did not curl up and die first. "It's not funny gramps! I'm scared for life now!" he complained.

"Hey, it could have been worse." Tazuna said, seemingly calming down. "It could have been some of my co-workers. Trust me, they're even uglier than me!" Inari didn't have a reply for that; it would have been all the same to him. "Anyway, get a cold shower in and get dressed! You're running late!" Tazuna exited Inari's room, as his grandson only sighed.

"I've a feeling today's going to be a long day."

* * *

"_Rin?" a 13-year-old Kakashi knocked on the door of his surviving teammate's apartment. Things had never been the same since Kannabi Bridge; the loss of Obito took a toll on everyone who knew him. However, Kakashi and Minato were somewhat able to go on with their lives. At least Minato had Kushina. And, if nothing else, Kakashi had the promise he made to Obito to keep him going forward._ _However, ever since the Sandaime granted them some R and R, Kakashi had not seen Rin once. He feared she never even left her apartment. "Rin! Please, open up!" he shouted, more frightened than angry about what he might see. Kakashi was about to give up, when he heard faint footsteps across the door. Finally, it opened._

_Kakashi's face dropped at what he saw. Rin looked like a mess. Dark circles ran under her eyes, her hair was disheveled…and her eyes were red, indicating she had been crying profusely._ _She was only dressed in a large T-shirt; normally Kakashi would sternly tell her to get dressed, but Kakashi knew that it was another sign of her depression and decided not to bother her about it. "Rin…" he said, to finally break the silence._ _"…I haven't seen you in a while. I was worried." Rin didn't respond; it was almost as if she didn't even see Kakashi. "May I come in?" Kakashi didn't wish to intrude, but she clearly needed some kind of intervention, or at least someone to talk to. _

_Rin walked away, leaving the door slightly ajar. Deciding that was a silent cue for permission, Kakashi helped himself inside, taking notice of the state of Rin's apartment. He'd been here a couple of times; the most recent event he could recall was when Rin held a celebration for him being promoted to jonin. At the time, he only accepted the invitation out of courtesy. __**"Even if I didn't love her, I should have at least accepted her as a friend…" **__He remembered how spotlessly clean and organized it was back then._ _Now, a fine layer of dust was gathering on the furniture, and papers and other belongings were haphazardly thrown about the place._

_Rin then placed a teacup in front of Kakashi. "I'm sorry. All I have right now is water; I haven't really been expecting company." _

_Kakashi thanked her anyway, and gulped down the water quickly, like he always did when eating in the presence of others. "Rin…I miss Obito too." Kakashi finally said, knowing the exact cause of her distress._

_Rin at first, said nothing. Finally, she replied "Not like me, you don't."_

_Kakashi turned, and grasped her hand. "Was it a mistake? Telling you Obito's feelings for you?" _

_Rin gripped her cup tightly; Kakashi feared she might even break it. "I'm not sure…" Rin finally replied. She sniffled a bit. "But…ever since he died, nothing feels right. When Obito was around, even in the darkest of times, the world always seemed fun, and I had a feeling that no matter how bad things got, things would work out._ _Now, without him…this world feels so empty."_

_Kakashi didn't have anything to say to that. "He was my best friend. Always. And I didn't even realize it until that damn mission." Kakashi's palms clenched. "If I could only let go of what happened to my father…my fears of the consequences…I would have gone with him from the start._ _And_…_and we would all be together." _

"_You shouldn't blame yourself, Kakashi." Rin responded, still not looking at him. "Instead…you should blame me." _

_Kakashi immediately bolted up from the couch and grabbed her wrist firmly, staring right into her eyes. "Rin, there was nothing more you could do for him. Obito…was happy to give his life for you." _

"_Well, I'm not!" Rin suddenly screamed as she tore her hand away from him. _

_Kakashi tried to reach out to her. "Rin, please…" _

"_No, you don't understand!" Rin shouted. "I'm a medic-nin. Your life, Obito's, you were both my responsibility._ _And, if I couldn't have kept him alive…" Tears flowed down Rin's cheeks freely. "…I should have at least stayed with him until the end." Kakashi was at a loss on how to comfort her. If anything, for her safety, he took her away from Obito as he was dying under the avalanche. "Can you imagine, what it must be like?_ _Still alive under a pile of rubble…watching as you're friends run away?" Rin wiped her nose with a Kleenex Kakashi handed her. "Even worse…the girl you love leaves you, without her ever knowing your feelings." _

_Desperately trying to comfort her,_ _Kakashi hugged her and said "Rin, it's alright. It will be okay, I promise…"_

"_No Kakashi._ _It WON'T be okay!" she screamed, pushing him away and onto the coffee table with strength that surprised the young jonin. "Obito may have not been perfect…but he was brave, kind and…"_ _Rin had trouble spitting the words out. "I can't describe it." _

_Kakashi softly touched her shoulder, refusing to back down just yet. "You don't have to." he said._ _"But whatever you feel Obito is to you now…and whatever I am to you…please, know that I'm here for you, however you want. You're the person Obito cherished most…and you're my friend. I promise, I'll protect you, whether it be from others… or yourself." _

_It took a moment for Rin to respond. "Is that all you came here for?" she seemed to ask coldly. _

_Kakashi stuttered "W-well, technically, yes, but…" _

"_You should go; I'd like to be alone right now." Rin got up from the couch, and headed towards her bedroom._

_Kakashi could only look in shock._ _He decided that now that he learned what was troubling Rin, it would be best to give her some space until he could figure out a better way to approach her. Walking out, he said "Obito…you have no idea how much she misses you…"_

* * *

"Kakashi…Kakashi! You awake!?"

Kakashi was brought out of his trip down memory lane by a loud knocking on his door. He was awake for the past hour doing that. "I'm up. I'll be with you shortly." He called back. Kakashi rose, and glanced out the window. _"Obito…were you really alive? All this time?" _Kakashi dreaded the answer, no matter what it might turn out to be. But, he knew, no matter what, he had to face it. _"I have to make sure…for the sake of Rin's soul…"_

* * *

Elsewhere, on a ship out in the sea, the crew went about their usual business. There were a couple of guest workers down in the deck…they would collect their money and be dropped off at their next stop. It irritated the regulars that the captain would allow vagabonds to work at half the wage they would, but it was either keep quiet or speak up and lose their jobs.

There was one other person that was not normally part of their crew…a stowaway. Normally, such a person would be locked up…if not thrown overboard. But, somehow, the young girl got on the captain's good side.

Two foremen carrying a large crate observed as she peeled away at the potatoes. Neither could doubt that she was cute, but they were still wondering how she convinced the captain to allow her to stay on board. "Hey, you think she-?"

"Doubt it." His friend asked as they lowered their heavy cargo. "Cap's devoted to his wife, you know? Besides, he's got a daughter about her age. I guess she appealed to his soft spot."

"Well, at least she's working for free; unlike those other patches."

"Well, if you want to stay employed, I suggest you keep your mouth shut either way."

Suddenly, the whistle blew. "Lunch time!" one exclaimed.

All sailors went down to the cafeteria to take their much-needed break (in their opinion anyway). Iori, however, continued peeling away. She didn't feel like company, let alone amongst gruff men who probably would stop at the nearest brothel as soon as they reached land. And…though it sickened her to think like this…peeling the potatoes made her imagine peeling the skull of her father's betrayer. Some deranged pleasure seemed to come from it…

"I haven't seen anyone so focused, if not enthralled, with peeling the potatoes." Someone next to her said.

Iori turned to her left, and saw a young man, probably her sensei's age, look at her passively. He was quite good looking to, with a good build beneath his casual clothes and spikey black hair. Though he wore a neutral expression on his face, she could see by the look in his eyes that he seemed quite amused seeing her. Iori said nothing, and went back to work.

"It seems you've got something on her mind." He said to her again, expecting a response.

"It seems you have a way about sticking your nose into other people's business." Iori replied sarcastically.

"Usually, you'd be wrong. But you're a special case."

"I'm warning you, mister." She growled, nearly slicing up a whole chunk of potato. "If you're looking for a 'good time', I'll have you know…"

"With that attitude, trust me, it wouldn't be 'a good time' for either of us. Besides, you're too young for me. Anyway, something else about you has got my interest."

Iori sighed in annoyance. "Well, out with it then."

"You look like a girl possessed." He stated bluntly.

"Thanks for your concern, but an exorcism won't be necessary, thank you."

"You know that's not what I meant." He shot back, for once sounding a little irritated. Leaning against the rails and looking up to the sky, he explained. "When I was your age…younger, actually…my family was killed. It was a dark time in my life."

"You were alone?" she asked, interrupting him. Though she didn't show it, she was suddenly interested in his story.

"Yes and no." he explained. "I had friends, people who cared about me after the incident. Willing to guide me and everything. But, I was so stuck in the past that it felt like it didn't matter. I felt bound to avenge them. And I went to dark places to accomplish my goal."

The man paused for a second. "Let me ask you something. This person you're seeking revenge on…if he's no longer of this world, what then?"

Iori didn't answer, but the man could see the way she paused that his question did strike a chord in her. "By the time I was ready, I was too late. My…target was killed. I was consumed with more rage than I thought possible, and I took it out on his killer…and I got a lot of innocent people hurt along the way. In a way, I became what I hated."

Nothing was said between the two for a while. "So…what do you suggest I do instead?" Iori finally asked.

For once, the man seemed to be unsure. "I can't answer that." He finally said, honestly. "That's something you need to find out on your own. But…if I may express a belief I developed over the years, I should advise you to let go of the past. Believe me, I know; it's too painful to forget. But you have to move forward; otherwise, it's like a shark that can't continue swimming. You'll die, in a way. Also, if I may say so…over the years, I've come to believe that in order to be at peace with what was taken from us, we should be thankful for what is given to us."

The young man then looked at his watch. "It's halfway past lunch. You coming down?"

Iori only continued with the potatoes. "Not hungry."

The young man sighed and tucked his arms behind his head. "Suit yourself. I just hope whatever you choose…you'll be happy in the end." Finally, he went down below.

Iori, meanwhile, only stared straight into the sea. _"What I've been given…"_ Memories of her team flashed by in her mind. But despite the apparently clear answer, it only left her more confused than ever.

* * *

The man who just talked to her did not go to lunch like he said, however. He went into one of the storage rooms where he and his partner were assigned. This was something that no one could be allowed to hear.

"So…was it her, Sasuke-chan?" From the shadows, Midoriiro stepped into the faint light.

Sasuke, who wisely did not give Iori his identity, nodded. "It's her. The photo matches."

"I'll inform Tsunade immediately." As she went about summoning a messenger slug, she asked "Do you have any idea why she ran away?"

Sasuke sighed. "Similar reasons as I did, it seems."

Midoriiro stopped. "Revenge?"

"Not entirely positive…but it sure seems that way." Sasuke answered.

"So, do we kidnap her and bring her back?"

"No; she'll only fight us the whole way. If that happens…I don't think I could hold back."

Midoriiro only whistled. "That strong, huh?"

Sasuke nodded, smiling slightly. "Naruto trained her well. But when all is said and done, we can't risk getting too close to her. We could expose ourselves…and the Hokage's connection to us. Inform her that we'll keep a close eye on her, but we cannot risk anymore direct contact. If it looks like she won't come back on her own, assure her we'll direct her back."

Midoriiro nodded, and sent the message.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Tsunade sighed in relief upon reading Sasuke's report. "Thank goodness…" she thought. She was worried that something worse than running away may have happened to the red-head jinchuriki offspring. That being said, she was still in serious trouble. What's worse, this would make Naruto look bad in the eyes of the council…which, judging by some of the upcoming candidates would be worse than usual. _"No helping it now; I just need to concentrate on keeping her safe." _

Writing on the slug's back, she informed her unofficial spies _"Keep close surveillance;_ _will send help once you finalize a location_." With that, the slug disappeared.

Tsunade massaged her temples, and moved on to more important matters. Namely, the new upcoming council. Nothing was set in stone, but word on the street was often a reliable source on who was going to win. Homura and Koharu would retire soon, leaving 2 open seats, and judging by what she heard, the new council looked like it would be more aggressive than the last…especially when it came to Naruto. And that worried her. _"Danzo supported those candidates…used the villagers' fears to manipulate them…"_ However, if they won fair and square, there was nothing she could do about it. It would be her responsibility to deal with them. Just as it would be Naruto's one day…she hoped.

"Hokage-sama!" a new page, substituting for Ino while she was away, called from behind the door. "The meeting has started."

"Tell them I'll be there soon." Tsunade looked out her window, and the village below. She knew there were many good people…and others who were either hateful or just never knew how to think for themselves. It wasn't a large group, not yet; but Tsunade knew to never underestimate the power of fear…especially in politics.

* * *

Inari hammered a final nail into the board he worked on. He stood, and wiped the sweat from his brow. His first few days on the job when he started nearly 6 months ago made him look like a bumbling fool, but overtime he had grown used to it and proved to be a competent craftsman.

Walking over to his boss, he said "Floor's done, sir."

"Good job, Inari!" The foreman said, smacking his shoulder. "Thanks to you, this place will be up in half the time it normally takes."

Inari blushed at the praise. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No. Everyone else should be finishing up their projects right now. I think we're all done for today. Head home."

Inari grabbed his tool box and walked outside. His mind drifted to thoughts of Sakura…Damn! He had to stop thinking like that! He could clearly see she and Naruto were a couple. And even if they weren't, he knew there were a bunch of other obstacles. Sakura wouldn't wait for him to grow up (and most would probably still find the relationship as creepy by the time he did), and her kunoichi career could also take a toll on any potential relationship. Inari sighed, frustrated with his crush. "Why does the most gorgeous woman in the world have to be out of my reach?"

"Looks like you had a rough day."

Inari nearly jumped out of his skin hearing Sakura's voice. He saw her leaning against the fence outside his workplace. Dressed in a mahogany sweater, black skirt and stockings, Inari was amazed he didn't pass out. Thankfully, he managed to utter a response. "Not really. You get used to it." Looking around to make sure no one suspicious was within his eyesight, he turned back to her. "So…aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Freelancers make their own deadlines." Sakura answered. Inari took it to mean coming for him was her job. "Besides, your mom asked me to pick you up."

Inari thought that was a pathetic excuse, but he played along with it nonetheless. "She really does worry too much. Any time I have to be home?"

"No, not really." Sakura shrugged. "She just wanted to make sure everything was alright."

Suddenly, a grin formed on Inari's lips. "_I shouldn't…but…this is the closest thing I'll get to her becoming my girlfriend…" _

"Hey." He said to her, suddenly enthusiastic. "Want me to show you around?"

Sakura seemed a bit perplexed. "Actually, I don't know…"

"Don't worry. I like to hang around before going back home. Mom won't worry."

Sakura then thought back to what Naruto said. _"Well…I guess this will help a little bit…" _

"Okay." She said. "Not too long, though. There are still things I need to take care of."

"No problem! Follow me!" Inari said as Sakura trailed behind him.

Then, her instincts caused her to stop. She felt like she was being watched. She turned to glance at all the civilians passing her by. Then, she saw someone, who vanished as soon as she spotted him. Or her; she didn't get a good enough look at the person. The one feature she was able to make out was that he wore some kind of mask that she would expect to find in an insane asylum, but somehow the person disappeared. What's more, no one seemed to notice such a strange person. _"Something's not right." _

"Sakura! You coming!?" Inari called back.

"I'll be right there!" she answered. Sakura hurried over to Inari. _"If we're in a public place, we might be safe."_ Sakura briskly ran over to him, making sure she didn't look like she was panicking.

* * *

"_Kakashi!" the young copy nin heard somewhere between sleep and awareness. "Kakashi! Wake up!" his sensei's voice yelled more clearly._

_Kakashi felt something hard slap across his face, and his eye finally snapped open. Yet, he still found it hard to move despite the sudden jolt of awareness. "M-Minato-sensei?" he asked in bewilderment._

"_Kakashi, Rin's gone!" Minato shouted at him._

_Kakashi tried to rise, but stumbled. "Easy there!" Minato said as he grabbed him and settled him. "It looks like she drugged us; that would explain why we slept through it all well into noon."_

_Desperately trying to get his bearings straight, Kakashi grabbed the tent pole to help him stand. "Why would she do such a thing!?" _

"_I don't know." Minato said, clearly worried for their medic. "I can tell she's well ahead of us; even if I used my Flying Thunder God technique, it probably wouldn't be enough, especially if I can't tell where she's going." Walking towards the tracks he was referring to, he and Kakashi felt them. "They must be hours old. Kakashi, do you have any idea where she could have run off to!?" _

_Kakashi shook his head. "No! This doesn't make sense! There's nothing out there for her!_ _Ever since Obito died, nothing's…" He stopped his tirade as both he and Minato realized the answer. "No." he whispered. _

_He and Minato pulled out their supply scroll, and dug out the map. After determining their location, and the direction of Rin's tracks, Kakashi instinctively plotted a point B. The destination and direction matched. "She's heading back to where Obito died!" Kakashi confirmed in shock. _

"_Here. Drink this." Minato told him, handing him a small vial._ _"It's a stimulant;_ _should help energize us enough to overcome what drugs are left in our system." Soon, they were both up on their feet without any sign of dizziness. "I know Rin has been upset about Obito, but…" _

"_It's my fault." Kakashi said, clenching his fists. "I told her Obito loved her. If I hadn't done that…"_

"_No one's to blame here, Kakashi." Minato told him, squeezing his shoulder. "If Rin had no inkling of feelings for him beyond a friend, she wouldn't have done something so reckless. And there was no way any of us could have known, and it was not our place to tell her otherwise. Come on; let's go after her. And when we've caught up with her…we'll bring Obito home as well."_

_Kakashi was about to question him, but silenced himself as he realized what his sensei was getting at. __**"He doesn't intend to simply stop Rin, he intends to help her. Both to find Obito…and to help her move on." **__Kakashi nodded, as he and Minato took to the trees. __**"I thought I understood you then, Obito. But I guess I only scratched the surface." **__He thought, thinking back to what he told him when he went off on his own to rescue Rin. This wasn't any different; even though they had a mission to complete, Kakashi would never abandon his friends again._ _And if they didn't collect Obito's remains, Rin would only keep running away to find him. For both her sake, and the village's, they had to put a stop to this._

* * *

"You ready for this?" Tazuna asked Kakashi, currently henged as a typical businessman who shared none of the ninja's physical features as they stood outside Wave's official government building. There was a party for the council tonight, and Tazuna knew Tigre would be there.

Though Kakashi had been thinking of the past, this time he was also aware of the present, and knew how to act accordingly. "Let's do this." He answered.

Tazuna opened the doors, allowing them to step into the banquet hall where the feast was held. Kakashi glanced around, and saw for himself that while Wave was a nation well on the road to recovery, it still had a ways to go. Kakashi knew from experience how to spot the corrupt politicians in the council, and there were one too many in the crowd for his liking. Given the affluence they were celebrating under while the rest of the people were just finding their feet didn't help the way he viewed them either. He imagined Tazuna's influence as a hero managed to get at least some things done.

Tazuna then nudged his elbow, indicating for the ninja to look ahead. "That's him."

Kakashi laid his eyes on Tigre for the first time, enjoying a cigar with some other council member. He resembled his father at a younger age, his hair retaining its orange color without graying, and he was taller to. Muscular, in fact, even underneath his formal business suit Kakashi could tell he was athletic. Whether he could go toe to toe with a ninja, hopefully he wouldn't have to find out.

"So, shall we go meet him?" Kakashi nodded silently, and Tazuna led him on.

"And with this quarter's earnings, Felidae Industries will have the funding and resources necessary to look into your proposals." Tigre bragged to the other council member, smiling. "I think this will be very beneficial to both of us."

"You have my sincere thanks, Tigre-san. I'll have my secretary write up the orders immediately."

"Council-man Toujo. Tigre-san." Tazuna interrupted the two. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."

"No." Tigre answered, looking at Tazuna suspiciously. "We were just concluding business." Turning back to the other councilman, Tigre told him "We'll continue this tomorrow. I'll let you know in a few days' time what's possible.

The councilman took leave while Tigre, in a less jovial manner, addressed Tazuna. "Well, this is unusual. You usually go out of your way to avoid talking to me." He commented skeptically as he munched on his cigar.

"That hasn't changed." Tazuna replied curtly. "However, I was forced to bring this gentleman here and introduce you two." Gesturing towards Tigre, he told Kakashi "Kyoukai-san, this is Tigre-san. Tigre-san, this Kyoukai Tatsunokuchi, a representative of Sea Country's military. He wished to propose a business venture with your company."

Tigre momentarily removed his cigar, blowing out a puff of smoke. "Interesting." He commented, slightly curious now. "What kind of venture, may I ask?"

"If you don't mind, Tazuna-san…" Kakashi said, as Tatsunokuchi. "…I would like to talk to Tigre-san in private. Why don't you go refresh yourself while we discuss the terms?"

Tazuna looked between them, and then sighed. "Well, that sake over their looks like better company than you two; no offense. Good luck on your deal, you two." Tazuna left to help himself to a rather lavish dinner (but in his opinion inferior to his daughter's cooking), while Kakashi and Tigre walked to the balcony together.

"So, Kyoukai-san." Tigre began. "How may my company be of service to you?"

"Well, as you know, the Mist Ninjas from Kirigakure have not been very reliable as of late." Kakashi began. "They used to be our go-to ninja village. But with their infighting to become Mizukage and with their swordsmen now defunct, it's left us in a bit of a bind. We're working to train our own shinobi army, but as you can imagine, our results have not been very impressive."

"Interesting." Tigre said, looking out to the bay. "I don't see how I can help though. I'm a businessman, not a military consultant."

Kakashi looked around like he was making sure they were not being watched. "I'm getting to that. I understand you have a large genetics division?"

Tigre looked at him suspiciously. "Why…yes. Right now, it's not much more than standard gene therapy, but we've got other things going on; none of which I'm at liberty to tell you about."

Kakashi nodded. "Of course. What I'm proposing is a project involving genetic engineering of humans."

Tigre nodded negatively. "That's strictly illegal you know. You better give me something else to sell, cause I'm not sticking my neck out for some stranger."

"_Either he's a legitimate businessman, or he's smart."_ Kakashi thought. "At least hear me out with what I'm proposing. As you know, Sea Country had a base that belonged to the Dark Sanin Orochimaru. He conducted several experiments in the field of genetics, mainly with kekkei genkais. We've wanted to duplicate his research, but unfortunately he destroyed all of his notes before fleeing, and we don't have anyone qualified to begin research on our own. However, we were able to determine the origin…" he reached into his vest pocket. "…of this." He pulled out a vial with red fluid, blood it looked like.

He handed it over to Tigre. After examining it in the fading sunlight, he said "It looks like blood."

"DNA, to be more precise, mixed with several preservatives." Kakashi said. "Orochimaru researched several bloodlines to create his ultimate soldier."

Tigre was slowly being more and more drawn in by the mystery. "Just what clan does this belong to?"

"The Senju Clan."

Tigre looked at him like he just offered him a billion ryo. "The Senju Clan? You mean the same one that…"

Kakashi nodded. "The one and the same. With just a few select elite soldiers with this bloodline, my country could potentially rival the strength of the 5 great nations."

Tigre looked the vial, and back at him. Slowly tucking it into his pocket, he asked "And what do you propose to do about payment?"

"_Excellent."_ Kakashi thought. Quickly, he replied "I think we should do it in parts; we're not a particularly prosperous nation."

"Spend money to make money, huh?" Tigre asked amused.

"More or less; but if you live up to your end of the bargain, I've a feeling that money won't be much of a problem." He smiled as Tatsunokuchi.

Tigre smiled, and said "I'll take it to my technicians, see what we can do." Walking forward, he extended his hand. "Pleasure doing business with you." Kakashi only looked at him perplexed. Looking at his own hand, Tigre nearly smacked himself. "Of course! Where are my manners?" He retracted his hand and bowed. "Sorry about that; that was how the foreigners who sometimes trade in these lands show politeness and respect. I've been doing it so often, I've forgotten our own culture."

"No apologies necessary." Kakashi bowed back. "I'm glad you've accepted my proposal."

"Come by the Felidae towers in a week." Tigre told him. "As soon as we evaluate this, we'll run you through what's possible." Looking at his watch, he then said "If you'll excuse me, I'm late for an appointment." With that, Tigre went back inside.

Kakashi did so as well, looking for Tazuna. "So, how'd it go?" Tazuna whispered to him from behind, munching on some onigiri.

"He took the bait. We'll be ready to strike soon."

"If you're wrong…" Tazuna began to warn him.

"We won't cause any commotion until we're sure. And even if the worst happens, we'll make sure no one will be able to link you to us." Kakashi assured him. "But, I've a feeling I'm not wrong, unfortunately…"

* * *

Elsewhere, Inari dragged Sakura to the island's fair. Currently, while waiting for Inari to return, Sakura kept herself busy with one of the games. Normally, she would ace this, but even in a space as crowded as this, she had to keep up appearances. "Sorry, nice try missy!" the vendor told Sakura as she missed her target with her final ball. "Better luck next time!"

As she allowed the next person in line to step up, Inari came towards her, holding some exotic looking snacks. Noting a lack of a prize on Sakura's person, he commented "Wow. I thought you'd be better at this." He said.

Sakura of course was holding back her skills with ninjutsu, which Inari did not seem to pick up on. No point in dropping hints now. "You win some, you lose some." Sakura replied nonchalantly.

"Here." Inari handed her one of the two snacks. "They're Crepes. I got you one with strawberries and chocolate. Try it."

Sakura looked at the sweetened fruit wrapped in the dough and took a bite. "Mmm…" Sakura said as she swallowed. "This is good!"

"I'm glad you approve." Inari said. As the two walked out of the fair, Inari struggled for a topic for conversation. "So…what inspired you to become a medic?"

Sakura nearly panicked, but steeled herself. A medic did not necessarily mean ninja. However, it still implied a military connection; something she still needed to avoid. "NURSE, Inari." Sakura "corrected" him. "And to answer your question, my friends kept getting hurt. And I didn't want to just sit by and let that happen; especially when they have done so much for me when I was younger. There's not much to tell after that. I was on my way to become head nurse, but, circumstances got in the way." Inari was about to ask some more, but Sakura stopped him. "What about you Inari? How has life been here since the bridge was completed?"

Inari sighed, realizing that he was blowing Sakura's cover. _"Idiot!"_

Deciding not to dwell on his mistake, he continued the conversation. "Well…truthfully, it's been a bit of a mixed bag."

"How so?" Sakura asked, perplexed at the answer he gave her.

Inari sighed as he chose his words carefully. "Don't get me wrong; I'm happy for my people. And proud of grandpa. But…I just wish people would stop treating us like we're royalty. We've made it clear several times that we don't need to be treated like anyone special…grandpa was just doing what was right…and I…I didn't contribute towards anything at the time; I was too little to do anything really."

Sakura smiled slightly. "I'm afraid that's just human nature, Inari. When people accomplish great things, those around them feel obligated to treat them with the utmost respect. It's the same back….home; the village leader is hailed as a hero and given the utmost respect. We're just raised to do that or risk dishonor." Sakura would have elaborated more on Naruto's notorious lack of respect for authority, but she figured that was best saved for when they got back to the mansion. "As for you, I wouldn't say you contributed nothing…as much as it pains me to admit it, that would have been me at the time. You got all the towns people to rally together and helped drive off those rogue samurai. If you hadn't done that, I doubt the others who helped your grandfather would come out of it alive."

"I guess." Inari sighed. "And I've got plenty of friends who still treat me like one of them; I'm grateful for that much, at least. However, what really bothers me, is that ever since the bridge was completed, we've got to lead a life of privilege when there are others who are still recovering from Gato."

"For what it's worth, those who are humble about their good fortune and wish to share it with others often deserve it the most." Sakura told him. "Don't over think it. Just do everything you can to help your people and I'm sure everything will be alright eventually."

Realizing they've walked quite a distance from the fair, Sakura took a look around; it seemed they were in a shopping district now. Sakura, still being mindful of her surroundings, glanced at the various stores…and had to stifle a gasp. Without leaving Inari's side, she noted mannequins in a shop with ornate, white dresses. They came in many varieties; some had bell bottom sleeves that covered the entire torso, while others were strapless. But one thing they all had in common was the wide, circular skirts and veils on the top of their heads. For reasons she couldn't describe, they struck a cord with her. "Inari…what are those!?" she asked excitedly like she was a little girl again.

Inari responded by gagging upon observing what caught her attention. "Those things? Those are a new fad; wedding dresses, from a foreign land. Since it's much more expensive to host a traditional wedding, a lot of the locals are turning to those instead…"

While Sakura had nothing against a nice kimono, these dresses were unlike anything she had ever seen. Besides, after all that "tradition" had given her, she imagined that something that deviated from the norm would be more her fancy. _"I wonder what Naruto would think if he saw me in one of those…"_ Without Inari noticing, her face turned deep crimson. _"I-Idiot! We're not ready for that kind of thing yet!"_ But she continued to think more about it. _"Then again, Naruto and I have already known each other for so long. And the way we live together…it's already like we're a married couple…"_

She was jolted out of her thoughts when she glanced behind her and saw that same person with the mask again. She was stalking her from above the roofs, crouched low like a cat. Her mask looked even more fearsome now that she had a good look at it, reminding her of a muzzle for a pit bull. Her hair was wild, and black as midnight. However, Sakura did not panic. Instead, she tapped Inari's shoulder. "Inari, we should be heading home."

Inari at his watch, then her. "But Sakura, it's barely…"

"NOW." She told him sternly as she led him down by the shoulder. They briskly walked down the street back to Inari's house. _"I just hope Tsunami's okay…"_

Meanwhile, the kunoichi stalking them across the roofs gave up her chase, realizing she was spotted. Pressing her radio ear, she called in "Ameratsu, it's me. She spotted me; I'm afraid I've been compromised."

"**It does not matter."** Her partner on the other line said. **"I've prepared a message for her anyhow.** **Head back to the towers, Tsukiyomi; I'll take care of things from here."**

"And what about the Uxota family?"

"**Again, that is also taken care of. Head back." **

Tsukiyomi sighed, and replied "Affirmative." Almost like a mirage, her image shook and slowly vanished.

* * *

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Inari asked confused.

"Don't talk." Sakura ordered him, pulling him stronger. "Just keep moving, but don't run."

"What's going on over there?" she heard someone ask. At first, she thought the question was directed at her, but upon seeing a crowd gathering up near the shore, she realized it was a different matter entirely.

"Poor thing; it's such a waste."

Another bystander commented. "I think I've seen her at the port…yeah, to the island."

"Wonder what she was doing that got her in such trouble…"

Sakura, making sure no other surprises were in store for her and Inari, cautiously made her way through the crowd. If there was ever just ONE time she was thankful for her basic shinobi training, this was it. Sakura saw it was the tour guide to Felidae Towers, Tsukasa. The local police placed a tarp over her dead body, along with several other unknowns, probably security from the towers. _"There will be time…and a place…for crying later."_ But this wasn't a random kill and dump; this was a message. For her.

Sakura made her way out of the crowd, and back towards Inari. "What is it?"

Firmly taking him by the elbow, she told him "Trouble." She guided him away from the crowd and down an alleyway. "We're going to run. Brace yourself."

"What!? But didn't you just say…"

Without another word, Sakura effortlessly picked up Inari and leapt onto the rooftops. The poor boy was too shocked out of his mind to even scream. From there, it was a mad dash towards Tazuna's mansion.

* * *

"Have you heard, Tsunami?" A grocer in another part of town asked. "Apparently, there was a mass murder on the other side of town." She said while bagging her customer's purchases.

"How awful." Tsunami cringed. "Is anyone we know among them?" she worried.

The clerk shook her head as she bagged the last of her groceries. "No. But I heard one of the victims was a young woman who worked for Tigre. Do you think…?"

Tsunami sighed. "I don't know. There's a lot of corporate espionage and the like going on in the world. There's really not much we can do, except let the police handle it."

"I suppose you're right." The clerk agreed sadly. "That will be 50 ryo."

Tsunami paid the clerk, and picking up her bag, went on her merry way.

The walk home seemed pretty uneventful. Until suddenly, someone grabbed her mouth and pulled her into a corner. Tsunami kicked and tried to scream for help, but her attacker felt like he was made out of a brick wall. "Sorry, missy. Ain't got anything personal against you. But this is strictly business." Without another word, he took out a tanto, and stabbed her in the back, making sure to aim for a spot that would induce total and complete paralysis, in order to silence her for the kill.

Tsunami went down, and landed face first in the street. Her assassin proceeded to finish the job, but then, she disappeared in a puff of smoke. "What's this!?" her would be assassin asked.

Suddenly, a hand from the shadows struck the back of his head, knocking him out. Naruto stepped out, looking at him. "I know what Kakashi said I should have done…but I'm going to take a chance." Naruto picked him up, and headed straight for Tazuna's home.

* * *

Meanwhile, the real Tsunami was reading a book she didn't have a lot of time for while waiting for Naruto to come back from the grocery shopping he offered to do for her. _"What could be taking him so long?"_ she wondered. She then realized Inari and Sakura were gone for a long time as well. She told herself they would be fine, but her maternal instincts were practically screaming for some reason.

Just then, Kanshou announced "Tazuna-sama and Kakashi-san have returned."

"_Well, there's at least some good news."_ She thought. Getting off the couch, she walked over to greet her father. "Father! Did everything go alright?" she asked as she approached the two men, one of which dropped his disguise.

"Yeah, sweetie. Everything's fine." Tazuna assured her.

Just then, Kakashi's face widened in alarm. "Everyone, get down!" Kakashi covered Tazuna and Tsunami as they planted themselves onto the floor . No more than a second later, an explosion rocked the mansion. Kanshou stood and drew his sword, ready for anything. Kakashi joined him while Tazuna and Tsunami hid in another room.

Shurikens immediately flew towards them, but Kakashi got them all in his hand with ease. _"Shit!_ _Did Tigre know-!?"_ As the dust settled, ninjas garbed in traditional black jumped out, ninjatos at the ready. However, the peculiar thing was that they were quite small, not even at the height of most teenagers.

"They're just children!" Kanshou shouted, still not dropping his guard.

"Don't let your guard down." Kakashi warned him. "I've encountered many child prodigies." Still, such prodigies were rare; to get so many at the same time was unheard of. And at this age, they were most likely genin, chunin at best. "What do you want!?" Kakashi demanded.

Without another word, they lunged towards Kakashi, with one throwing a vertical slice on top of his head. Kakashi blocked with a kunai, and tried to counter with a spinning kick, but the supposed genin somersaulted over his leg and countered with a spinning slash. Kakashi leapt back, receiving only a slight nick on his shoulder. Still, that shook his confidence. _"These kids are good! Could they be..."_

Kakashi was momentarily distracted when Kanshou cried out in pain. It seemed these kids had an edge against the samurai. Thankfully, the wound didn't seem to be too bad, but the blood leaking down his arm was not a good sign. Still, it seemed even with one arm, he was able to hold his own. Kakashi, however, feared if they wanted to, the little ninjas could move faster. Kakashi then stumbled upon feeling an impact towards his shoulder. His attacker came at him with the weighted end of a kusarigama. _"They must be...!"_ Kakashi performed substitution as the ball came at him again, this time shattering a pile of rubble in his place. Popping his shoulder back into place, Kakashi pulled down his mask, and revealed his sharingan, preparing to go all out on his enemies. His attacker seemed to pause momentarily upon observing his left eye, and then looked a little bit more interested in him all of a sudden. He squinted his eyes, and opened them. Kakashi's own widened in shock. "Sharingan!" It seemed all the ninja children possessed them; what else could explain their expert movements and quick reaction times? "Out of the frying pan, into the fire..."

2 came at Kakashi at once this time. Kakashi tried his Shinju Zanshu, but as soon as he burrowed underground, the two retreated. _"Their reflexes are good..." _Kakashi emerged and quickly charged a kunai with lightning chakra. He flung it towards one of them, it's speed enhanced by the energy of the lighting. Unfortunately, the child-ninja dodged it. It did, however, tear off his mask. Though it was covered in black face paint, Kakashi recognized the face. _"That...that is Obito!"_ Indeed, it looked like Obito had not aged since the day they were separated, and only gave him a neutral glare intent on killing. Kakashi prepared a doton jutsu, causing rocks to erupt from the under the mansion. However, with amazing agility, the false Obito scaled and leapt across the rising rocks towards Kakashi, coming at him like an arrow armed with a sword. Then, he suddenly stopped, and was thrown back against the rubble. "Naruto!"

Kakashi's student stood in front of him and gave him a thumbs up. "Sorry I'm late; ran into a bit of trouble."

"I'd imagine." Kakashi pulled a kunai as the two backed into each other, covering their blind spots and having kunai at the ready. "You think you can take on a whole legion of sharingan wielders?"

Naruto shrugged. "Dunno; I beat Sasuke and Itachi."

"Yeah, but those fights were one on one."

"Same difference." he replied. Kakashi sighed in exasperation. "Don't worry." Naruto assured him. "I've been training for years to deal with sharingan users."

Naruto charged at one, all of his strikes blocked by his target's ninjato. Another snuck up behind him and stabbed him in the back with a tanto. However, as his friends knew would happen, Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke as other bushin appeared to dog pile the two. Though they did a good job of fending some off, eventually the two were overcome by shear numbers.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called as he distracted some of the other ninja with shuriken. "We can't let this drag on! We need to capture them alive..." Observing the state of ruin the manor was becoming, he broke a cold sweat. "And try not to damage the mansion any further! Hokage-sama will have our heads if we're landed with a bill!"

"Hn!" Naruto grunted as he dodged sword swipes from another attacker. "That's really not my style!" Naruto shouted back as he grabbed his attacker's wrist and threw him over. The clone managed to right himself and jump off a wall. "But thankfully, we're teammates with someone who can get the job done the way you want it!"

As he said that, his clones surrounded the kids into a close circle. They were prepared to break through, but then small balls rolled towards them. Before the kids could react properly, the marbles sprayed a green gas. The kids tried to hold their breath, but soon, despite their masks, they passed out. Naruto's bushins dispelled, leaving the real Naruto walking into the gaping hole in the mansion with Tsunami's would-be assassin bound and gagged over his shoulders. "Thanks for the woman's touch, Sakura-chan." he said to the kunoichi behind him.

"It's not a big deal, really." Sakura followed with Inari, who was gaping open mouthed at his ruined home. "I'm surprised those sleeping gas pellets aren't standard issue."

"Listen, the authorities will be here any minute." Kakashi warned them suddenly. "We cannot let anyone else know we were here! We have to leave!"

Sakura looked at their captives, realizing that somehow they traced her back to Tazuna and his family. "But, how did they know we were here?" she asked nervously.

"We'll find that out later, Sakura! Carry as many as you can, and let's get out of here!" Kakashi reprimanded her.

Before they got it together, Sakura quickly bowed to Tazuna and his family, who emerged from hiding. "I'm so sorry for all of this! I don't know how, but this is all my fault!"

"Don't worry about it!" Tazuna insisted. "Something big is going down...and somehow, I've got to get to the bottom of it."

"You be careful, old geezer!" Naruto said as newly conjured bushin carried their captives.

"Leave a couple for the authorities." Kakashi reprimanded a couple from taking the last three. "We don't want Tazuna to lie more than he has to."

The two nodded, and dropped them. "Inari!" Naruto called. "You take care, alright? We'll see each other again soon!"

"Bye Inari!" Sakura said as she joined her team. "I had a fun time! I'm sorry it had to end like this!" With that, Team 7 leapt into the air and took off to some unknown location.

Inari sighed, burying his hands into his pockets. "See ya." He wasn't too hopeful that they would be able to live up to that promise with everything going.

"Don't worry." Tazuna assured him as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "One way or another, they'll be back."

Inari smiled at his grandpa. _"Of course they will be..."_ he thought. _"This is Naruto we're talking about."_

* * *

Team 7 quickly relocated to the beach on the other side of the island; hoping to get some privacy...and hopefully, get away from the enemy. Setting their captives down, Kakashi said "Now...I think it's time for some answers. Sakura!"

Sakura pulled a stimulant from a scroll, and injected it into each of them. Soon, they all awoke.

"Alright then." Kakashi hissed. "I'd like to ask you all some questions. We can either do this easy where you'll simply tell us...or we may be forced to means I may regret later on." he warned them.

* * *

In an unknown location, Ameratsu sat in a lotus position, his eyes closed. To most, it would look like he was meditating. And that was partially correct; he was using meditation to watch events unfold from the child soldiers he dispatched. "They're stronger than I thought…" he said to himself.

Normally, that would only be a mild praise. However, something in the vision of the child soldiers troubled him: one of their targets had a sharingan. _"I can't underestimate him...and if he's powerful enough to have acquired and use a sharingan...I'm afraid I'll have to terminate them before he can get answers."_ After making some quick hand signs, he said "Hakaitekei Hatoo no Jutsu!"

* * *

Before any of the Uchiha Children Clones could answer, suddenly, their eyes sunk to the back of their head and their bodies slumped, collapsing against each other.

"What happened!?"Naruto asked, alarmed.

Sakura quickly went over to them and checked their vitals. Pulse, heart beats, the works. It looked worse when she tried to use her chakra to resuscitate them. When one didn't revive, she moved onto the next. After a few frantic minutes, she finally gave up. "They're dead." she said in astonishment.

"What!?" Naruto yelled in disbelief.

"It's as I said, Naruto; they're dead." she replied sadly. As a medic-nin, Sakura took failure to save a life especially hard.

"They were in perfect fighting condition just minutes ago." Kakashi said, clenching his fists. "Whatever happened, it wasn't natural, and it wasn't us."

Without warning, Sakura pulled out a kunai, and stabbed it into the chest of one of the children. "Sakura-!? What are you...!?" Naruto yelled in shock.

"Their hearts, Naruto! I'm about to examine their hearts!" Sakura yelled back defensively.

Cutting her subject open, she then quickly put on some gloves and reached in for the heart. With a quick tug, it was outside in her palm. "Kakashi-sensei, give me a light." Kakashi quickly pulled out a flashlight and shined it over the specimen. "Complete myocardial destruction..." Sakura muttered. "...no natural disease or poison could do that without sufficient time and symptoms. Kakashi-sensei, are you tired from using your sharingan?"

"I can still do an examination if need be." he answered, already anticipating her next question. Without waiting for the go ahead, he pulled up his forehead protector and activated his sharingan. Squinting his eye, he muttered "Yeah. This one has seals all over the heart; I'd imagine the others had something like this, and however it was triggered, it killed them."

Sakura absent-mindedly set the heart back down into it's cavity. "I'm going to take a blood-sample; I'll have Katsuya send it to Tsunade-sama. And I'll be sure to tell her it's urgent."

Naruto only stared blankly. He didn't see Sakura and Kakashi conducting their investigation; he only saw red. _"They...they were just kids!"_ he thought to himself. _"And yet whoever it was, they killed them!"_ Naruto had heard of some clans eliminating their own when they fell into enemy hands, regardless of age; this was the first time he had actually seen something like that practiced. _"Whoever did this...I will NOT let them get away with this!"_ he promised himself. Looking back to their other captive, Naruto excused himself. Removing the gag, he suddenly punched Tsunami's would-be assassin in the face. "Who hired you!?"

The hit man only grinned maliciously. "I'm a contract killer. I don't-"

Naruto hit him again. "Who hired you!?" The hit man responded by spitting in his face. Naruto simply wiped his face, and formed a mini-rasengan in his hand. Naruto pushed it into the hit man's chest, who cried out in pain. It wouldn't do the damage a normal rasengan would, but it was still painful to be at the receiving end. He slowly traveled down the man's body as he writhed in pain. "This isn't supposed to do much damage, but once we reach the end of the line here, I promise you, you're not going to like the results…"

"I'll talk!" he cried. "I'll talk!"

Naruto released his jutsu. "Hurry up."

"Okay." his victim replied. "I don't know the guy's name. He approached me with the job, flashing me the symbol of the Black Tiger."

"_Sounds like Tigre's underground symbol."_ Naruto thought. "What the guy look like?"

"Black hair, like a mane, tall. His eyes were solid black." He looked back at the kids who were piled up. "In fact, he looked like a lot of those kids."

"That sounds like Ameratsu." Sakura interrupted. "Tigre really did hire this guy."

"Tigre?" the hit man responded. "The billionaire?"

"Even if he was unaware of whom he represented, he still knows too much." Kakashi said. _"Why would they go through such care to make sure the children didn't talk, and yet this guy…"_ Kakashi's eye widened. "Naruto! Get away from him!"

"What!?" Naruto responded.

Suddenly, black flames surrounded the hit man's body. "AHHH! AHHHH! HELP! HELP!"

Naruto was about to try something, but Kakashi pulled him away, leapt towards Sakura and pinned both of them down. "Doton! Doryuheki!"Suddenly, the man exploded in a ball of black flame. Kakashi looked behind him. "A cruel joke of a trap…somehow, Ameratsu placed a seal on him. He allowed us the small mercy of giving us information…and would have annihilated us as soon as we got it." Naruto and Sakura only stared at the cruelty that unfolded before him. "We have to move again. An explosion of this size will attract attention." Team 7 fled the scene. The fire department would find no fire to put out, only a large portion of the beach turned into glass and some dead bodies to collect.

* * *

Tigre was rarely a man to get upset. Not because he was generally sweet-tempered; it was because with all the money and muscle he had, there was little for him to be upset about. So, when something did anger him, he would explode. He was just about to leave for home after finishing up some paperwork, and he received word that some of the products were sent to Tazuna's mansion. And he couldn't afford suspicions on him, not when he was so close!

He briskly walked to the elevator and went down to the sub-basement. As soon as the doors opened, he screamed "AMERATSU!"

His Chief of Security in question didn't even flinch as he continued to sit in a meditative position in the middle of the floor. "It seems something's troubling you." he said, seemingly undisturbed by his master's tone of voice.

"That's the understatement of the year!" Tigre shouted again, his energy from before gone. "I heard you sent immature products to eliminate Tazuna!"

"Ah, yes. They failed; don't worry, I made sure to dispose of them before they could talk." he replied nonchalantly.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Tigre yelled. "As far as the authorities are concerned, they were after Tazuna! And who do you think the first suspect will be!?" he shouted, emphasizing himself. Ameratsu still did not flinch. "Why in the world did you send a squad after him without my permission!?" Tigre demanded.

"I was only following orders; I told them to track down and eliminate the person with the marker."

"Yes, the dyed bullets." Tigre confirmed. " The ones with only those with a sharingan can see that spray all over the target on contact, and mark everything they come into contact with as a result. I know, it was my idea. But why did you make them deviate-" Tigre then stopped himself. "The intruder from before. She was staying with Tazuna."

"That's what they confirmed." Ameratsu said, secretly feeling vindicated. "There was something odd, though. Tsukiyomi tracked the target herself, but the description didn't match. The woman we were looking for had black hair; what she tracked was a woman with pink hair. She managed to obtain a strand and confirmed pink was the target's natural color."

Tigre thought for a minute. As his finger scratched his chin, it began to slow down as he reached a conclusion. "I think I know who we're dealing with." he hissed.

Just then, the basement's phone rang. Ameratsu rose from his position to get it. "Ameratsu speaking." He listened for a moment. "Uh-huh. Okay, I'll let him know. Thanks."

Ameratsu hung up, and turned his attention back to Tigre. "Just some product information. About 80% of the new batch is ready for sale. Also, Susanno has returned from his mission."

Tigre rolled his eyes, uninterested at this point. "Anything else?"

"Yes. The lab had finished analyzing that blood sample this 'Kyoukai' had given you: it tested positive for the Senju bloodline." Though Ameratsu didn't show it, he was actually quite irritated that his master would consider using it, when he had several artificial uchihas at his disposal.

Tigre's face lit up. "It all makes sense now." he growled as he punched the wall, leaving a good size crack in it. "The spy, how that man got a hold of the Senju's DNA...I'm sure of it now. We're dealing with those same ninja from Konoha that Tazuna hired years back."

"Should we continue to pursue them?" Tsukiyomi's muffled voice asked as she appeared from the shadows.

"No. I'll have my meeting with Kyoukai as scheduled. It will make dealing with him that much easier...assuming that's his real name." He looked at his watch. "I've still got a while before our planned meeting. I'll call you when I have something figured out. Oh, and get whatever cadets you can ready for battle."

Tsukiyomi raised an eyebrow. "But they're not ready yet."

"I don't need them ready. I just need them...expendable, if need be." He yawned and stretched his arms. "Okay then. Good night." He exited, leaving the two siblings to themselves.

"Such arrogance." Tsukiyomi hissed. "And the children-"

"It will be a necessary sacrifice, my dear sister." Ameratsu assured her. "In fact, I believe we can make Tigre's plans for these...'heroes'...work in our favor." He returned to his meditative position. "Still, we should consult with Oni-sama. But be patient. It won't be long now, I can feel it..."

* * *

Tigre went over what he would do upon his meeting with "Kyoukai" as his chauffeur sailed his private boat. _"I'll need to relieve the stress tonight before I can think clearly."_ he thought as he rolled some marbles in his hand.

Finally, they reached his private atoll; an island that was barely the size of Wave's Council Hall. In the center was a small but luxurious cottage. Most tycoons would rather have a mansion or a castle, but Tigre preferred to stay away from all that while getting his money's worth. Plus it paid to save. "Here we are sir." his chauffeur called. "Have a good night."

Tigre exited boat and walked towards the cottage as his ride sailed away. He went inside and observed his belongings has he made his way into the bedroom. Statues, paintings, other works of art, the best furniture that money could buy. Anything a wealthy man could want. But there was something else he wanted...something else money alone couldn't buy. But was just about to reach his goal; a little longer and it would be a reality. But first, he had to wind down a bit. He unlocked what seemed to be his closet door, then descended down a stair case.

He was smiling slightly when as he walked down. When he reached the bottom, he looked upon a young woman not even in her twenties, tied in chains to the wall. He cupped her chin as he looked into her defeated eyes. "Please…don't…"

He slapped her, hard. "You don't have any rights here, understand? And that includes talking back to me…" Another reason for the isolated house; no one would hear her scream.

* * *

"A marker of some sort?" Sakura asked Kakashi as they readied their sleeping bags.

"Yes." her sensei said. "That's how they were able to find us; I'm only glad we took precautions for such an event."

"Why didn't you mention it before!?" Sakura yelled. "This whole situation could have been avoided-"

"I didn't notice the fluorescent material until earlier tonight when Tazuna was attacked; I had my sharingan open by then..."

Sakura calmed down upon hearing his explanation. "I guess that marker sprayed on the ground and all over Katsuya when I had her get me out of there, and then spilled all over the lawn when we returned; that would explain how they were able to spot it. And if what you told me was correct, it can only be seen with a sharingan." Kakashi nodded in agreement. "But wouldn't we have to worry about them finding us now?" Sakura asked.

"I doubt it." Kakashi said. "The patch I saw was broken up; probably by the early morning dew. I'd imagine once you bathed and changed clothes, the substance was washed off."

Sakura muttered "Thank Kami for small favors." Truthfully, she was beginning to like the mansion and enjoyed staying there; she hated camping when she was unprepared for it.

As he stepped into his bag, Kakashi looked around. "Hey, where's Naruto?"

Sakura groaned in irritation. "I don't know; he just told me he had something to take care of and took off!" she shouted, flailing her arms. "He makes me so mad at times." she said, grumbling.

"_I guess this is how real couples are..."_ Kakashi surmised. _"I remember Minato-sensei and Kushina-san fighting like this often as well..." _

"I'm sure whatever it is he's doing, it's for the sake of the mission..." he tried to assure her.

"But the fact that he wouldn't tell me WHAT it was means he knows I won't approve..." Sakura mumbled. _"Just what are you thinking, Naruto?"_

* * *

Naruto raced through the trees, hoping he wouldn't be damaging his precious cargo as he went along. Finally, he came to a clearing and touched down. After making sure he wasn't followed, he walked ahead to his goal. Even in the darkness, he could remember where he lay his first real foes...and friends...to rest. He knew Sakura, and perhaps even Kakashi, would not approve of what he was about to do. But if his gut feeling was right, he had to go through with this. Haku would understand...and maybe even Zabusa himself.

"Hey." he muttered as he approached the two graves his own team made for them. "I'm sorry I haven't been around to see you two for a long time; I've been busy for what seems like years." he explained. "I just hope whatever has awaited you both on the other side...it's all worked out."

He paused for a minute as lay down flowers on Haku's grave. "I got these for you; took me a while to remember what flowers you were picking back then...and a little longer to find them in the dark..." he chuckled. He gathered his thoughts for what he would say next. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you out of your situation. I at least got Zabusa to realize he did care for you...I only wish we could save both of you so that you would both realize it. On the other hand, the both of you have helped me create my own ninja way...life hasn't been a bed of roses...but I've learned so much, seen so much, and experienced so much since we fought. And no matter what anyone else said, I went about it all my own way And I don't think any of it would have been possible had I not met you both. So, for that...thank you."

He then turned to Zabusa's grave. "I'd imagine you'd throw an insult at me and ask what I'm really here for." he chuckled. "Something's going on here; something big. I'd imagine you wouldn't care much for it, but it's part of my mission. Also, they're USING kids. Not like you did with Haku; however twisted and self-motivated it may have been, you still saved and raised Haku like your own. You cared for him, no matter how much you denied it to me. But not these guys; to them, these kids really are just weapons. If they are caught, they are killed. They had no family, no identity..." Naruto fumed, but settled himself down. "I guess this means nothing to you, but I'd like to think even in the past, you would do whatever you could to protect Haku, and hide it saying you needed your 'precious tool' back. I respected that much about you, at least. This is something different. I'm not asking you to sympathize with me..." Naruto walked forward, and grabbed the hilt protruding from the ground. "All I ask..." He wrapped his other hand around the hilt, and pulled. For a moment, it seemed the sword would not give way. But a faint lurch encouraged him, and Naruto put everything he had into it grabbing it with both hands. Finally, the gargantuan sword, Kubikiribocho, was lifted into the air, shining in the moonlight. "All I ask...is for you to lend me your strength." he declared, holding the giant sword in front of the fallen mist swordsman's grave respectfully.

* * *

Kakashi, along with Sakura, had fallen into the light sleep shinobi typically entered during missions; deep enough to dream, but light enough to wake in an instant should they subconsciously sense something. However, no peace came to Kakashi this evening; the revelation of the childrens' identities had stirred a horrible memory within him...

_Kakashi and his sensei, Minato, sprinted across the trees as they desperately tried to follow Rin's trail. It seemed fruitless; she had gotten too far ahead. Finally, they found her, and both panicked at the sight of her. Rin was embedded with kunai all over her back, probably from a trap, and covered in blood._ _"RIIINNNN!" _

_Kakashi was the first to reach her, and gently cradled her as he supported her back, mindful of the kunai. "K-Kakashi...?" Rin rasped. It seemed she was coughing up blood for quite some time, judging by her caked lips._

"_Don't talk!" Kakashi told her. "Just lie still! We'll get help!" _

"_Now that we have a firm grasp on her location, I can get the medical squad." their sensei noted. "Kakashi, keep Rin as comfortable as you can! Make sure you keep her awake, and don't pull the kunai out just yet! We need to keep what little blood she has inside! I'll be back as quickly as I can!"_

"_Hurry!" Kakashi pleaded as Minato teleported himself away with his famous jutsu. _

"_Kakashi..." Rin rasped again._

"_I told you not to talk!" Kakashi scolded her. _

"_I know, but I have to...I'm so sorry Kakashi." Her breathing became even more labored as she spoke, yet Kakashi did not have it in him to tell her to stop. "I know you were just trying to be there for me...promise to Obito or not. And I am so sorry I pushed you away...I was angry at myself over what happened to Obito, and took it out on you..." _

"_It's okay, Rin!_ _You were in pain, and I couldn't do a thing to help you! But I promise, once we get through this I'll do my utmost best! I know I can never replace Obito in your heart, but I'll do whatever I can to make you happy!" _

_Rin gave him a sad smile. "I know you would. But Obito's alive...I know it." Kakashi wanted to reply, but the clarity with which she spoke stunned him. He couldn't simply say no. Was it because he didn't have the heart to tell her the reality of the situation during her dying moments...or because he so desperately wanted to believe her? "I'm not going to last much longer." Rin wheezed. "I anticipated something like this might happen. That's why, before I took off, I wrote this down..." She reached into her pocket, and slowly in her shaky hand pulled out an envelope caked with her own blood. "Make sure you give this to Obito when you find him. Please, promise me..." _

_Kakashi wanted to scold her, telling her she was going to make it...but any will to say those words faded as he watched the life slip away from her. Kakashi, despite his doubts, took the note, and nodded towards Rin. Rin cried in joy, despite the sight leaving her eyes. Though she was too weak to speak, she mouthed the words "Thank You." Her arm finally crashed to the ground, just as Minato returned with Konoha's medical squad. They rushed towards her, and tore her from Kakashi's arms. But none of it mattered now. Kakashi only kneeled with his head slumped towards the ground, as he desperately tried to process what has happened. Rin was dead, his promise to Obito broken. And now, he was alone._

* * *

Back in the present, yakuza boss Byakko recited the words as he looked over the letter he received by messenger pigeon for what seemed to be the 100th time.

"_Samurai raided my storehouse where I kept the rest my merchandise. I'm afraid all I've got are the three I gave to you. I'll be stopping by at the auction as planned;_ _sorry for the inconvenience."_

"You don't believe him, boss?" one of his thugs asked as he read over his shoulder.

"I don't know." Byakko replied as he pushed the not-so-bright henchman away. "All I know is something's not right." Another thing that struck him as odd was the handwriting; if Hyakuunjou wrote this, either he was very sloppy or his writing hand was out of commission.

"Sir." another thug said as he approached him. "Hyakuunjou has arrived."

Byakko eyed him suspiciously. "How's his condition?" If he had a close call with the authorities, someone as inexperienced as him couldn't have made it out unscathed.

"Um, he seems fine. Oh! Except, he has a sling on his right arm!" he remembered.

Well, if Hyakuunjou was faking it, at least he was trying. Only one way to find out. "Send him in."

Within a minute, Hyakuunjou came down. His demeanor was as mean and threatening as ever, despite the obvious appearance of his arm in a cast and sling. If anything, like a wild animal, he seemed to look more vicious with the injury. "Hey. I take it you got my message?" he asked, as detached and challenging as ever.

Byakko approached him slowly, closely inspecting him. "Yeah. I got it." He then suddenly kicked the boy over and stepped on his wounded arm, hard.

"AHHHH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" the kid screamed in obvious pain.

Byakko grabbed the tanto that the boy pulled from his back (and aimed for his heart), and increased the pressure on his arm; it was definitely broken. Finally, he relented. "Sorry about that, kid." He pulled him up with his good arm, and explained. "Just meeting you and you losing your stock...that's a bit suspicious, you know."

"Really, do I look like a rat!?" Hyakuunjou shouted.

"Can never be too careful." Byakko replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, it looks like you really did run into bad luck."

"Yeah. The son of a bitch who got me fucked up this arm with a damn kabano."

"Sorry about that; it happens to even the best of us." Byakko said. "But, if you're still up for it, I can still introduce you to the representative of my best customer."

"Well, after having my damn arm STEPPED ON, I need something to make this trip worth it." Shiguri hissed.

Byakko smirked; he was a real Yakuza's son. "Let's get you some codeine first; the person you want to meet is not going to be impressed if you keep looking like you're constipated. After this is over, I'll get in touch with this healer."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, a medical ninjutsu specialist; met him a couple of years ago. Scary looking guy, but he knows his stuff. For the right price, he'll fix you up, better than before."

Shiguri acted like he was thinking about it, but then replied "Thanks, but my own doctor is fine, thank you."

* * *

Yuji laid on the roof of the carriage as he looked at the stars. Unfortunately for him, there was hardly anything noteworthy out, due to all light pollution from the city. What's more, he was worried about how Shiguri was holding up undercover. He felt bad he had to be there injured; to Yuji, it was even worse because he was the one who inflicted those injuries on his friend.

"_You're sure?" Yuji asked skeptically as they finalized the plan. Though it was HIS plan, once he realized Shiguri was serious about this, he was beginning to regret suggesting it._

"_Yes." Shiguri replied with finality._

_Yuji sighed. "Alright. I've made the calculations necessary to make sure it doesn't look like a simple accident or self-inflicted. In other words, it will really look like you were attacked."_

"_Good." Shiguri replied as he stretched his arm across the table. "Let's do this." _

_Despite his misgivings, Yuji complied, applying his chakra control to his fingers as he placed them over the forearm. "You ready?" Shiguri only nodded in response, clearly annoyed with Yuji's cautious personality. "Okay then. 3...2...1..." _

_Suddenly, Yuji jammed his fingers into the bone so hard that it was like mace hit it. Shiguri cried out in pain, and again when another impact came from the opposite direction further down the arm. "In a real attack, you'd have multiple fractures close together." Yuji explained, though it didn't look like it got through to him. As Shiguri's whimpers died down, Yuji settled the arm and put it into a sling. "Make sure you don't move it around too much._ _I want to be able to fix what I broke after this mission is over." Shiguri nodded weekly as he stood and got to writing the letter to Byakko..._

"_I'll give him this much; no matter how heinous the means or how much pain he has to put himself through, he's willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done." _Yuji's watch suddenly beeped, the timer going off. That was his cue. "Okay then. Let's finish this." He jumped out of the carriage and jogged towards where the auction was being held, a few blocks away from the docks.

He wasn't going to go into the front; too obvious. He quickly ran into the adjacent alleyway. Of course, a guard was also posted there. "Hey, school boy, you better back the fuck up and-"

His demands were cut short as Yuji elbowed him in the stomach and pinched his jugular. Within seconds, he was out cold. Yuji quickly scaled the building, finding two more sentries on the top. Quietly, he caught them with his wires and knocked them out cold by banging their heads together. Deciding now would be a good time to drop his disguise, he quickly changed into a standard shinobi uniform, quickly adding his forehead protector and his father's cape. He was about to slip into the air vents, when he noticed something down below. Moving over to the edge of the roof, he saw a group of samurai having dispatched the guards at the front door. But these weren't ordinary samurai. Their armor alone suggested they were of high-class, and definitely not a competing yakuza's pack of dogs. These samurai belonged to nobility, and when he caught a glance of one of their emblems, he found out who. _"These samurai are under the direct command of the Daimyo!"_ Yuji realized. _"But our mission was commissioned by the Daimyo himself! Which means...he doesn't trust us!"_ Yuji had to act fast; if they didn't solve this case, they wouldn't get paid. Not only that, even high-class samurai were known to often slash first, and ask questions later. And they needed everyone alive for the mission to succeed.

Quickly, Yuji dove into the air vent, hoping that the samurai were not ready to spring their attack just yet.

* * *

"Yashida!" Byakko called as he guided Shiguri through the crowd. "Yashida, you dog! Came to enjoy more of our shows?" he shouted as he greeted the representative of his proclaimed "best customer".

Yashida, the man in question, was rather typical looking. Slick hair, small glasses, and standard business suit. He was clearly not suited for fighting, although Shiguri doubted even then the situation would not call for that. "Byakko-san." Yashida replied, unimpressed as he adjusted his suit. "You're still as eager to please."

"Well, have I disappointed before?" the crime boss laughed.

"No, you haven't." Yashida replied, maintaining his stiff demeanor. "My master tends to collect the best, and you have proven yourself very lucky this past year. Master goes through his play things rather quickly."

"Just means more money for me, assuming you're not outbidded." Byakko chuckled.

"Unlikely, considering the money he's given me."

The man then looked at Shiguri, and Byakko slapped his forehead. "Ah, my manners! Yashida, this is Hyakuunjou. He's the son of a deceased friend of mine, looking to follow in his father's footsteps. He wanted to meet you, learn whom his customers should be."

Shiguri did his best to look pleased, but not enthusiastic. Yashida, interacting with the criminal underworld, would not take offense. "Nice to meet you, young sir." the "gentleman" said. "I take it you have something to sell?"

"A few things." Shiguri replied nonchalantly. "I originally had more, but I ran into a bit of bad luck earlier this week. However, I'm sure what I've managed to salvage will be worth your trip here. My best, I promise you."

"We shall see, young sir." Yashida replied, adjusting his jacket. "My master has very particular taste. I will not waste his money on scared hookers you pulled off the street."

"Why don't you go have a seat and relax some, son?" Byakko asked as he placed a hand on Shiguri's shoulder, guiding him away before an outburst could potentially occur . "I'll be sure to make him buy at least one of your girls. That's a promise."

"Sure thing." Shiguri replied, following his suggestion.

As he walked down to take a seat, he felt a small but hard stone drop on his head. "Ow!" Shiguri picked up the offending rock, and saw two words written on it: SAMURAI. CAUTION. What's more, the handwriting was Yuji's. "Shit."

"_Shiguri! Can you hear me!?"_ Ino's voice rang in Shiguri's mind.

Not wanting to appear schizophrenic or the worst spy ever, Shiguri decided to try replying with his own thoughts, hoping it was a two-way street like in the manga he read. _"Yeah, I can. Listen, we're set, but samurai are outside! They could bust in at any minute and ruin this operation!" _

"_Shit!"_ he heard Ino inside his head, much to his relief. _"Just keep doing what you're doing. I'll take care of the rest! When the raid begins, hide!" _

Shiguri didn't know how Ino was going to make this work out, but knowing the crazy things jonin could do, he figured it was just best to wait and see. As he was told, Shiguri played along as he watched the auction. Most of the slaves up were the real deal; he guessed they were okay looking, but he wouldn't pay the ridiculous amount of money many of the others were. _"Of course, I'm supposed to be one of the good guys."_ Then, Yugo was up, dressed only in wrappings and a loincloth like those before her. Many of the men whistled, and Shiguri would be hard pressed to admit that she wasn't attractive.

"What did I tell ya!?" Byakko said to Yashida. "The kid's got good taste!"

"Yes..." Yashida agreed. "He seems to have a firm grasp of my master's type...but think he's in the mood for something less…fierce."

Next up was Temari, who got similar responses. It surprised him when Yashida won the bid for her. _"Looks like he got what he came for...I just hope Ino-sensei is ready with whatever she's planning..."_

Temari was chained up and brought over to him. "Lovely." Yashida commented as he cupped her chin. "My master will most certainly be pleased." Shiguri was glad he was said to have a cold demeanor; he didn't think he would be able to disguise his disgust otherwise.

"Wait till you see his cream of the crop." Byakko told Yashida as he nudged him with his elbow. "You're going to love it; I guarantee it."

"And next up, we always save the best for last. Blonde hair, green eyes, high C..." The auctioneer stopped as one of the workers ran up to him and whispered something into his ear. "Um...I'm sorry, gentlemen. It seems we've run into a bit of a problem. Don't worry, we'll have everything under control in a few minutes and restart the auction."

Byakko found one of his men running all over, and signaled him over. "Jiru, what the hell is going on!?" he hissed.

"The bright blonde girl just passed out for no reason!" the yakuza whispered back. "We're trying to figure out what's wrong with her. All I know is that her breathing and pulse are normal, like she was just sleeping, but she's unresponsive!"

"Just wake her up, anyway you can! I don't care if you have to kick her, just do it!" Just as he said that, the samurai finally busted down the doors.

"_Shiguri, now's a good time to hide under a table!"_ Shiguri did so, making sure to play dead, just in case.

"IT'S AN AMBUSH!" Byakko shouted as he ran through the crowd. "Grab all the swords you can, and waste these fuckers!"

The low-ranking samurai engaged the yakuza, but both were well trained. However, the higher ranking ones were making mincemeat out of them..and eliminating potential sources of vital information in the process.

"Damn...!" Byakko then pulled some weird object out of his trousers. "I was hoping to test it properly...but I'll have to take my chances it seems!" he growled as he aimed it at one samurai.

Suddenly, Yuji burst through the ceiling and landed on top of Byakko. The impact caused him to drop the weapon, and the weird thing slid across the floor. However, it suddenly exploded like a fire-cracker and seemed to wound one of his own men enough to bring him to his knees. "You little shit!" Byakko shoved Yuji off of him, and faced him. Without even taking a moment to see who...or rather what...his opponent was, he threw a punch. Yuji easily blocked, and with a well-placed kick, completely obliterated his knee, making his leg bend in the opposite direction like a piece of rubber. Yuji flipped out of the way and leapt from table to table to ensnare both yakuza and samurai in his wires. "Stop! We need them alive!" he shouted to the armored authority figures.

As Yashida was pulling Temari away, no doubt to escape the chaos away with his prize, she head-butted him and nailed him in the crotch, bringing him to his knees. "You're not going anywhere, creep!"

"ENOUGH!" the head samurai suddenly shouted as his men seemed to have finally gain the upper hand. "WE NEED EACH SUSPECT ALIVE!"

The samurai suddenly stopped their slashing, and simply restrained their offenders. Thankfully, it seemed most were still alive, especially the useful ones. "Sir!" A samurai, female by the sound of it, called. She was carrying Ino's still body over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "I went to the back door and saved as many as I could, like you ordered. However, this one is unconscious and won't wake up..."

Suddenly, the chief sheathed his sword and did a ninja hand sign. Ino suddenly came to life, and stood as if nothing was wrong. "Thanks." she said to the woman samurai, who was surprised at her seemingly miraculous recovery.

Suddenly, the head samurai wobbled, and looked around confused. "What? What happened? Where am I? W-" Before he could finish, he saw that he was in the basement he was planning to storm, his men capturing all the yakuza. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?" he suddenly yelled, more confused than mad.

"My apologies, sir." Ino addressed him. "I had to take control of your body; it took a while to sort out who among you was in charge."

"You dare!?" the chief addressed her, pointing his katana at her accusingly.

"Yes." Ino replied, unflinching in face of the blade. "Had you went about business as you usually did, you would have probably killed everyone in here without finding our target. I imagine we're looking for the same person, judging by your emblem."

The samurai seemed to relax, if only a little. "You're the ninja the lord hired."

"Precisely." Ino confirmed. "I wouldn't mind a joint operation, but if you made a wrong move, you could have jeopardized not only our search, but any of the innocent women already here. Plus, you were more likely to kill any leads than find them."

"The lord requested us to take over your mission!" He shouted defensively. "He finds that your village was taking too long with finding his niece!"

Ino only snorted in annoyance; the wounded pride of a samurai was aggravating enough to deal with. Add in a nobleman's arrogance, and it was a difficult combination to deal with. "Investigations are not a quick-and-fix solution, they take time. You're here now only because you've been trailing us; if he selected you from the start, you would be completely lost. We were the ones putting in the hard work to finding out who kidnapped Dandelion-sama, and we needed to find out to whom she was sold to. Yakuza don't keep records on those kinds of things for very long; they probably burned every piece of evidence saying they had her by now. And your interrogation skills; weak. They would only tell you what they believed you wanted to hear. I'm the only one who can verify the truth."

Even he had to admit, Ino effectively burned him. The chief seemed to be heaving with rage underneath his mask. "Souji-sama." the female samurai interrupted, bowing respectfully. "I have encountered the Konoha ninja in my youth. They are reliable and do their best to keep their promises. I believe a cooperative effort will be beneficial for both of us. If we do not, this may prove problematic for both us and his excellency in the future."

The chief, Souji it seemed his name was, seemed to have trouble accepting it. "What were the exact words your master said to you?" Ino asked, her arms crossed. "It was to simply find her, wasn't it? Anyway you can, I'd bet. And don't lie to me. Believe me, I'll know."

The samurai looked around, seeing the likely suspects all rounded up, and finally, albeit reluctantly, relented. "Tie this filth up. Our...ally, has some questions for them." he mumbled as he sheathed his sword.

Yugo just came in then, escaping...more likely beating up...her captor from earlier. "What'd I miss?"

"Long story." Temari sighed. "But we've got our prey. That's all that's important. Let's get dressed and get it over with."

As the three went over someplace private to change into more appropriate clothes, Byakko hissed "Damn kunoichi bitches..." He tried to stand, but the way his leg was bent made that impossible. "AHH! AHH!"

Then, Shiguri emerged from hiding, yelling "Yuji! Come over here and fix my arm! I think that jackass over there made it worse!"he shouted, pointing his working thumb at the fallen yakuza boss.

"You...I take you in, and this is how you repay me!?" Byakko yelled.

Shiguri only sneered at him. "Sorry old man, but I'm not who you think I am."

"But I checked!" Byakko yelled. "I found your records! Those could not be faked, they're state property!"

"Fortunately for me, my friend here has a talent for forgery." he replied, referring to Yuji. "Your friend Kurohyou fathered a child, but it was a girl." he said as Yuji came to start the healing on his arm. "Since the cat's out of the bag, I guess I should introduce myself properly. The name's Shiguri. Naka Shiguri."

Byakko only growled in anger. "Screw you, punk."

* * *

The green chakra faded as Yuji removed his hands from Shiguri's once broken arm. "There. Why don't you give it a try?"

Shiguri removed the sling, flexed his arm and rotated it. "Still a bit sore. But, at least it doesn't feel like it will fall off. I don't plan on putting it through the ringer just yet."

"We'll need to have more sessions. We'll do the next one tomorrow, same time." Yuji assured him.

Shiguri sighed. "If we even have the luxury."

"Well, would you rather risk breaking it yourself?" Yuji asked, slightly miffed.

"Fine, fine. We'll do sessions. I just hope you'll forget about the hot nurse outfit. Don't get me wrong, you're cute in it, but we're just friends, you know? So, it's cool, you don't have to dress up."

Yuji rolled his eyes. "You're a real hoot, you know? If you're going to insult me, why don't you try a subject other than sexuality for a change?"

"Is your friend alright?"

The two turned to see the female samurai who spoke in their favor from before approach them. "Uh...yeah. I'm good." Shiguri replied. _"Why's she so friendly with us?" _

"Uh..." the samurai seemed to stutter a bit. "It's good to see you again, Yuji." She looked away, almost as if she didn't mean to say it out loud.

Yuji's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, do I know you?"

The samurai seemed baffled. "You...you don't recognize me?"

"Well, the armor makes it hard to see any distinguishing features. I wouldn't even have been able to tell you were a woman had you not spoken up." he replied honestly.

The female samurai slapped her helmet. "Of course! Sorry; we were trained to think of the armor as extensions of ourselves. Nowadays, I don't even feel it's weight upon me." She unbuckled her helmet, and revealed her face. Her skin was tan, and her hair blue and tied in a bun, almost like the sky.

Yuji's eyes widened; only one person he knew had those distinguishing features. "...Hyouike?"

"Yuji!" Hyouike suddenly squeezed him with joy, as Yuji's face turned red. "It's been so long!"

"Yeah...how did you become part of the Imperial Guard, let alone a samurai?" he asked, still shocked to be reunited with a friend he hadn't seen in years.

Hyouike released him and smiled. "It's a long story..." she began, blushing.

"And it will have to wait." To Hyouike's dismay, Ino came in with her colleagues, this time dressed in their proper shinobi outfits. "I need you two to listen while we get the information we need out of these scum." She turned to the samurai chief, and told him "Line them up."

Byakko, Yashida, and several other yakuza and illicit customers were brought before them, tied up and on their knees (except Byakko, due to his broken leg. He was tied to a chair). Ino walked forward and held up a photograph of a young woman for all to see. She had hazel eyes, auburn hair, and was quite gorgeous. "This photograph was only taken 6 weeks ago, so I doubt she would look much different today unless she's a corpse. Do any of you know who she is?" None of them answered, and looked away. Based on her experience in looking at people's reactions, she believed they did. But she played along for now. "Nobody? She's Dandelion Hi , niece to Fire Country's Daimyo. 5 weeks ago, she was on a trip with friends, and their carriage was attacked. Though most everyone was killed on the trail over to the next town, one survivor said he saw her taken by men."

Byakko once again growled, and began to shout "And how do you know she's not dead now, you stupid-"

Ino suddenly stepped on the knee that Yuji injured earlier, and caused him to howl in pain. "I'm the one talking here, so keep your mouth shut until I specifically ask you!" She removed her foot, satisfied with the pathetic look on his face. "Now, to answer your question, if they wanted to kill her, they would have done so during the raid. So, there's reason to believe that at least some point afterward, she was alive. Based on the description of the attackers, we've tracked them as part of your gang. Given the amount of time that has passed, I'd imagine she's not here anymore." She looked around, noticing a couple of the yakuza sweating in fear. _"They know." _

She continued, this time addressing Byakko directly. "So, I imagine you sold her. I just want to know, to whom?"

Byakko just mumbled "They're all just faces to me."

"Bullshit." Ino interrupted. "This isn't a bookstore where hundreds shop and go. You have very specific clients. Wealthy, powerful, and still wanting more. And you stay in touch to ensure they will come back." Ino then took a seat. "I could read your mind, and no, that is not a joke. But it takes time; time I'm worried I don't have. And I can't search the mind of everyone here." Ino folded her hands together, and played with her fingers. "So...you tell me who you sold this poor girl to...or I'm going to make you believe you are a three year old girl. Fresh from potty training. We'll have a great time doing your pig tails." she smirked.

Byakko's brow cringed. He certainly heard of ninja doing incredible things, but surely, something like that couldn't be real? "You're bluffing." he finally said.

"Wanna bet?"

Ino jumped off her seat and searched the other yakuza, noticing one with many fingers missing; looks like he made a lot of mistakes and was demoted pretty severely. He seemed expendable. "Wait." he suddenly wheezed, staring at the kunoichi in fright. "What are you doing!?"

"Making an example out of you." Ino pressed her hand sign towards him, and before he could protest further, his body went slack. "You may release him." she told the other samurai.

"Are you sure? He's..."

"It will be alright." she assured them. "He will be no danger to anyone now."

The samurai reluctantly did as they were told, and released his bonds. The yakuza seemed to have revived, and looked around, puzzled. "Hey there." Ino cooed at him like she would a child. He looked at her curiously, not registering what these people here, and what these people were. In fact, it looked like he was slowly crawling away. "I'm sorry. You must be scared. Wanna play?" Ino then pulled out a Pretty Pretty Pegasus toy, a popular franchise among little girls, which he ran over to (seemingly unsure of his steps) and took it from her. He then sat down, and began combing it's mane with his fingers. "You like it?"

"Yeah." he said, enchanted by the toy. "Rainbow Gallop is the bestest in the whole wold!"

Every man who witnessed the sight turned white. None perceived the mere concept as a genuine nightmare, until tonight. _"Yuji."_ Shiguri whispered. _"Whatever you do...do NOT tell her of our trip to the hot springs back then..." _

"_And put my mind on the line for you? You're on your own..."_ he hissed back.

Ino left the poor soul to his own devices and approached Byakko. "So, as you can see, Byakko-san, I am capable of controlling and twisting the mind in a way not even the best hypnotists can manage. If you tell me what I want to know, you'll remain a man, both in mind and body. If not, well, you'll have your life, at least. Though it won't be much of a life by your standards."

The sweat on Byakko's face poured down as fast as a monsoon, and finally, he relented. "Okay, okay! I'll talk!"

Ino hurried back and took her seat in front of him. "Well? Go on."

"As I said, I've been doing this for years. I may remember my customers...but not the people I sell to them. After a while, they all kinda look the same." Ino made the same hand sign in front of him, and Byakko made it a point to speed up his explanation. "But judging by the picture you showed me...and the woman...yeah, I remember her. She kept going on, saying something along the lines of we'll be sorry or something. She was so certain about it too...and now I know why..."

He then looked at the photo again. "Judging by her appearance, she's certainly got the noble look. That's a rare find for our business, and worth a lot of money. Yashida, Tachima, and Chen seem to have a thing for exotic looking beauties. In fact, I was hoping one of them would buy you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere here." she warned him. "Anyone else that you know of with such tastes?"

"Lots." Byakko replied. "But most of them I haven't seen in years; probably killed by rival gangs or the samurai themselves. Maybe you ninja had a hand in it too. And none of them I've seen in the time she would have been in our custody."

Ino, satisfied, walked away and looked at the potential buyers they had captured. _"I guess I have to interrogate one by one..."_ "Which one's Yashida?" None spoke. She turned to Byakko, who pointed to him, determined not to share the same fate of his unfortunate subordinate.

"No!" Yashida exclaimed.

"That's him alright." Shiguri interrupted. "Was introduced to him myself. Geezer's 'best customer' he claimed. Well, his master anyway."

"You don't understand!" the man said. "I'm not the one buying the slaves, I'm just representing my employer! He makes me do these things!"

"I'm well aware of that." Ino replied, showing no pity. "But that will hardly save you. Just tell me who you work for so we can get this over with."

"He'll kill me!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Ino said. _"And the Daimyo will probably have you killed first."_ "We'll protect you, but if you don't talk, the samurai will have to take over. And their methods-"

Suddenly, Yashida convulsed, and fell over on his back. Ino and Yuji rushed over. "He's dead!" Ino yelled in shock as she desperately tried to find a pulse.

"Not if I can help it!" Yuji proclaimed. "Raiton! Tenchuukou no Jutsu!" Yuji sent electric chakra through his hands, over the man's chest, and instantly, he took in a breath of air, springing back to life.

"Thank goodness." Ino said. "Now...oh no...Yuji! He's going into cardiac arrest again!"

"Impossible!" Yuji applied his jutsu again, only to be met with the same result. "His heart's still failing! Something is inhibiting his pacemaker...and it's only getting stronger every time I add juice!"

"Keep it up as long as you can!" Ino placed her hand on the dying man's head. "I'm going to read his mind before all of his brain cells collapse!"

"Hurry!"

For a tense two minutes, Yuji managed to keep Yashida alive. But soon, no amount of electricity could get his heart going again. "That's it; he's gone. Did you find anything?"

"It wasn't much; mind-reading under pressure is pretty difficult." Ino stood to massage her temples. "But, I did see something. He definitely bought the girl, and he's somehow connected to Felidae Industries."

"That's a well known multibillion ryo conglomerate." the chief samurai spoke up. "Are you sure you didn't accidentally scan his memories for random things he's heard of?"

"Positive." Ino said, miffed at his doubts. "I specifically scanned for memories significant to him. And he is definitely somehow connected to Felidae. Our best bet is to head over to their headquarters right now." Ino then put her finger to her chin as she took a moment to think. "Strange..."

"What?" Shiguri asked.

"If I remember correctly, Felidae's corporate headquarters are stationed in the Land of Waves. That was where Sakura and Naruto went on their first mission." Ino waved her hand, brushing it off. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence." She then turned to the samurai chief. "Normally, I would tell you to bug off now. But seeing as your lord has ordered you to follow us, I suppose there's no point, huh?"

"Our orders are absolute." the chief replied. "I suggest we share the boat; it will be more cost-effective, and the state shall pay for the trip."

"Fair enough." Ino replied. She turned to the two chunin under her command. "You hear that kids? We're heading to the Land of Waves."

* * *

Next chapter: The mystery begins to unravel as all parties come together in the Land of Waves

Ookami-Wolf

Tatsunokuchi Kyoukai-Gargoyle of the Church

Hakaitekei Hatoo-Destructive Heart

Jiru-Chowder

Tenchuukou-Heaven's Restoration


End file.
